Mindshare and Snapchat are out with a new multinational study about the different emotional needs of social media users and how it’s reflected in their choices online.  

These need states exhibited variations across different markets, reflecting the cultural nuances of each region. For instance, UK and the US social media users predominantly perceive social media as a space to be entertained, while emerging markets like India regard it as a source of progression. 

 In Turkey, the Netherlands, and France, the emphasis lies on exploration and learning. In Germany, consumers primarily view platforms as tools for changing opinions. 

By generation the research showed that 24% of Gen Z value Progression—the highest percentage of all the need states for that generation—whereas only 4% of the oldest generation (defined as ages 78-98) found Progression relevant to them.  

 In contrast, the needs for Connection and Joy progressed with age. But the desires for Learning, Exploring, and Hanging Out were consistent across generations. 

The study was conducted in two parts, with a quantitative survey of more than 28,000 adults across 14 markets: USA, UK, Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Italy, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Turkey, and the UAE. Globally. 

The first part, developed by Mindshare’s global data strategy and insight team examined consumers’ daily social media behaviors. The second half, developed by Mindshare's NeuroLab team, dove deeper into consumers’ unconscious preferences and their emotional associations and perceptions of different social media platforms.  

The NeuroLab part of the research aimed to understand the behaviors that set 10 well-known social platforms apart, enabling the alignment of consumer needs with platform strengths and behaviors. For example, audiences most associated Snapchat with learning, promoting, and delivering feelings of joy; they most associated Instagram with exploration and receiving recognition from others; and they most associated LinkedIn with building connections and cultivating careers.  

“Each social platform offers unique capabilities to address audience preferences, making it critical to consider this diversity when selecting partners for a campaign,” said Terence Scroope, Executive Director, Customer Strategy at Mindshare. “By tailoring media strategies to align with the unique need states of each platform, we can build programs that truly resonate with different audiences and make a meaningful impact across a wide range of markets." 

I’d share a link, but the full report is only available to clients of Mindshare and Snap. Snap did post a blog about the study today that can be read here.