COLLEGE STUDENTS ARE TWITTER-LESS
Contact: William Cooper
Project Manager
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COLLEGE STUDENTS ARE TWITTER-LESS
Millennials are not “friending” or “tweeting” about companies and brands as widely assumed
TAMPA, APRIL 14, 2009 — In an era when “Tweets” have little to do with pet shops, are Millennials all they are cracked up to be in the social media universe? A recent survey conducted by a research team from the Walter E. Griscti chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America at the University of
Of the 250 Florida college students surveyed, 99 percent use social networking sites. However, only 15 percent have an account with Twitter and 34 percent have never even heard of the site. Some 58 percent of the students who have Twitter accounts never use the service or rarely log-on.
“There is a stereotype that because students are always plugged in that they understand the strategic uses of social media sites,” said Kelli Burns, professor at the University of South Florida and author of the forthcoming Celeb 2.0: How Social Media Foster our Fascination with Popular Culture. “Businesses have a misconception that students know how to use Twitter; these findings prove otherwise.”
The research team survey results reveal two distinct findings. First, college students are not active Twitter users. More importantly, they are not interested in interacting with brands through social media sites like Twitter and Facebook.
A common misconception is that sites like Twitter offer an innovative way for advertisers and companies to interact with the young demographic. However, 75 percent of students say they would be “not at all interested in” or “don’t care about” following brands, companies, or organizations on Twitter.
Many companies assume that social media enables college students to be smarter consumers. Sites like Twitter, social media analysts claim, act as a medium for the new two-way communication between brands and consumers. Given the media chatter about the importance of social networking for corporations, there is a disconnect between the promise of social media and reality.
The research team’s results reveal that a mere 6 percent of college students follow companies and only 4 percent follow brands on social media sites. These findings suggest that if corporations and communicators continue to bet on college students using social media sites effectively, they may come up empty handed.
The fact is that college students use social media sites primarily for keeping in touch with friends, not for networking or brand interaction. Until Millennials become less weary of this interaction, the gap between what business professionals expect and what college students actually know will continue to widen.
About the Walter E. Griscti Chapter of PRSSA at the University of South Florida
Since its founding, the Walter E. Griscti Chapter of PRSSA at the University of South Florida has developed into a top-tier chapter filled with talented students eager to enhance their knowledge about public relations. Involvement in the chapter enables members to network with professionals and peers, learn about internships, hear guest speakers, attend national conferences, publish articles in its newsletter, participate in the national Bateman competition, volunteer in the community, and attend socials each month.
The chapter works closely with the Tampa Bay chapter of PRSA and the Tampa Bay chapter of the Florida Publi Relations Association (FPRA) to provide numerous networking opportunities for its members. These strong relationships allow members to work face-to-face with those already in the industry. For more information please visit, http://prssausf.webs.com
April 20th, 2009 at 10:48
Hey Batch!
In my experience, this is right on. I get asked “What is this Twitter thing?” at least once a week, and usually by people my own age. It seems that professionals with a few years of experience - especially in networking - are much more on board with the trend.
Personally, I very rarely follow brands. When I’m on Twitter it’s to talk/listen to real people (whether I know them or not). If a brand follows me first, and seems to have a real person behind it, I might follow back. Exceptions include the NYTimes and other sources of information I want to know about.
I’d never bother to follow Coca-Cola, for example. What’s in it for me?
April 20th, 2009 at 19:30
Hi Tory, thanks for an anecdote from the “real world.” I appreciate your viewpoint. I am really interested in breaking down stereotypes businesspeople might have about students. However, that begs the question: should professionals alter their thinking or should students step up to the plate? I’m thinking it’s the latter.
I wonder if companies/brands/etc. would give followers something “in it for me,” if people would be more apt to interact with the brand? Then the question would be what it would take in terms of a payoff. There are some brands with hundreds of thousands of followers. I’m shocked by it and still searching for the rationale behind it. I mean, Whole Foods Market, for example, has more than 476,000 followers.
Thanks,
Bob
April 27th, 2009 at 13:05
This research is fascinating! I wish that during my semester in research I was able to participate in something so current with the pace of the industry today.
In reaction to the research - it doesn’t surprise me one bit. Am I disappointed? Yes and no. Yes, because I think Twitter is very powerful in several ways and I wish more people knew that or cared to know about it.
I say no because the people that aren’t interested are making me that much more valuable to the industry - as I have positioned myself as someone who really “gets” Twitter and how it can be used in both a professional and personal way.
An interesting point - Millenials think we care. In reality - we (my generation, not me in particular), don’t. Interesting how gen-y is accused of being all-knowing, narcissistic and entitled, yet it’s the Millenials assuming that we care about Twitter. You know what they say about assuming…
Awesome research. Now the question is, to better prepare the future PR students, are you planning on integrating social media into the PR education or will social media be something that students have to explore on their own? I did my directed reading on social media, but other than that, there wasn’t any emphasis on it while I was going through the program.
May 12th, 2009 at 12:12
Hi Sydney, I just got back from Vienna and Dublin, but wanted to thank you for your comments. We actually conducted this research as part of the “Writing for Public Relations” class, because I wanted the students to go through the process of creating a press release from start to finish.
To my surprise, we did not get as many pickups as I expected, but did score some nice ones. The process really helped the students understand a bit more about writing, so I achieved my goal.
Your last point is one that is central to my thinking about what we should be teaching as PR educators. Personally, I include as much discussion as possible about social media, because it is essential for students to understand the channel. Currently, we do not have a class on it (as you know) specifically. That is a shame. If I were a student, I would demand such a class!
May 12th, 2009 at 13:16
Bob,
I linked to a post about a project I’m starting on. I think it’s something that will interest you.
Also, check this out: http://tinyurl.com/dl9us5
I think someone from the school of mass comm needs to go to that if you’re wanting to implement a class about social.
I’m working on it. Check out my post about it here: http://is.gd/zdBE
Let me know what you think,
Sydney
June 17th, 2009 at 21:17
I guess it depends on which college you attend, because twittering is big at my school( Yale)
June 22nd, 2009 at 14:27
I agree with all of this. I do not use twitter to follow brands but rather to talk and listen to real people as well. I do not like to get caught in the capitalistic tricks but I am sure this varies school to school depending upon demographics as to who twitters and if people are following brands. interesting research, I will keep following this one!