â–¶ Social Media Makes Millennials Feel Good: Forty-seven percent of Millennials (age 16 to 34) believe that their lives feel richer when they’re connected to people through social media. In contrast, just 28% of non-Millennials feel the same way, says a study by Boston Consulting Group, Barkely and Service Management Group. The study, aimed to identify differences that are generational and not simply related to age, also finds that U.S. Millennials aren’t lazy like earlier studies suggest, and are actively engaged in consuming and influencing. Highlights include:
• Millennials and non-Millennials spend roughly the same amount of time online, but Millennials are more likely to use the Internet as a platform to broadcast their thoughts and to contribute user-generated content.
• Millennials put a premium on speed, ease, efficiency, and convenience in all their transactions. For example, they shop for groceries at convenience stores twice as often as non-Millennials.
• Millennials are much more likely than non-Millennials to explore brands on social networks (53% versus 37%).
• The study identified six distinct segments of U.S. Millennials that could help companies improve the ways they develop their communications, brands and business models to reach this audience. These segments are as follows, along with representative quotations: Hip-ennials (29%)—“I can make the world a better place”; Millennial Moms (22%)— “I love to work out, travel and pamper my baby”; Anti-Millennials (16%)—“I’m too busy taking care of my business and my family to worry about much else”; Gadget Gurus (13%)— “It’s a great day to be me”; Clean and Green Millennials (10%)—“I take care of myself and the world around me”; Old School Millennials 10%) — “Connecting on Facebook is too impersonal, let’s meet up for coffee instead!”
Source: Boston Consulting Group/Barkely/Service Management Group
â–¶ C-Suite Execs Care About the Brand and Social Channels, Say Marketers: Social media matters to the C-suite, finds a study of marketers and social media by Matter Communications. Some 65% of them say their C-suite executives are also interested in how their brand is perceived in social channels. Other highlights include:
• Social media measurement is largely by level of engagement (56%), while (31%) rely on number of fans or followers and 11% measure on gut feel.
• Facebook ranked highest (84%) in perceived value to the brand, with YouTube (45%), LinkedIn (41%) and Twitter (38%) following.
Source: Matter Communications
Source: Capital Partners PRN