As 2010 winds down, two telling pieces of news broke last week that highlight the influence Generation Y had on the social media explosion of 2010: Mark Zuckerberg was named Time magazines's Person of the Year and L2, a think tank that focuses on digital innovation, released a study that dives into the media consumption of the affluent members of Gen Y.
There has already been an enormous amount of reporting and analysis on Zuckerberg's latest accolade, so I won't belabor the various and often conflicting story angles. What's mind blowing is seeing the creator of Facebook -- a member of Gen Y who has completely upended the ad industry -- on the cover of Time. And the findings in the L2 Gen Y Affluents Media Survey (click to download), though not as earth shattering so much as confirming what most of us already know, contain some surprising stats worth factoring in when planning your 2011 marketing strategy and budget allocation.
The link between these two stories? Facebook, of course.
The Gen Y study focuses on media consumption and, in most of the research, ties this consumption back to Facebook. . What is even more enticing about Eighty-one percent of the affluent Gen Y audience uses Facebook multiple times a day but this generation and their Facebook usage is their affinity towards brands and eagerness to "like" them.
Over three-quarters of the respondents "like" a brand and one-quarter of them have developed a "brand crush" through Facebook. Who wouldn't want their target audience to have a crush on their brand, and could you ask for anything more from your marketing dollars? The lesson here is to get your brand "liked" on Facebook and spend your money and your time doing it. But how?
That is where some of the additional statistics found in this research become very compelling, specifically regarding the consumption of the various media. Second to social or Facebook usage is Gen Y's devotion to reading blogs.
"If baby boomers are the TV generation, then Gen Y is the blog generation," the study reported. What's beautiful about blogs is they too are designed to be social in that they typically encourage comments or interaction. What this means for you is that as you are allocating your 2011 marketing dollars in an effort to boost your "likes" on Facebook, blogs should be at the top of the list. We find the most successful campaigns that run on our site encourage some type of social interaction or engagement.
This aligns with all that we know about Gen Y and is reinforced in this research -- Gen Y likes to share their opinion and showcase themselves and their views. The blog world is not about the authoritative voice of traditional media but more of an inclusive platform that prompts discussions and allows people to give their opinion. Use blogs to start the conversation and ensure that there is a mechanism for them to "like" your brand.
Something else that emerged in this research worth noting is the massive growth of video and mobile. For us in the marketing world, this isn't news. However, what struck me as interesting is the combination of the two: of those who responded, one in eight reported watching a video on a mobile device in the past 24 hours -- an impressive number that I imagine will only grow in 2011.
The message: dedicate money toward emerging platforms such as video and mobile. Take time to understand the consumption of these products and partner with publishers who can develop unique solutions combining these assets. Then, of course, make sure you can "like" your brand via mobile device or video.
2010 was an eye-opening year for all of us in the marketing world. As social media rose, we gained knowledge and understanding of the space -- and learned how to work both within it and outside of it. But of all that stood out, perhaps what was most meaningful was the naming of Mark Zuckerberg as the Person of the Year and renewed understanding that "like" on Facebook now holds more weight than any click-through.
COMMENTARY: According to most marketer's and demographic experts, a consumer earning more than $85,000 per year (up from $75,000 per year) is classified as "affluent". I don't know whether L2 coined the term "affluent Gen Y", but I am very familiar with Gen-Y's and engage with many of them socially and work with many of them, and the vast majority are poor.
In spite of the L2's research that 81% of affluent Gen Y's or Millennials use Facebook on a daily basis, only about 11% of the affluent population use Facebook.
According to the 2010 U.S. Census, there are now 71.2 million Gen Y's (18 to 34 yrs) in the U.S. with an aggregate income approaching $1 trillion, the adults of the Millennial Generation are expected to play an essential role in the recovery of the American economy and consequently offer significant opportunities to marketers of consumer goods and services, according to survey data published in Millennials in the U.S.: Trends and Opportunities Surrounding Gen-Y Adults by market research publisher Packaged Facts.
Though hit harder than any other age demographic during the recession due to pay cuts and rampant unemployment, Millennials remain optimistic about the future of the American economy and are less likely to cut their spending despite the downturn.
"The older Gen-X consumers are at a 'big-spending' stage of life, while Gen-Y consumers offer a bright note in an otherwise dismal spending picture because throughout the recession they have been more willing than older shoppers to spend more in coming months. Additionally, Gen-Y consumers are at a stage in life where most of the income they earn is likely to be spent," says Don Montuori, publisher of Packaged Facts.
Of the 51 million Millennial adults between 18- to 29-years-old, approximately 42 million are employed and have a mean income of nearly $24,000. Packaged Facts expects that the aggregate income of 18- to 29-year-olds will total $1.2 trillion in 2015, for a cumulative growth of 18% during the 2010-2015 forecast period.
Diversity is a hallmark of Millennials, and multicultural Gen-Y adults are gaining in importance. Between 2010 and 2015 all of the growth in the 20- to 29-year-old population will be generated by Hispanic, black and other multicultural population groups, which are expected to increase by nearly 2 million adults. Since there are significant differences between the attitudes and behavior of multicultural Gen-Y consumers and those of their non-Hispanic white counterparts, marketers will need to adjust their strategies to take into account the changing profile of the diverse and tech-savvy Millennial population, counsels the report. For example, report data based on Experian Simmons' Winter 2010 National Consumer Study indicate that multicultural Millennials are comparatively much more likely to assign prestige to foreign automobiles and are especially interested in the technology that would allow them to use cellphones as a platform to select and purchase merchandise in stores.
Courtesy of an article dated December 24, 2010 appearing in MediaPost Publications Engage:GenY and the L2 Research Gen Y Affluents Media Survey dated November 16, 2010
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