The wealth of consumer information and data available on social media make it a marketer’s dream.
It’s no secret that social media is playing an increasingly important role in inbound marketing.
If inbound strategies are all about getting your brand out there and making customers want to come to you, social media campaigns really can’t be beat. According to Newscred, 87 percent of B2B marketers use social media to distribute content, and WebDam forecasted that social media agency marketing budgets would double over the next three to five years.
Of course, social media is better at targeting certain demographics over others.
In particular, social media is great for hitting the younger markets. According to data by Leaderswest, the much sought-after Millennial demographic (roughly, those born between 1981 and 2000) currently makes up 27 percent of the population. Of this demographic:
- 63 percent stay updated on brands through social media
- 51 percent are influenced by social opinions when purchasing
- 46 percent “count on” social media services when opting to shop online
Millennials are plugged in to the beat of social media agencies like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. As this market grows older and begins overtaking the aging baby boomer population, the spending power of Millennials will grow accordingly. With the amount of influence that social media has on this group, marketers should tailor their social media campaigns to be inclusive to youth populations through a variety of social strategies.
Inbound Social Media Campaigns
Social media campaigns should already have a place in your larger inbound marketing strategy. Social media services are great for content delivery, eliciting customer feedback, PPC ad revenue generation, and lead nurturing throughout your sales funnel. However, there are several specific strategies that can be utilized to really give your social outreach a punch:
Enhanced Buyer Personas
Targeting your marketing to specific demographics is nothing new in the marketing world, but social media changes the game a little. In many ways, it makes it easier. If buyer personas are created based on sorting consumer demographics, behaviors, and interests, what more could a marketer ask for than a platform that does the sorting for us? Data compiled by Single Grain had a few key takeaways on the value of gathering this information for better personalization:
- Behavior-based ads were twice as effective as non-targeted ads
- Personalized emails improved click-through rates by 14 percent, conversions by 10 percent, and drove 18x more revenue than regular broadcast emails
- Aligning marketing personas with a websites UI made the site 2x to 5x more effective and easier to use by the target market
Consumers active on social media will have plenty of public interests, groups, and followings that you can leverage for more tailored outreach. Combine the data gathered from your other marketing strategies with the user-submitted data on social media to create more specific market segmentation for your marketing and social media campaigns than ever before.
Create Youthful Content
If your goal is to target Millennials, you have to show them what they want to see. Youth populations have different priorities than businesses, and will respond better to content focused on sharability and entertainment. After all, most Millennials don’t go on social media to find business solutions. Kids these days go on social media to interact with their friends, share jokes, and stay up to date on the latest social trends. Remember this when creating your content. Keep it light, accessible, and sharable.
While you’re at it, try to throw in as many media styles as your content allows. Video content is all the rage these days with Millennials. (Look no further than the popularity of Snapchat videos or 6-second Vines.) Images are another high-impact visual medium. Mix it up to reach as many users as possible.
Cutting-Edge Tech
And speaking of reaching the widest user base…
Millennials tend to be early adopters for the latest technology and browsing devices. The above report by Leaderswest had some data on this subject—50 percent of Millennials have used mobile devices to research their purchases, with 41 percent making direct purchases from their phones.
To account for the growth of mobile use in Millennial groups, make sure the content you produce is optimized for mobile and tablet use. Responsive web design (web design that automatically resizes and reorients to fit the viewing screen) is your friend here. Try to build your content with mobile browsing in mind as well. Be generous with lists, bullets, and simple layouts that are easy to digest on mobile devices.
The Social Advantage
Social media campaigns are the perfect way to reach younger demographics. But remember, youth populations are just like any other population—you must create specific and concrete strategies to catch their attention and address their needs. Learn what platforms your market is using and craft your content accordingly. Leveraging social platforms lets you interact with your market where they already are, in ways that are likely to stick.
