For years, word-of-mouth has played a critical role in the marketing success of small businesses. New data from GoDaddy suggests that recommendations from friends, family and co-workers are being replaced by influencers in terms of importance to younger consumers.
The GoDaddy survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers in September shows that while both Gen Z and Millennial customers are starting to behave differently than traditional shoppers, that doesn’t mean they are trending in the same direction.
Approximately 4 in 10 Gen Z consumers (41%) trust a product or service posted by an influencer over an ad from a business, whereas nearly 5 in 10 Millennials (46%) trust an ad from a business more.
Among both generations, when asked the likelihood of buying an item from a post on social media, posts from friends ranked low on the list.
Gen Z is more likely to buy something an influencer recommends, with friends coming in last.
- An influencer’s post (57%)
- A post from a business I follow (54%)
- An ad in my feed (49%)
- A friend’s post (40%)
Millennials are more influenced by the businesses they choose to follow, with influencers and friends holding the least weight.
- A post from a business I follow (57%)
- An ad in my feed (51%)
- A friend’s post (48%)
- An influencer’s post (44%)
“Knowing that Gen Z consumers trust social media ads more than recommendations from friends is a game-changer if this is your target audience,” said Alycia Leno, director of marketing at GoDaddy. “Insights into how each generation shops, especially on social media, will empower small businesses to rethink their strategies and using the right tools will maximize their businesses social media marketing.”
Even though Gen Z and Millennial shoppers may differ in who they trust while scrolling through feeds, they still see the value social media and social ads offer.
- Most Gen Z (55%) and Millennial (47%) consumers regularly rely on social media to discover new products every, or nearly every time.
- More than half of Gen Z (53%) and Millennial (57%) customers are served an ad that results in them taking action at least every week.
- Nearly 3 in 10 Gen Z (28%) and Millennial (32%) consumers find social media ads helpful to learn about new products and/or businesses.
These findings show that small business owners need a good grasp of their audience, or they risk wasting time and spending money unnecessarily. By understanding how each generation prefers to shop on social media, entrepreneurs can target customers more directly and see better results faster.
Entrepreneurs can lean on online tools to maximize every social media post and ad. Digital Marketing from GoDaddy leverages the intuitive features of GoDaddy Airo™ and GoDaddy Studio to create custom AI-generated content, schedule social media posts, create digital ads, access helpful analytics and more. These cost-effective tools are readily available to small businesses of any size, with any budget, to help attract new customers and increase sales.
