Linkedin: Bridging the Gap between Millennials and Gen Z
When we think of social media platforms it’s rare that Linkedin comes to mind. Tik Tok, Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, or Twitter, may garner some popular votes first. Although, there is a stark difference between the way that millennials use these apps vs how Gen Z uses them! According to Generational Breakdown, millennials are the generation of people born between 1977 and 1995 which means some millennials are now 43 years old! For the sake of the title, I won’t buffer in the extra few years but, once you read on you may realize that this is applicable to some of the Gen X as well. Gen Z or as some may fittingly call us Gen Tech, are those of us who were born from 1996 onwards.
For those of you who don’t know Tik Tok, used to be an app called Musical.ly where people shared trendy singing and dancing videos in a form similar to Vine with short video clips. For the rest of us who don’t live under a rock, we are aware of the hashtags, trendy dances, art work, advice, short vlogs that the now rebranded Tik Tok is filled with! Perhaps before rebranding as Tik Tok it may have been the Gen Z app but recently, there are a matching number of millennials on the app as well! Most of Gen Z are on the app for fun or to go viral on the other hand millennials are aware of the marketing benefits that the app provides and are on there for different incentives. Thats where the gap presents when many of the calculated millennials on the app are there to share business models, career advice, market their work and share lifestyle vlogs instead.
Twitter and Instagram are rather page specific. Twitter is an extremely news centric site while Instagram is the number one marketing social media platform out there! There are thousands of influencers using Instagram solely just to promote their brand. It is a very individualistic site with little content creator to viewer interaction. Which begs the question, how often do you find a community on Instragam? Don’t get me wrong, small content creators do often respond to their DMs and provide advice for their audience and there are a few niche groups out there whether it be fan clubs or book clubs. However, according to Hootsuite, only 47% of older millennials actively use Instagram compared to the 73% of Gen Z.
As for Youtube simply put, can you fathom a collaboration between James Charles and Smosh? Gen Z likely never heard of Michelle Phan, Ryan Higa, OG Pewdiepie, RayWilliamJohnson and Jenna Marbles. If millennials still watch youtube it is unlikely that they would know who MrBeast, David Dobrik, Emma Chamberlin, Ryans World, and Liza Koshy even are. Although, there may be creators from back in the day still making videos it is likely that their content has evolved drastically to suffice the surplus of Gen Z viewers.
Needless to say Facebook is dying, sorry Mark! Linkedin however has the potential to be one of the biggest networking platforms out there. Although, Linkedin does not have a group feature it is the hub for mentoring. The majority of Linkedin members are well established millennials who are willing to provide career and business advice to Gen Z. It is one of the only places where a Gen Z member can reach out to a millennial possessing their dream job and get a response. Linkedin is a good resource for marketing, sharing legitimate news and for building a community of like minded people. It is a career oriented social media platform so although it lacks an entertaining aspect, it is a welcoming space for Gen Z and millennials to have open, useful conversations. Through my experience alone I can tell you the multitude of benefits I have had by making a profile on Linkedin (not sponsored).
Through Linkedin I have been able to land interviews at companies or start up ventures by simply asking the managers of said companies. I have been able to land jobs by finding individuals who work in the space and asking them for advice on how to get into the field. I have learned about new occupational and education paths by exploring various pages of people in the community. Linkedin has allowed me to view unique job postings and job reviews, ones that I will never see on Indeed or Glassdoor. Linkedin has even given me the opportunity to mentor and help out individuals who have reached out to me asking about my specific career path or education. I have made numerous invaluable connections through Linkedin that has not only helped in my career and educational endeavours but also my personal life endeavours as well!