What do college students really think about social media and brand marketing?

Influencer agency Reach recently published a report on how Gen Z college students engage with brands, social media, and influencer content.

Reach collected data from November 2024 through January 2025 to capture college students’ buying behaviors, social media usage, and brand preferences. Over 1,000 students participated, representing a range of majors and socioeconomic backgrounds. The students surveyed were from schools including Syracuse, UCLA, Virginia Tech, UPenn, USC, among others.

The study found that, in 2026, students are shifting away from traditional, static marketing and toward faster, authentic, interactive experiences. Their favorite brands included Nike, Lululemon, Apple, Adidas, Brandy Melville, and Artizia.

Micro-influencers (10,000 to 100,000 followers) resonate with 73% of Gen Z participants, and 61% to 70% of students said they expect to see user-generated content, such as student-led reviews, before making a purchase.

51.1% said social media is the primary way they stay updated with their favorite brands. These students want instant brand interactions. They cited push notifications, real-time customer support, and text blasts as their top preferences for interacting with brands. This data shows how Gen Z customers expect a level of convenience and speed.

The study found that students’ top influencers include:

Their top social media platforms are: 

Stan, a creator platform that helps people build a brand and monetize their audience, is hosting a contest for content creators.

The contest, called the Dare to Dream Challenge, asks creators to sign up for Stan’s Instagram AI tool and submit a video answering the following prompts: What's your dream and how does it fire you up? How will $100K help make your dream a reality? How will your dream impact your life and your community?

Stan is giving away $100,000 to the first-place winner and $10,000 to 5 runner-ups, along with mentorship and a subscription to Stan’s tools.

The challenge was launched last week, and applications are open until January 31.

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