51% of Germans aged 16-34 consider social media crucial when it comes to researching brands, underscoring its central role in their shopping journey. Yet, visibility alone is not enough for brands to capitalise on this touchpoint.
Younger consumers judge a brand’s values through its social media presence, with efforts perceived as insincere potentially harming brand perception. Brands need to tailor messaging to the expectations of this key younger audience, for example, by combining information and entertainment to achieve cut-through.
Half of German social media users follow brands, but the commercial potential sits with 16-34s, who are by far the most likely to purchase products after seeing them on social media. The launch of TikTok Shop and the openness of 16-34s towards buying directly on social media underscore this potential. To unlock it, brands can cater to the emotional drivers behind 16-34s’ social media use, for example by harnessing the power of social connections with community-centred campaigns.
This report looks at the following areas:
- Social media platforms used
- Platforms used to follow brands and types of brands followed
- Reasons for following brands
- Where consumers have seen products on social media before purchasing them
- Attitudes and behaviours towards brand presence on social media, including the acceptance of brands being less professional on social media and the preference for humorous over informative content
As AI-generated content floods social feeds, brands that deliver real human moments will stand out and build connections.
Jan Urbanek, Principal Analyst
Market Definitions
This report examines the German consumer market for social media platforms, and brand-related behaviours and attitudes.
The report is primarily based on Mintel’s exclusive primary research and observations of trends in the German market for social media.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- What you need to know
- Opportunities
- Outlook
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OPPORTUNITIES
- Unlock the power of social media
- Capitialise on the revenue potential of social media – the right way
- Captialise on the revenue potential of social media – the right way
- Make social connections the marketing foundation
- Foster loyalty through brand and community connections
- Get inspired by brands bringing younger consumers together
- Harness the power of humour
- Balance information with entertainment
- The Bundeswehr adopts informal tone to cut through on TikTok
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Consumer
- Platforms used to follow brands on social media
- The majority of under-34s follow brands on social media
- Instagram is the leading platform for following brands
- Graph 1: social media platforms used to follow brands, 2025
- Adapt to the platform preferences of younger sub-audiences
- Graph 2: social media platforms used to follow brands, by age, 2025
- Facebook ads are the best way to reach over-45s on social media
- Graph 3: social media platforms used to follow brands, by age, 2025
- Types of brands consumers follow on social media
- Entertaining and inspiring categories are particularly popular
- Graph 4: types of brands followed on social media, 2025
- 25-34s are most likely to follow multiple brand categories
- Graph 5: repertoire of types of brands followed on social media, by age, 2025
- Mintel expert view: travel brands need to engage younger Germans on social media
- Leverage cross-category interest to grow reach
- Graph 6: types of brands followed on social media, by gender, 2025
- Work with influencers to broaden reach
- Brands capitalise on cross-category promotions
- Mintel expert view: tap into younger men’s engagement with sports content on social media
- Financial advice content on social media has growth potential
- Reasons for following brands on social media
- Strike a balance between entertainment and information
- Graph 7: reasons for following brands on social media, 2025
- Amplify the voice of your advocates
- Use giveaways to grow and deepen ties with your audience
- Make your community part of the conversation
- Product discovery on social media
- Leverage a variety of touchpoints across social media
- Graph 8: where consumers have seen items before they purchased them in the last 12 months, 2025
- Various touchpoints can trigger purchase among 16-34s
- Graph 9: where consumers have seen items before they purchased them, by age, 2025
- Impulse and belonging drive younger consumers’ purchase engagement
- Over-45s offer niche opportunities
- Graph 10: purchased a product after seeing it on social media, by age & following any brands, 2025
- Adapt to the long-term preferences of over-45s
- Attitudes and behaviours towards brand presence on social media
- Most are indifferent towards brands on social media
- Graph 11: attitudes towards brands on social media, 2025
- Focus on substance over presence
- Blend in with entertainment
- Brands are blending ads with entertainment
- Consumers want to speak to humans on social media
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Innovation
- Pinterest enhances fashion discovery with visual search tools
- Pinterest’s campaign highlights its discovery power
- TikTok Shop pushes social commerce in Germany
- Meta AI launches in Germany
- YouTube brings video-generation AI to Shorts
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MARKET DRIVERS
- Social media platforms used
- Social media platforms offer significant reach for brands
- Graph 12: social media platforms used in the last month, 2025
- Adapt to the age-specific nuances in platform use
- Graph 13: social media platforms used in the last month, by age, 2025
- Social media platforms are ingrained in daily consumer habits
- Graph 14: daily use of social media platforms, by age, 2025
- Search and shopping journey
- 16-34s use the greatest variety of online search tools
- Graph 15: platforms used when searching for product recommendations, by age, 2025
- AI on social media
- AI advances come with double-edged implications for content creation
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APPENDIX
- Report scope and definitions
- Market definition
- Methodology – consumer research
- Consumer research methodology
- A note on language
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