Often as marketers for small and non-for-profit businesses, we hear “social media is for the kids,” “decision makers do not use social media,” or “that’s not my target audience.” However, with over 273 million users in the US alone – social media users are your target audience. To go a step further, and correlate the title of the decision maker to age, Nielsen has found that those 35-49 (or Gen X’ers) use social media the most at almost 7 hours a week. That’s right – it’s not the youngest group that represents a majority of our workforce these days. But Gen-Y is not far behind in their social media usage. And this group of 18-34-year-olds is accumulating their professional experiences and becoming those decision makers daily.
As digital marketing best practices morph and more businesses adopt social platforms, either to utilize a cheaper, wider spread vehicle of communication or to link together multiple marketing channels, social media is now an integral spoke in the marketing wheel. Understanding what drives each generation to make decisions is important, especially as the youngest, or Centennials (21 and younger) are now gaining buying power and 80% report social media has influenced their shopping habits. Read more about the Generations and their social media habits from MediaPost below.
Jim Anthony | Founder So-Mark
Source: mediapost.com | Re-Post So-Mark 7/12/2017 –
According to a Yes Lifecycle Marketing survey of more than 1,000 consumers to outline the distinct shopper personas for Centennials, Millennials, Generation X, and Baby Boomers over the last decade, marketers have adapted to the boom of technology and the introduction of various new marketing channels, while considering how different generations of consumers are responding to these changes.
Popular views of each generation used to be broadly generalized as: The habits of Baby Boomers and Gen X were considered “the norm,” while Millennials were deemed “digitally savvy,” and Centennials were not yet on the radar. The report shows the current factors that influence their purchase decisions and get actionable strategies on ways to engaging shoppers from each generation. Key findings include:
36% of consumers have opened separate email accounts solely for brand communication. This number jumps to 58% for Millennials but drops to 26% for Baby Boomers
79% of Millennials are more likely than any generation to have made a purchase on Amazon in the past month, followed by Generation X at 69%.
More than 80% of Centennials and 74% of Millennials say social media influences their shopping, compared to only 58% of Generation X and 41% of Baby Boomers.