Youth are turning away from Facebook and to Snapchat, as the theory goes (accompanied by some data). And that might well be true for teens and young Millennials, but apparently Facebook isn’t uncool enough to avoid talking about. New data from YouGov shows that Facebook is easily the best perceived brand among Millennials. Go figure.
The research first tested 1,500 brands, asking Millennials which they had heard anything positive about in the prior 2 weeks, whether through advertising, news or word-of-mouth. Low-volume responses were eliminated, and then survey participants were asked which of the remaining brands they had talked about with friends and family in the past 2 weeks (in-person, online or through social media).
Facebook topped the pack with an impressive 83.5% of 18-34-year-olds who’d heard something positive about the brand then having talked about it with friends and family.
Facebook was one of the three social networks in the top 10: YouTube came in sixth (69.3%), closely followed by Snapchat (69%). Instagram keeps a low profile, it seems, not appearing in the top 10 despite being a social networking favorite.
Other notable names in the top 10 include Netflix (#2; 75.8%) and Amazon.com (#8; 68.7%).
Previous research from YouGov BrandIndex has shown that Netflix (#1), Amazon (#2) and Facebook (#6) have all been among the brands that Millennials hear the most positive things about. This newest data suggests, then, that it’s Facebook that’s the most likely to turn that into new word-of-mouth among the 18-34 group.
Most Improved Brands
Retailer Lane Bryant is getting more buzz from Millennials, according to the report: this year 45.2% report having talked about the retailer, a 14.3% point increase from last year’s (30.9%). It’s among a few retail brands included, which has to be encouraging for the industry: beyond Victoria’s Secret being #5 on the top-perceived brands list, Payless and Forever 21 also figured among the most-improved brands.
Millennials are also sharing their opinions more this year about CheapTickets (+13% points to 46.8%), Beats by Dr. Dre (+11.3% points to 47.3%) and Redbox (+11.3% points to 55.2%), among others.
The full list of top 10 improvers and their scores can be accessed here.
