For healthcare marketers, one truth is becoming impossible to ignore: social media is no longer a single audience. Generational social media habits are now creating very different paths for how people discover, research, and choose care. Assuming one message will reach everyone doesn’t reflect how people actually behave online. Social media platforms are not interchangeable.

Different generations, different paths to care

Recent EMARKETER data makes this shift clear:

Younger audiences, ages 12-24, spend most of their time on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube.

For this group, health information is often discovered casually rather than searched for. Short, visual content shapes early awareness, especially around wellness, mental health, and everyday questions. These platforms influence perception long before care decisions are made.

For adults ages 25-34, YouTube is the clear number one platform, while Instagram has moved ahead of Facebook.

This group begins to shift from passive discovery to more intentional learning. YouTube supports deeper understanding, while Instagram still plays a role in shaping awareness and trust. Together, these platforms influence how people research symptoms, treatments, and care options.

Once adults reach 45 and older, behavior changes significantly. YouTube becomes the dominant research channel, while Facebook remains the primary social platform.

Health information seeking is more direct and purpose-driven. People are looking for clarity, reassurance, and credibility. Content that is easy to understand and easy to act on supports confident decision-making. Trust matters most.

What generational social media habits mean for healthcare marketing

The takeaway is clear: healthcare audiences are not interchangeable, and neither are the platforms they use. Each generation engages differently. Your social media strategy needs to reflect that.

Effective healthcare marketing strategies align content with platform behavior:

• Short-form video is best suited for reach, awareness, and early education.
• Long-form video, especially on YouTube, supports research, trust-building, and decision-making. In other words, the long haul.

Together, these formats create a more effective video funnel across the patient journey. A real video funnel… that works.

The bottom line for healthcare marketers

Stop treating social platforms as one-size-fits-all channels. Generational social media habits are diverging quickly. The brands that adapt will be better positioned to reach people with the right message at the right time. You won’t succeed by trying to be everywhere at once. A diluted message is a dud.

Instead, focus on showing up where each audience already spends time. Create content designed for them for that specific moment in their care journey. That’s how you start winning in the social media game.

This article is part of Building Better Healthcare Marketing, our series of practical tips for performance marketers in healthcare. In it, we focus on strategies that move the needle in paid media, paid social, analytics, CRO, and campaign performance to help you connect with patients, strengthen engagement, and drive measurable growth.

Unlock Health is a full-service marketing communications agency that helps healthcare organizations make authentic connections with patients and communities.