416. YPulse. The Post-Social Playbook.
June 18, 2026
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In this episode, we speak with MaryLeigh Bliss, chief content officer at YPulse, about the research firm's Post-Social Playbook report. Based on a survey of 1,500 13 to 39-year-olds in the US and Canada, the report maps how young consumers' relationship with social media platforms has shifted, and what that means for brands trying to reach them.
Follower counts are a vanity metric now, not just in name. For 18 to 24-year-olds, 56% are more likely to see content the algorithm surfaces than content from accounts they chose to follow. The audience a brand spent years building has no guaranteed organic path to seeing what that brand posts.
Nano creators derisk the virality problem. No one, including the creators themselves, can predict what the algorithm amplifies. A creator with under 30,000 followers posted a two-line Dr. Pepper jingle in late December; by mid-January it had 146 million TikTok views and a national TV spot. Working with a network of smaller creators spreads the odds without betting on any single post.
Long-term creator relationships read differently than sponsored posts. Influencer partnerships have become white noise. What young consumers say they want is creators who are embedded: co-designing products, holding advisory roles, serving as a face of the brand. Forty-five percent of 18 to 24-year-olds want long-term partnerships, not one-off campaigns.
Podcasts connect where feeds can't. Podcast listenership among 13 to 39-year-olds has jumped 19 points since 2021, reaching 83%. The parasocial relationship built through consistent, scheduled audio, without algorithmic interruption, produces a different kind of attention than a feed scroll. Forty-two percent of that group have purchased or considered purchasing a product they heard about on a podcast.
Each platform has a distinct job. TikTok is entertainment. Instagram still serves friends and family alongside entertainment. YouTube functions as entertainment and a learning tool, especially for Gen Z teens. Snapchat, often overlooked, reaches nearly 75% of 18 to 24-year-olds and runs on far less algorithmic mediation than the others. X? Most young consumers just don’t use it.
YPulse is the leading authority on Millennials and Gen Z: tweens, teens, college students and young adults. They provide strategic insight to companies and organizations via their subscription-based syndicated research content as well as their custom research and consulting services. Staffed with a cross-functional team of researchers, marketers, writers, and technologists, they give their clients a 360-degree view of what it’s like to be a Millennial or Gen Z today.
As Chief Content Officer, MaryLeigh Bliss oversees YPulse’s syndicated products. Her role also involves acting as a culture and youth insights expert, consulting with brands to identify actionable insights, align young consumer strategy, and layer generational and youth knowledge over data findings.
MaryLeigh has worked with a range of brands, including Facebook, Hampton, Bravo, HBO, Target, Best Buy, and Gap, and has been quoted as a youth insights authority by publications including The New York Times, Digiday, Business Insider, and Adweek. She has appeared as a Gen Z and Millennial expert on Bloomberg News, Fortune, and NPR Marketplace, and been a speaker at many off-sites and conferences. MaryLeigh’s interest in youth culture originated from her love of YA literature and pop culture anthropology, and she is continuing her passion for decoding and demystifying the next generations of consumers at YPulse.
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MaryLeigh Bliss
YPulse