Five ways to reach Millennials: Part 5

Posted on March 9, 2017 by Magda Isikhuemhenova

In our previous blog post, we introduced you to the Millennials, their ideas about families and how they interact with brands. Now we will discuss five ways brands can connect with and engage Millennials.

5. Let Millennials share their stories. Make them feel that their voices are being heard.

Millennials want to not only acquire memories – they want to share their experiences – and brands should allow them to do so. Whether by allowing them to post videos on the company’s Facebook page or using their photos and testimonials in a commercial – the method does not matter. As long as their friends know what an awesome life they live.

So what should we take away? Millennials want just a few things while shopping:

Share their memories and experience, have their voice heard, multi-channel shopping experience, customization options and of course – discounts. Let’s market WITH them.

Sources:

Five ways to reach Millennials: Part 4

Posted on March 2, 2017 by Magda Isikhuemhenova

In our previous blog post, we introduced you to the Millennials, their ideas about families and how they interact with brands. Now we will discuss five ways brands can connect with and engage Millennials.

4. Market with them, not to them

Marketers need to re-examine efforts to market “to” Millennials, and instead consider marketing “with Millennials.” The key is to identify Millennial advocates and work with them – because if you’re not working with them, you’re working against them. Identify a cause or a celebrity that connects with your Millennial audience.

Sources:

Pew Research Center (http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/03/31/10-demographic-trends-that-are-shaping-the-u-s-and-the-world/)
Pew Research Center (http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/03/31/10-demographic-trends-that-are-shaping-the-u-s-and-the-world/)EventBrite (https://eventbrite-s3.s3.amazonaws.com/marketing/Millennials_Research/Gen_PR_Final.pdf)
EventBrite (https://eventbrite-s3.s3.amazonaws.com/marketing/Millennials_Research/Gen_PR_Final.pdf)
http://thegbrief.com/articles/customization-the-key-word-in-millennial-buying-habits-621
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/234891
http://www.forbes.com/sites/leeseymour/2016/01/15/millennials-will-spend-trillions-on-live-events-as-long-as-they-get-a-discount/#4af59f4938f4
https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2016-millennials-coupons/

Five ways to reach Millennials: Part 3

Posted on February 23, 2017 by Magda Isikhuemhenova

In our previous blog post, we introduced you to the Millennials, their ideas about families and how they interact with brands. Now we will discuss five ways brands can connect with and engage Millennials.

3. Customization

Once Millennials complete their research, they want the item to become “theirs” by the way of customization. 51% are more likely to purchase an item if they can customize it. The look & feel of a customized product is important to Millennials, who grew up in a society far more diverse and embracing of diversity than preceding generations.

Sources:

Pew Research Center (http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/03/31/10-demographic-trends-that-are-shaping-the-u-s-and-the-world/)
EventBrite (https://eventbrite-s3.s3.amazonaws.com/marketing/Millennials_Research/Gen_PR_Final.pdf)
http://thegbrief.com/articles/customization-the-key-word-in-millennial-buying-habits-621
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/234891
http://www.forbes.com/sites/leeseymour/2016/01/15/millennials-will-spend-trillions-on-live-events-as-long-as-they-get-a-discount/#4af59f4938f4
https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2016-millennials-coupons/

Five ways to reach Millennials: Part 2

Posted on February 16, 2017 by Magda Isikhuemhenova

In our previous blog post, we introduced you to the Millennials, their ideas about families and how they interact with brands. Now we will discuss five ways brands can connect with and engage Millennials.

2. Multi-channel shopping experience

This ties to the way Millennials shop: with today’s technology at their fingertips (literally). They expect a connected, multi-channel shopping experience. They prefer goods or services that they can research on their phones, compare features and prices, find out what cause (if any) the company supports, and what celebrity uses or endorses their product or service.

Sources:

Pew Research Center (http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/03/31/10-demographic-trends-that-are-shaping-the-u-s-and-the-world/)
EventBrite (https://eventbrite-s3.s3.amazonaws.com/marketing/Millennials_Research/Gen_PR_Final.pdf)
http://thegbrief.com/articles/customization-the-key-word-in-millennial-buying-habits-621
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/234891
http://www.forbes.com/sites/leeseymour/2016/01/15/millennials-will-spend-trillions-on-live-events-as-long-as-they-get-a-discount/#4af59f4938f4
https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2016-millennials-coupons/

Five ways to reach Millennials: Part 1

Posted on February 9, 2017 by Magda Isikhuemhenova

In our previous blog post, we introduced you to the Millennials, their ideas about families and how they interact with brands. Now we will discuss five ways brands can connect with and engage Millennials.

1. Discounts drive sales.

As we told you, Millennials are cost-conscious and love a discount. According to Forbes, most of their social media interaction (especially Twitter) is driven by the desire to save via coupons and flash sales. Nearly nine in 10 millennials use coupons, according to a report by Valassis, the company behind the RedPlum coupon circular. Asked to describe their couponing habits, millennials told Bloomberg about checking for discount codes on such websites as RetailMeNot, using web-browser extensions such as Honey to highlight bargains, and seeking out cash-back programs like Ebates. Flash sales proffered by Groupon, pharmacy loyalty cards that trigger discounts at the register – all these approaches are seen by young shoppers as basically indistinguishable from the coupons of old.

However, Millennials still spend about $200 billion each year in the U.S.; and spend about $9.00 more per shopping trip than Baby Boomers. It is the reasoning behind their purchases that is a huge opportunity for companies; this generation is willing to spend on what matters to them, and what helps their voice to be heard – and preferably not for a full price.

Sources:

Millennials: How well do we know them?

Posted on February 2, 2017 by Magda Isikhuemhenova

Lately, marketers, the media, political strategists and pretty much everyone with an opinion has been obsessing over and courting the proverbial new kid on the block: Millennials.

In advertising, workforce, and even in popular culture, Millennials are the focus of many conversations. Everyone is tracking how they think, their opinions, how and where they shop and everything related to their lifestyles and politics.

So who exactly are Millennials in 2016, why are we so obsessive about them and what do they like?

THE MILLENNIAL GENERATION: Not kids anymore.

There are many definitions of the term “Millennial” (up to 5 years overlap with Generation X) but the majority of market research companies, such as Nielsen, Gallup, and Eventbrite’s research arm, define a Millennial as an individual born between the years 1976/77 and 1995/96. This means that as of today, the 83.1 million Millennials (24% of the U.S. population), are between 20 and 40 years old.

The fear of missing out is real.

Millennials are not satisfied with the traditional “American Dream” of a family, house and a car. They also want to go places, enjoy sports and culture, and be a part of something big. This desire to gather as many experiences and memories as possible, or The “Fear Of Missing Out”, experienced by 69% of Millennials, is the driving force behind their buying habits. Their money is spent on “experiences”, rather than “things”.

Millennials want to experience it all – at a discount

Millennials want to experience it all; however, at a price they can afford. More than half of the Millennial generation are willing to follow or like a company on social media, and share information with them, just to score a coupon or a discount, or catch the flash sale. Males, especially, who are 30% of the Millennial population, are more likely to take an advantage of a last-minute sale.

A 2016 Millennial: The elevator pitch

So who is this Millennial in 2016? To summarize, the Millennials are career people in their 20’s and 30’s, with dreams of traveling, starting a family and being part of something big – but only if they can buy it on a cell phone, customize it, and at a discount.

For a deeper examination on Millennials, download our white paper.

Sources:

U.S. Census Bureau
Nielsen – State of the African-American Consumer (2015)
Nielsen – State of the African-American Consumer (2015)
http://thegbrief.com/articles/customization-the-key-word-in-millennial-buying-habits-621
Pew Research Center (http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/03/31/10-demographic-trends-that-are-shaping-the-u-s-and-the-world/)
EventBrite (https://eventbrite-s3.s3.amazonaws.com/marketing/Millennials_Research/Gen_PR_Final.pdf)
Pew Research (http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2014/03/07/millennials-in-adulthood/#racial-diversity)

Top 2016 Trends In Hispanic Social Media

Posted on August 9, 2016 by Magda Isikhuemhenova

We recently read an article that was published earlier this year discussing some of the important elements to consider when building a Hispanic Social Media Strategy. According to the article, “Top 2016 Trends In Hispanic Social Media,” there are 26 million Hispanics on Facebook, 12 million on Twitter and 9.6 million on Instagram. These are some of the analytics that your brand can hone into to drive the social media campaign that is targeted to a Hispanic market. We’ve included some of the highlights of the article below.

Insights and Analytics
- Drilling down into each segment of the Hispanic Market will provide the foundation for tailored marketing. Start with selecting your niche and go from there.

Social Listening
- On the social media platform relevant to your target market segment, locate the conversations relative to your brand’s marketing goals in order to create relatable engagement with potential consumers.

Content
- Accurate content creation, spread across your social and other media, will resonate more with your audience if it is genuine and relatable.

Social Influences
- Tastemakers in the Hispanic community are excellent for representation of your brand as they will provide a feeling of inclusion and empowerment that drive consumers to your brand. Utilizing tastemakers displays that your brand is in support of the Hispanic community.

Community Management
- Your front runner should be a leader that genuinely understands your intended market and knows how to properly engage the segment. This will build trust and loyalty once consumers see the authenticity in leadership.

Take a look at the following article to get a clearer understanding of how each of these elements will assist in driving your Hispanic marketing strategy:

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/270982/top-2016-trends-in-hispanic-social-media.html

Reaching Latino Market Segment

Posted on July 29, 2016 by Magda Isikhuemhenova

In several articles in our series on multicultural marketing, we have discussed how a “one size fits all” marketing approach is not effective cross-culturally. It is important to understand that each multicultural market is different and each culture requires distinct branding and messaging to drive its consumers to make purchases and remain loyal.

We’re continuing our series on multicultural marketing outreach by focusing on the power and impact of the Latino community to our economy and culture.Image Source: http://latinobrandingpower.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/LBPinfographic.jpg

And, in subsequent posts, we’ll discuss the best marketing practices for reaching this highly coveted market. But first, let’s see why marketers should focus on this consumer group.

The power in numbers

According to the U.S. Census, Latinos are the fastest-growing U.S. population, experiencing a 43% growth from 2000-2010 (Source: U.S. Census Bureau 2010 Census. vs. 2000 Decennial Census). Based on this data, it would be detrimental to companies to neglect this market when creating marketing campaigns. In addition, based on findings from the 2013 Multicultural Report from the Selig Center for Economic Growth, Latinos’ purchasing power has been growing 70% faster than Americans’ as a whole since the late 1980s (2013 Multicultural Report from the Selig Center for Economic Growth.) As companies learn about the monetary impact of each minority demographic, they will be able to create strategies that appeal directly to each segment.

Secondly, Latinos are driving new business formation in the U.S. According to a study by the Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative, from 2007-12 Latino-owned new business formation skyrocketed 47% while non-Latino new businesses declined by 2%. New businesses mean new jobs – for everyone.

Also, as Nielsen research shows, differences exist between Latino consumers of varying ages, genders, incomes and the preferred languages spoken at home.

The more we take time to understand the Latino consumers, the more effective we can become at connecting with them.

The Latino Millennial:

One of the important subgroups among Latino consumers is the Latino Millennial. The Millennial population has become a driving force of sales in the United States in recent years. And it is not different within the Latino subset. Millennials are one of the fastest growing demographics in the U.S. and 47% of them are of Latino origin. It is important to look at them as a driving force of all buying decisions of this group. We see listed above that Hispanic spending power has reached one trillion dollars therefore we can conclude that much of this spending is done by millennials.

Source: US Census Bureau, New Hispanic, Selig Center for Economic Growth

African Americans And Social Media

Posted on June 6, 2016 by Tanya Isley

In our previous post, we discussed the power of African American consumers and how brands and marketers must tailor their messaging and marketing strategies in ways that reach them where they live, work, and play. This week, we’ll take a look at African American social media usage and the effectiveness of using social media platforms for marketing and engagement.

According to Nielsen and the National Newspaper Publishers Association, African-Americans are 44% more likely than total market consumers to create a social media profile (Sources: Nielsen: Resilient, Receptive and Relevant: African American Consumer 2013). Overall, 73% of African American Internet users—and 96% of those ages 18-29—use a social networking site of some kind (Source: http://www.pewinternet.org/2014/01/06/african-americans-and-technology-use/.)

The usage of social media sites such as Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook to reach African Americans have been proven to increase consumer engagement as 81% of African Americans are more likely to show support of a company via social media (Sources: Nielsen: Resilient, Receptive and Relevant: African American Consumer 2013).

Each social media platform enables the usage of pictures and messaging in order to create a specific market approach. The usage of images of African Americans in favorable settings, preferably showing interest in education and finance positively engages this market and will drive their responses.

Approximately, 27% of African Americans are active Twitter users and 38% are active Instagram users. Both of these numbers exceed the active Latino and White user base of the platforms (Source: Pew Research Centers Internet Project, September Combined Ominibus Survey, Sept 11-14, 2014 and September 18-21, 2014.) Digital campaigns are key for engaging these markets and must be tailored authentically for consumer engagement and loyalty. Utilizing QR codes, Facebook comments and conversations, Hashtag contests and campaigns on Twitter and Instagram are beginning strategies to use for outreach. For instance, 30% of African American millennials get news and information from Youtube and 45% of African-American millennials get their news and information from Instagram. Knowing who and where your market is digitally will produce the highest return on investment, conversion rates, and overall traffic. (https://www.americanpressinstitute.org/publications/reports/survey-research/millennials-technology-news-race-ethnicity/single-page/.)

To discuss how your brand can use social media to reach this growing market, contact us. We understand the social and cultural differences among multicultural audiences and create customized, compelling strategies that are relevant to the audience you’re trying to reach.

Reaching African-Americans

Posted on May 2, 2016 by Tanya Isley

In our continued series on multicultural marketing, this week we’re looking at the power of African American consumers and how brands and marketers must tailor their messaging to reach this important segment.

African American consumers have steadfastly proven their value to brands by accumulating a buying power of $1.3 trillion dollars.¹With that much buying power, if African-Americans were a country, they’d rival the buying power of the 15th largest country in the world – Canada! Additionally, there has been a 44% increase in African-American households earning $50,000 or more and a 23% increase in African-American households earning $75,000 or more. We’ve also noted that African-Americans have experienced a 64% faster population growth than the general population since 2010.

afambuyingpower These numbers are proof that African-Americans are an important and powerful population that brands and marketers cannot afford to overlook. Every marketing plan that’s developed to reach a diverse consumer base must include strategies to reach out to African Americans. Why? Because African-American consumers look for products that represent their image and cultural values. Successful brands align with core values and speak to black consumers by communicating quality and value.

Tell us your thoughts in the comments below and come back next week when look deeper at the things that African American consumers value.

¹ Source: Nielsen – State of the African-American Consumer, 2012; Nielsen – The multicultural economy 2005: America’s minority buying power, Jeffrey M. Humphreys, University of Georgia, Georgia Business and Economic Conditions, Vol. 65 Number 3, 2005.