Why Gen X is worth your time.
Methods+Mastery
A team of curious, tenacious, and candid experts who are committed to delivering work that works.
In today’s edition:
Gen X: An untapped market
In previous editions, we’ve tackled Gen Alpha, Gen Z, and creators aged 50 and over. Now, let’s allow Generation X, the so-called “forgotten generation,” to reintroduce itself.?
Born between 1965 and 1980, Gen X is stereotyped as cynical, disengaged, and resistant to change. While millennials and Gen Z have stolen their spotlight, Gen X is much more than grunge and soul searchers. These early adopters of Myspace are today avid on Instagram and TikTok, and they’re an important demographic for marketers. In fact, we think they’re misunderstood AND mis-marketed to.?
Grab your latchkey and let’s unlock the truth. ???
What we’re seeing #1: Gen X didn’t spend their childhoods glued to smartphones, but they’re making up for lost time.
Data from Sprout Social shows Gen X is the second leading generation on social after Gen Z. Ninety percent of Gen X use social, with nearly 40% using it daily. Facebook is the preferred platform, closely followed by YouTube where they rack up 1.5B views every day. And this generation’s platform usage is more diverse than you might think. They love Instagram, Pinterest, and over a quarter of them say they use TikTok on a regular basis.?
Gen Z and millennials are typically crowned digital natives, but Gen X is nearly as comfortable when it comes to using technology. According to GWI, 60% of Gen Xers describe themselves as “constantly connected,” which is just behind Gen Zers (62%).?
Today, Gen X has traded their childhood shopping mall trips for online shopping. The State of U.S. Consumer Trends Report found that 60% of Gen Xers shop from their phones. They’re not just a force on social — they’re a desirable audience for marketers.
Note: YouTube is a client of Methods+Mastery
What we’re seeing #2: The stereotype that Gen X is the forgotten generation isn’t without merit. Gen Xers themselves feel that brands ignore them in favor of their generational neighbors.?
Despite only making up 15% of the population, Gen X has serious buying power. And why wouldn’t they? They’re entering the height of their earning potential AND stand to benefit the most from the greatest wealth transfer in history.?
And yet, Gen Xers don’t feel their life experiences are represented in marketing. Let’s not forget this is the audience that grew up during the AIDS epidemic, the end of the Cold War, and the Great Recession, and managed to survive — and thrive. It’s a generation that was so frustrated with the corporate, commercial culture of the '80s, that they arguably pioneered “quiet quitting” way before it was cool. There’s so much storytelling for brands to tap into but it’s not happening as frequently as you’d think.
And here’s the kicker: Gen X is very brand loyal. Two in three Gen Xers say they often become repeat customers once they find a product they like, while 71% agree loyalty programs influence their brand selections. This could explain why some marketers choose to target elsewhere, but in our minds, this is even more incentive for brands to pay attention. Earn their favor, and they’re likely to stick with you for the long haul.?
What we’re seeing #3: Social is a place for Gen X to be seen and heard, even if they’re largely ignored by brands.?
It’s clear that Gen X yearns to connect online. Many use social to find influencers talking about topics that older generations tend to avoid. Whether it’s menopause or aging honestly, Gen X could be the ones to usher in a new way of thinking and talking about traditionally taboo topics.?
What else are they seeking out on social? Well, it’s true what they say: nostalgia works. From recreating ‘80s and ’90s dance moves to bedroom jams, almost all Gen X creator content we analyzed featured some sort of throwback. The same goes for successful brand activations. From Spotify’s 2019 “Listen Like You Used To” to AARP’s Gen X ASMR, these campaigns prove that their teenage years formed and solidified their taste in pop culture and music.?
What It Means For You & Your Brand
Gen X wants to be appreciated, celebrated, and just plain seen. A whopping 90% of Gen X consumers say their favorite brand treats them like an individual, but brands aren’t making the effort to reach them. While they might joke that they’re not old enough to be targeted by AARP, the comment section of the ASMR videos were flooded with ideas and reminiscing, showing they are hungry for community and reflection. It’s likely you already have a built-in network of Gen Xers in your back pocket. Talk to them. They won’t bite. And from our research, nostalgia is a good place to start.?
领英推荐
Don’t sugarcoat things. Gen X is refreshingly open about traditionally underrepresented issues – from their realistic depictions of getting older to menopause. It means they’re likely to appreciate and respond well to the same kind of honesty and directness in return. Brands just have to be brave enough to try it.
They’re worth the reach. Unlike Gen Z and millennials who are still experimenting and evolving, Gen Xers know what works for them. They’re more assertive in how they present themselves on social and the brands they choose to follow. Their brand loyalty mixed with their buying power means that when you’re in their good graces, you potentially have a customer for life.
The Social Scoop
Get up to speed with the biggest stories on social.
Elon Musk is killing traffic to sites he doesn’t like on X. In what we wish was surprising news, the Washington Post reports that X has added a five-second delay when a user clicks on a shortened link to the New York Times, Facebook, Threads, Substack, and other sites Musk has attacked in the past.
Following the release of their report, WaPo has subsequently indicated that X started reversing some of the delays back to zero. However, there’s been no official explanation from the platform as to why they were there in the first place (and whether they are lifted for good).
Our take: This is not good news for publishers, brands, or people who want to link out to any of these sites. This news comes at the same time as X’s algorithmic updates which restrict the reach of all posts with external links on the platform. The worst part of these updates is that tweets mentioning competitors are also deboosted — so if you’re still looking to maximize your reach on X, driving people to Instagram and YouTube is no longer as effective.
Note: YouTube is a client of Methods+Mastery
We’ll say it again: Musk is REALLY killing external traffic on X, now with a new link display. X will soon start showing link previews in an entirely different way. The headline and preview text will be gone altogether with just the header/preview image remaining.?
Here’s how the old and new ways of link previews compare, according to Fortune’s tech reporter via The Verge:
Our take: Another end of an era for the company formerly known as Twitter. For those who post and experiment on the platform, this update makes it less likely that people will click on a standalone image. But, hey, according to Musk, it will “greatly improve esthetics.”
Instagram wants people to see how many people comment and share your posts. According to several reports, Instagram has begun rolling out share and comment counts next to likes (if you have those visible). Sharing has become a huge focus for Instagram, especially since it identified that people are mostly sharing posts with each other in DMs. And right now, it looks like the platform wants to apply some friendly “pressure” to brands and creators alike.
Our take: This is the sign you need to take a step back and reevaluate how you optimize your content for shares (and comments!) on the platform. We always like to go back to this old New York Times study which explores the reasons why people share on social media. Make sure your Instagram content always falls under one of these 3 buckets:
Graph of the Week
We're a bunch of data nerds over at M+M, which means we love a good graph. Here's one that was doing the rounds on our Slack this week.
TL;DR:? According to the Reuters Institute, public sharing of news stories on social is declining across the UK, the US, and Spain, with people now preferring to share in smaller spaces and private DMs.
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Disclosure: Methods+Mastery serves multiple clients. Those clients and/or their peers and competitors may be included in Alt Text, if we feel they’re relevant to what’s trending in social. We always disclose direct client relationships and affiliations.?
Analytics Engineer Lead at Integris Health
1 年Interesting. However, I think we need to go back to where Gen X got it’s name. It was the first generation without a global tag. This was because nobody could figure us out. Gen X is not and has never been a homogenous group. We think differently from each other, our world experiences are vastly differing. Skill sets vary widely. Some of us are experts with technology. Some of us are incompetent. We were raised differently. Some of us had boomer parents and some were of the silent generations. The silent generation had commanding parents with not much family interaction. Boomers tried to be more inclusive of their children. It’s hard to market to such a diverse group, so companies gave up because they couldn’t figure us out.
M.Ed., LPC, NCC
1 年Nothing about Gen X should be ignored ??
Domestic services. 28 years. Expert level. Wife, mother, teacher, household manager. ????????????????
1 年Yeah, and since the bio weapon killed so many boomers these gen x'ers have a shit ton of inheritance money too. Best laid plans by the government to steal it all back.