According to the Media Insight Project, more US Millennials use Facebook than Twitter. While more than 90% of those aged 18 to 34 use Facebook, fewer than 40% frequent Twitter. Those who do use Twitter do so to keep up with the latest social media trends, while Facebook regulars are more interested in keeping up with what’s going on in friends’ lives.

Millennial respondents said they used Facebook to:

  • See what friends are talking about – 76%
  • Search for entertainment – 58%
  • Look for articles/links of interest from friends – 46%
  • Share their own content – 42%
  • Keep up with social media trends – 34%
  • Find more information on something they recently heard about – 33%

In contrast, the Twitter users of the group reported using the social media platform to:

  • Keep up with social media trends – 43%
  • Search for entertainment – 41%
  • See what friends are talking about – 35%

Of these Twitter users, less than one-third used the social media site to look for articles or links, share their own content or learn more about things they recently heard about on the news or other social media sites.

The differences between Millennial Facebook and Twitter users don’t stop there either. A much higher percentage of frequent Facebook users than Twitter users seek out and read or watch news stories (70% and 49%, respectively). In addition, 60% of Facebook users are likely to share, comment or like the news articles and videos, while only 33% of Millennial Twitter users were likely to retweet the same type of content.

While Facebook users seem to engage more with the news content on the social media platform, they are less likely to write their own thoughts about the content than Twitter users. Since Twitter is widely regarded as a real-time source of news, the lack of engagement with tweets about news on the platform is surprising.

From a corporate marketing and brand awareness perspective, a study by BuzzStream and Fract1 tackled the issue of why social media users would follow, unfollow or otherwise engage with business brands on Facebook and Twitter. Unsurprisingly, Facebook was identified as the place to follow brands by nearly 40% of respondents, while less than 20% reported engagement with brands on Twitter.

The Media Insight Project also uncovered these notable findings regarding Millennial social media habits:

  • Nearly 40% of Millennials think keeping up with the news is important
  • Millennials receive roughly 75% of their news and information from online sources
  • Facebook is the number 2 source of health and fitness information, second only to search engines

While search engines results are still king when it comes to taking a deeper look at issues, including how-to content, case studies and healthcare information, Millennials make Facebook their go-to source for information regarding:

  • Arts and Culture
  • Cooking and Food
  • Crime
  • Fashion, Beauty and Style
  • Government and Politics
  • Local Entertainment and Restaurants
  • Music, TV and Movies
  • Natural Disasters
  • Pop Culture
  • Religion
  • Social Issues
  • Sports.

Source:

MarketingCharts. Why Do Milennials Use Facebook and Twitter? March 24, 2015.