Lost in the Feed? Rethinking Social Media Strategies for Customer Retention in Europe

This manuscript aims to investigate the relationship between the use of social media in the promotion of goods and services within the EU and the level of customer retention in the context of digital marketing. The analysis employed a mixed-method approach, integrating quantitative data with comparative arguments and the development of a practical framework. Data were collected on the social media activity of European companies across more than thirty countries during the period from 2022 to 2024. Among the key findings, it was observed that digital tools still lag behind traditional ones due to their uneven impact across different age groups within the target audience. A significant portion of these findings aligns with the characteristics of the market economy across the EU. Younger audiences demonstrate substantially higher engagement with social media platforms than older demographics. Survey results indicate that approximately 87% of respondents aged 16–24 reported active engagement with social media advertising, whereas engagement among respondents aged 64–74 reached approximately 22%. This demographic disparity contributes to potentially reduced customer retention when companies rely predominantly on social media advertising. Moreover, a considerable segment of potential customers – approximately 30% of the market – remains inaccessible due to linguistic and cultural barriers.