As brands continue their obsession to understand and secure dollars from Millennials, it is important to realize the sub-groups that exist among the larger Millennial group. A Millennial Mom with three kids is a very different person – with different buying behaviors – than a Millennial fresh out of medical school. To this point, we know a ‘target audience’ can’t be defined with age parameters alone.
One metric we often use to understand Millennials is their engagement on social media. Social platforms are home to a huge number of “micro influencers,” or users who might command just a few thousand followers yet whose style and brand affiliations are closely followed—and emulated—by their dedicated fans. It is a valuable segment especially among brand and categories in fashion, beauty, travel, health and wellness.
Clique Media Group (whose brands include Who What Wear and Byrdie) and Dash Hudson partnered to figure out exactly who the female millennial micro influencer is and how she compares to the average millennial woman as showcased in this infographic by AdWeek.
Companies utilizing social media can be viewed as inauthentic if their posts seem geared towards pushing a product over connecting with customers. Even worse, some companies gaffes were so egregious they were forced to halt social media altogether to escape the vitriol of those with whom they were originally trying to connect.
On the opposite end of the spectrum are companies successfully using social media to exact social change. Consumers are more likely to respond positively to an authentic campaign where profit is not the primary impetus.
An image of the yearbook from www.signtheiryearbook.com.
Snapchat usage is on the rise. According to GlobalWebIndex, it is now the fastest growing app this year. The chart below highlights five social/messaging apps and their growth in 2014. This strong increase in usage across social media platforms gives proof of the ongoing migration of social media behaviors to mobile devices.
How are companies leveraging this social trend? For Snapchat, brands and advertisers are still trying to figure out how to best engage Snapchatters. However, that hasn’t stopped brands like Taco Bell that has seen success despite marketing in the dark. And Snapchatters are contributing their ideas, too. A blog post by Markerly highlights 10 Ways 10 Brands I Love Could Advertise on SnapChat. For example, Whole Foods – Snap: salad bar deliciousness; Promo text: Hungry? Come to Whole Foods within the hour for 30% off salad bar. Or, Tory Burch – Snap: beautiful shoe; Promo text: Sneak Peek of our newest shoe – releasing in 1 week!
Let’s not forget about Snapcash as well. Introduced last month, through its partnership with Square, users (U.S. only and 18-plus only) enter debit card information then simply send a cash amount within a text. And Snapcash isn’t just for consumers; businesses too are finding creative ways to use it. For example, the digital creative agency MRY announced yesterday it has begun accepting RFPs through Snapcash (check out the microsite with all the instructions).