Understanding Millennials
What’s all the buzz about Generation Y, otherwise known as Millennials? Millennials will have more purchasing power than any other recent generation before it. Yes, you heard me correctly. The purchasing power of Millennials is estimated to be $170 billion per year (ComScore). Many companies are getting geared up and targeting the new work force and next spending generation. In order to stay relevant, brands must capture the interest of Gen-Y. Innovative, well thought-out strategic campaigns that engage Millennials through a variety of social networks is the key to success.
While the years of their birth vary from which source you are reading, there are a few things we know for sure about Millennials. Gen-Y:
- are community driven and tech savvy.
- own multiple online devices and like to switch between them throughout the day.
- are anxious without their smartphones and stay connected through social media.
- prefer image sharing over status updates. In fact, Instagram is one of the top social media channels used by Millennials on a daily basis.
- are willing to share their personal information (even for a simple discount) and are not as concerned about their privacy as the Baby Boomers before them.
- yearn for authenticity and therefore trust Word of Mouth (WOM) more than direct advertising.
If you’re a brand, it’s important to start looking at Millennials in order to understand what your approach will be to gain their attention and trust. Powers Media can help you strategize but I’ve compiled 5 informative articles to jump start your understanding of Millennial. I’ve also included a couple of examples of how other well-known brands are targeting this new challenging generation of spending power. Do you want to know how Millennial you are regardless of your age? Take the QUIZ below! Understanding Generation Y is important because they are the customers of the present and the future.
1. Here are 15 statistics brands should know about millennials : (From digiday)
2. If you’re an employee or want to better understand the Millennnial worker, “60 Minutes” did a segment titled, “New Millennnials are Coming”:
3. These infographics about millennials explain what makes Millennials tick, and how both marketers can get the most out of their audiences of this age bracket, even utilizing gamification.
4: It’s good to see how other brands are being innovative. Here’s a couple of examples of how brands are targeting millennials:
- Mercedes Benz uses Instagram to sell cars: (Digiday)
- Ikea launches first Instagram “website” (PR Daily)
5. Want to see just how Millennial you are, regardless of your age? Take this QUIZ by Pew Research
Vogue is Already Monetizing Instagram!
Kate Moss for Vogue -Photo by Arthur Elgort 1995
Known for its lush and often mesmerizing images on almost every page, VOGUE just became the first print magazine to monetize Instagram. It was only six months ago when VOGUE announced its first Instagram photo shoot and here they are already monetizing the image driven platform. Look for the
LIKEto KNOW:It, app to shop some of your favorite Instagram looks.
The program is still in its infancy, however. Digiday reports that Vogue makes up to 20% commission on each item sold from its Instagram account and only made $260 on its inaugural LIKEtoKNOW Instagram.
Another positive result for Vogue was the brand benefitted by receiving 5,000 new followers that day alone on Instagram, and Twitter followers are growing as a result, as well.
We are only at the beginning stages of apps being developed to generate product sales via social platforms. Social platforms and mobile access are changing the way brands can create and interact with others.
So what does all this mean for a sound social media strategy for your company? It means never ignore how access on a mobile device will look from your social platforms and always consider visual content as a source of brand messaging. Visuals must be part of a complete social media strategy for your brand. So you’re probably thinking, “But we’re not Vogue, which is a brand built on gorgeous images!” This may be true, but each brand has a voice and visual story to tell and Powers Media can help you discover your brand voice and dynamic visual story.
Vogue Does Its First Instagram Photo Shoot
Steven Meisel did not shoot Vogue’s latest fashion spread. There were no backlights, no beauty dish. Instead the austere fashion publication took to Instagram for a special Fashion Week photo shoot.
“I thought this time around during Fashion Week in New York we could try doing a shoot that shows clothes you can buy in stores right now,” explained Sally Singer, creative digital director at Vogue. “And everyone in fashion is pretty aware that Instagram is sort of the morning coffee of Fashion Week — it’s the thing they wake up to and the thing they go to bed to.” Read Article