How Millennials are Engaging and Building Relationships with Organizations on Facebook

Authors

  • Tina McCorkindale Appalachian State University
  • Marcia W. DiStaso Pennsylvania State University
  • Hilary Fussell Sisco Quinnipiac University

Keywords:

Millennials, Facebook, social media, social networking sites, relationships, public relations, engagement, communication-privacy management

Abstract

More than half of Facebook’s 900 million active users in the U.S. consist of the Millennial generation (ages 13 to 29). With more organizations taking advantage of the site’s reach, determining how organizations are interacting with Millennials on Facebook is important.  This study used qualitative focus groups and a quantitative survey to examine how Millennials preferred to interact and engage with organizations on Facebook. Results found participants were not opposed to interacting with organizations on Facebook, but were very specific in terms of how, with who, and why they wanted to engage. While Millennials did want updates and other information depending on the type of organization or group, they also wanted discounts or other benefits. Millennials identified reasons why they would actively terminate the relationship with an organization.

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Published

2013-05-21