How millennials use social media: What marketers need to know

Side parts. Skinny jeans. The Valencia filter. We could only be talking about one generation: Millennials.

Once dismissed as unforgivably cringe, Millennials are making a pop culture comeback. After dominating the headlines for over a decade, the generation—born between 1981-1996—took a step back as Gen Z sauntered into the limelight.

But in recent months, they’ve regained cultural cache and are finally getting the flowers they deserve for pioneering social media culture. Millennials were the earliest adopters of some of the networks that have become global behemoths.

As Monica Dimperio—the force behind Hashtag Lifestyle, the consultancy making brands cooler, culturally fluent and impossible to scroll past—put it: “Millennials grew up both with and without social—we remember the world before filters and followers—so our relationship with it is deeply emotional. We’re still talking about our AIM screen names and which MySpace song played on our profile. We literally invented the photo dump. And that early experience taught us to care about presentation, meaning and vibe—even now. We built the culture Gen Z now thrives in.” Dimperio is a Millennial herself, as well as a brand builder and digital native who helped define influencer culture.

Despite the nostalgia associated with Millennials and social media, 31% of Millennials actually plan to use social more in 2025, the most of any generation, per The 2025 Sprout Social Index™. As their income and spending power goes up, their increased time on social translates to real opportunity for brands.

In this guide, we explain how Millennials want brands to show up on social media and how to market to them the right way.

How to reach Millennials on social media

On social, Millennials look for connection. Whether it’s with people they actually know, influencers and celebrities, or even brands. As Dimperio explained, “Because we’ve grown up alongside the evolution of every major platform, social media has become emotional infrastructure for Millennials. It’s how we remember birthdays, stay in touch with old friends and feel a little less alone when we’re watching a show by ourselves on the couch. It’s companionship.”

Data backs this up. According to the Index, 92% of Millennials use social to keep up with cultural moments. Which aren’t exactly the same thing as trends. Instead, they’re looking for shared experiences and touchstones.

Dimperio goes on, “We’re not chasing trends or trying to become influencers. We’re looking for hacks, humor and a reminder that we’re not the only ones spiraling through whatever life stage we’re in (aka middle age). That’s why we gravitate toward content that teaches, entertains or makes us feel seen. If it helps us cook a better dinner, find a better brow gel or sends us into a meme spiral because it hits way too close to home, we’re following.”

Though they still turn to search engines for research, that is quickly changing. Nearly 30% are most likely to use social to find information—specifically product reviews and recommendations—per the Q2 2025 Sprout Pulse Survey.

Yet, brands shouldn’t make the mistake of pushing a hard sell. Millennials want brands to stop using a salesly or corporate tone and, instead, lean into authenticity, according to the Index.

“We don’t need perfection, we need personality. If it feels like marketing, we’re out. But if it feels like a friend with taste? We’re in,” sums up Dimperio.

What social media networks do Millennials use and why?

According to the Q2 2025 Sprout Pulse Survey, 85% of Millennial social media users are on Facebook, 80% are on YouTube and 74% are on Instagram, making these platforms the most popular with the generation. Millennials are most likely to use all of these channels for entertainment and connecting with friends and family.

Digging deeper into how they use certain platforms, Millennials report TikTok is their favorite channel to turn to for social commerce, closely followed by Facebook and Instagram, according to the Q4 2024 Sprout Pulse Survey. The Q1 2024 Sprout Pulse Survey found that they are also most likely to use Facebook and Instagram for staying up to date on the news, and Facebook for customer care.

What brand content do Millennials engage with?

On their most-used channel, Facebook, Millennials are most likely to engage with text-based brand posts, per The 2024 Social Media Content Strategy Report. On Instagram, it’s short-form video (<15 seconds) and on YouTube, long-form video (>60 seconds).

Though Millennials ultimately consume all content on most platforms, the key is understanding the nuance and culture of each one. That doesn’t mean completely recreating posts from scratch—and overtaxing your team’s bandwidth. It means charting multiple points of distribution and connection, and prioritizing the platforms that matter most to this generation.

Regardless of format, the characteristics Millennials care about most in brand content are authenticity, entertainment and reliability, according to Index data. Compared to all other generations, they’re also most likely to say if a brand doesn’t respond on social, they’re strongly likely to buy from a competitor next time.

As Dimperio says, “Millennials are both the most skeptical and the most brand-loyal generation.” When you win them over, you earn a customer for life. But doing so takes a commitment to building a truly unique brand persona and excellent customer experience.

Millennial social media trends

As Millennials have matured, they’ve gone from being the centerpiece of marketing plans to middle-aged consumers with less cultural sway, but even more market impact. To reach Millennials, brands should invest in emerging networks, stay true to their brand ethos and center social in their go-to-market strategies.

This is not a trends listicle that will inspire specific content ideas (for that, read our top social media trends article). Instead, these trends map out the future of Millennials’ social media habits, and give clues that reveal what it takes to build lasting resonance as this generation reaches the next stage of their lives.

Emerging network early adopters

Interestingly, Millennials’ desire for connection on social is driving them to use more community- and creator-driven platforms over the next few months, per the Q2 2025 Sprout Pulse Survey. 63% plan to use Reddit, while 57% plan to use Bluesky, Threads and Mastadon. Another 53% plan to use Patreon and Substack.

Millennials are most likely to jump into these new platforms if their friends and family members are already using them, according to the same survey. They also sign up for new networks when they’re interested in niche communities and topics, or when influencers and creators they follow join the network.

But if brands joined every platform in the crowded landscape of emerging networks, they would devote all of their team’s time to developing these new channels. Instead, they should invest in experiments on one or two networks where their target audience is, or where niche communities related to their brand already exist.

They’re not looking for brands to be viral or trendy

The Q2 2025 Sprout Pulse Survey found that Millennials believe the top two things brands should prioritize are audience engagement and posting original content—even more so than being viral or trendy. Which is a consistent finding across many of the reports cited in this article.

This is an important area where marketing to Gen Z differs from marketing to Millennials. While over half of Gen Z say it’s cool for brands to jump on viral trends, only 43% of Millennials say the same, per the Index. Millennials are also slightly more likely to say that the originality of a brand’s content matters.

Dimperio says this is because of Millennials’ early days online. “Originality still matters to us because we remember the golden age of blogs, niche memes and cultural moments that weren’t curated by an algorithm. We know what creativity looks like…and what’s just a recycled trend in a different font.”

There’s a persistent false belief that brands can market “to everyone” on social media, and that going viral is a hole-in-one strategy for every demographic. In reality, Millennials are more discerning than their younger counterparts and have higher standards for creativity. They’re looking for a brand with a consistent voice that “gets them” rather than a copy-and-paste unhinged persona.

Social is inextricably tied to their purchasing decisions

Social has transformed the way Millennials shop. Case in point:

• Over half make spontaneous purchases inspired by social at least once a month (The 2025 Sprout Social Index™).
• 35% are more likely to buy something they discovered on social in this economic climate (Q2 2025 Sprout Pulse Survey).
• Millennial consumers are most likely to make daily or weekly purchases inspired by an influencer—on par with Gen Z (The State of Influencer Marketing Report).

Dimperio explains how this should impact the ways brands approach social selling. “Social media completely collapsed the funnel. For Millennials, discovery, research and purchase all happen in the same scroll. Brands need to get it right—fast. Paid ads and algorithm tokens practically force us to see things two to five times until we eventually give in. Peer pressure marketing is real. So when something does hit organically, like a product recommendation from a friend, a creator we trust or a brand we already love, it actually feels refreshing.”

Even as shopping on social media becomes more ubiquitous, successfully grabbing Millennial attention requires a synchronized approach, as this generation uses both digital and physical storefronts. Dimperio adds, “I still walk into stores. I love the IRL experience. But maybe that’s the takeaway here: If your brand is going to live online, the digital and physical need to feel emotionally connected. Do they feel the same? Same tone, same vibe, same trust factor?”

Positive views on the personal impact of social media

While the negative aspects of social media dominate news stories, Millennials are more likely than other generations to view social media positively. The Q2 2025 Sprout Pulse Survey found that 68% of Millennials say social media has a positive impact on their mental health. Another 61% said it had a net positive impact on their social lives, and over half agreed it had a net positive impact on their financial decisions.

This is because Millennials use social to build communities beyond geographic limitations, amplify movements and stay close to friends as life gets busier. As they’ve grown up, social has helped them launch careers, grow businesses and explore their identities. Even with the challenges—burnout, comparison and algorithm fatigue—Millennials are more likely to see the overarching benefit.

Brands Millennials love on social

As mentioned, Millennials are a somewhat misunderstood generation. Marketing to them the same way you market to Gen Z and not accounting for their generational nuances doesn’t win their favor. They’re looking for brands with a clear, well-established identity.

Dimperio explains it this way: “The brands we love feel like people. When I build a social strategy, I treat it like creating a character—voice, visuals, tone, timing. It’s a full personality. Millennials connect with brands like that, ones who are intentional, consistent and actually know who they are.”

Here are three brands who have mastered the art of Millennial marketing, and found a way to breakthrough in a way that feels true to their image.

Sézane

Good taste. Classic elegance. Where grown ups shop. Sézane, the French brand that empowers you to build your own “Parisian wardrobe,” is a staple among Millennial women. These consumers, who were sold on the mystique of French women’s style at a young age, make up a large percentage of Sézane’s cult following.

The brand owes much of their recent success to social media hype. On their own channels, they’re applauded for using models that have body types that match their core audience, and for designing clothes built with comfort, style and Millennial style icons in mind. The brand also leans into creator-led marketing and user-generated content.

Give your brand a Millennial makeover: Take a cue from Sézane, and lean into the early influences on Millennial taste. Understand why they’re motivated to gravitate toward specific aesthetics, and incorporate those themes into your content.

Ceremonia

Ceremonia, the clean hair care brand rooted in a Latinx heritage, is a founder-led company with a clear penchant for Millennial branding. Founder Babba C. Rivera is incredibly cool, a Forbes 30-under-30 alum and a Millennial herself. Her knack for storytelling—from her heritage to her brand’s mission—resonates with the generation. Plus, the brand’s warm, coordinated colorways and simple logo are Millennial-coded.

On social, the brand leans into Rivera’s inspiring story, while also creating polished visuals that showcase their products.

Give your brand a Millennial makeover: What makes your company unique? What can you share about your founder or the origin of your company? Where are your products made? These are the details your Millennial audience wants to learn more about. They want to understand who they’re buying from and how their products are sourced and manufactured. Use social to tell your story.

Graza

If anything is true about Millennials, it’s that they love to take pantry staples and give them a refined twist. While there are countless examples, Graza stands out as a brand that has risen to the forefront of Millennial consciousness.

The brand commonly associated with their signature olive oil exemplifies Millennial fancification, and celebrates this on social. Whether it’s by reposting their fans’ Graza-inspired tiny tattoos or demonstrating how to incorporate their olive oil into a mocktail with a complex flavor profile, the team is on it. They even partnered with James Jones, Love On The Spectrum showrunner.

Give your brand a Millennial makeover: While Graza doesn’t exclusively market to Millennials (in fact, sometimes they’re categorized as a Gen Z brand), their originality and strong community management enable them to reach across generations. In your own social content, consider how partnering with Millennial creators and media personalities, and serving up Millennial-core can help you expand your audience.

Don’t forget about Millennials in your social strategy

Millennials may no longer be the new kids on the block, but they’re still one of the most active generations on social. As their buying power continues to grow, brands need to pay attention to this demographic’s specific habits, preferences and values. They don’t want trend-chasing or faceless corporate posts. They want connection, creativity and original storytelling.

The brands that win with Millennials understand this isn’t just a matter of repackaging Gen Z tactics. It requires a strategy rooted in understanding the nuances of their online behavior, the platforms they gravitate toward and the emotional reasons they use social in the first place.

If you’re building a brand meant to last, don’t sleep on the generation that helped build social as we know it.

Looking for more on generational trends and the current state of social? Read our guide to generational marketing.