Wibbitz Releases New Research on Millennial and Generation Z Audience Trends in Social Video

By STS News Desk On Jan 15, 2019

Wibbitz Releases New Research on Millennial and Generation Z Audience Trends in Social Video

Wibbitz, the leading online video creation company, released the findings of its new research How to Reach Audiences with Social Video: From Millennials to Generation Z, revealing the difference in preferences, habits, and consumption of video on social media between the two most influential generations. Wibbitz surveyed more than 1,000 people between the ages of 18-22 (Generation Z) and 23-37 (Millennials), reporting that Generation Z is watching 3.4 hours of video each day while Millennials watch 2.5 hours. Both groups are spending more time watching video than reading articles, but Generation Z is spending a significant 70 percent more time on video. As Generation Z matures and gains purchasing power, media companies, brands, and agencies must understand how to reach the next generation of consumers through their preferred medium–video.

The study revealed how Millennial and Gen Z audiences are consuming video on social media, their preferences, and response to brand video content:

Gen Z ranked Youtube (#1) and Instagram (#2) for social platforms where they watch the most video, but Millennials ranked Facebook (#1) in stark contrast to Gen Z ranking it (#7).
56 percent of Gen Z share more videos than articles with their friends online, while 32 percent of Millennials state sharing more vide
Facebook is where both groups watch the most videos for news coverage, and Youtube is where they watch the most videos for career development and entertainment purposes.
Audio matters more for Gen Z, 45 percent watch video with sound on as opposed to 31 percent of Millennials.
Gen Z are 15 percent more likely to feel Neutral about social video ads, and Millennials are 16 percent more likely to hate them.
Watching videos posted by brands on social media impacts Gen Z more than Millennials in three key variables: Connection, Interest, and Understanding.

“While we’ve continued to see a steady increase in video consumption with Millennials, Generation Z will accelerate and magnify this trend even more rapidly,” said Zohar Dayan, CEO and Co-Founder at Wibbitz. “As a generation raised with smartphones, video is an innate expectation for Gen Z, and their ability to juggle between multiple screens makes it even more difficult to capture their attention than previous generations. Businesses are required not only to tell more powerful and authentic stories, they must do so seamlessly across every device. This research underscores the urgency for content creators to craft a video strategy that accounts for an increasingly fragmented digital landscape, founded in solid data and supported by the right tools that will help them achieve quality engagement with Millennial, Gen Z, and audiences to come.”