May 31, 2016
Social media now makes it easier than ever before to know exactly what your friends are up to, what they’re eating for brunch, who they’re following, and beyond. I’ve definitely done my share of Facebook stalking; let’s be honest, you probably have, too.
From a business perspective, all of this knowledge on people’s interests and demographics can help you reach new audiences. Plus, these social media platforms are perfect for spreading the word on your company, whether you want to advertise the launch of a new product, revamp your brand image, and so much more.
With the right methods, establishing a strong social media advertising presence can increase traffic, brand awareness, and relevancy. Bonus: Many millennials—a popular target audience for many businesses—spend a lot of time on social media. A third of them are on social media over 11 hours a week, and 59% say that social media advertising usually prompts shopping research.
Why advertise to millennials?
Today, everyone in advertising is talking about targeting this young demographic, which ranges from college students to young professionals in their 30’s. And they’re on the right track.
As masters of technology with a huge online presence, millennials spend close to $600 billion per year and are more likely to engage and participate with a brand online. According to Forbes, however, they’re also not as easy to persuade. Only 1% of millennials say that a compelling advertisement will draw them to a brand, and 43% rank authenticity over content.
But with the right social media advertising strategy, you’ll be able to reach these picky but powerful consumers. Who knows, your company may even become the next #trending topic!
Of course, social media strategy isn’t cookie-cutter. Depending on your product or service and the audience you are trying to target, you’ll need to choose your platforms wisely. Keep reading to learn more about 3 emerging social media channels in advertising that are especially relevant to millennials.
Boasting a user base of over 300 million, Instagram is one of the fastest growing social media platforms out there. Since it is a predominantly visual platform, advertisements come in the form of photos accompanied by a caption or tags.
By curating your own gallery of creative photos, Instagram is perfect for e-commerce or B2C companies that can flaunt their products and show brand personality.
Pros:
- Now owned by Facebook, Instagram shares the same advertising platform as the social media giant. This allows for smart targeting and detailed analysis. You can also easily manage Instagram posts through Facebook’s Ad Manager.
- Instagram ads are high-quality, creative, and incorporated seamlessly into users’ feeds.
- The post can contain call-to-action buttons such as “Shop Now” or “Sign Up.”
- The world of hashtags makes ads shareable and easy to find for those searching certain topics.
Cons:
- Sharing others’ posts is not as easy, and requires a separate program or app.
- Due to its visual nature, the platform may be harder for service-based companies that don’t necessarily have products to display.
Who’s doing it well? With 8.9 million followers on their account, GoPro uses Instagram as a channel to show the world what their product can do. Their content focuses on adventure and uses inspirational storytelling from consumers to encourage engagement and boost sales.
A relatively new player in the field, Pinterest introduced their Promoted Pins program in 2015. Advertising on this platform is a combination of query-based (using search results, like Google) and contextual (based on demographics, like Facebook) visibility, allowing ads to be shown to users that search for certain items.
Pinterest users are often looking for inspiration or searching with purchase intent, meaning they are more likely to convert and help drive sales. Similar to Instagram, Pinterest is a photo-dominated platform ideal for B2C companies with products to showcase.
Pros:
- The platform allows specific targeting based on gender, interests, and more.
- Pins and ads link directly to sites, making it easy to drive traffic and allow users to take action immediately. This feature is beneficial for any type of business!
- When users pin posts to a board, the content is shared with their followers and others can also engage with the ad directly.
Cons:
- Since advertising on the platform is fairly new, testing is needed to figure out what works best.
- News feeds can contain a mix of regular pins and promoted pins, which can be confusing for users.
- 85% of Pinterest users are female, so it may not be the most successful for businesses that are not geared towards women.
Who’s doing it well? Allrecipes decided to add a “Pin It” button to their recipe pages, which enabled people to share it quickly. As content became easily discoverable, more and more people became engaged with the brand. Within 3 months, the company saw 139 million Pinterest impressions and a 900% increase in clicks.
You know celebrities and social media mavens actively tweet about their lives, but what can Twitter do for your business? Out of all the mentioned platforms, Twitter is the fastest channel with instantaneous communication and quick engagement with followers.
Around 78% of its 310 million users are on mobile devices, meaning they scroll through their news feeds on the go. A tweet, which has a 140 character limit, is concise and can have images, videos, or external links attached. The platform is great for building high engagement and interaction with consumers, as almost half of users who follow a brand on Twitter are more likely to visit the company’s site.
Pros:
- Can specifically target users based on their feed or search content, and segment audiences based on common interests. You can choose from 350 categories.
- Twitter’s instantaneous nature enables brands to interact with users in real-time and build a strong reputation and trust—just what millennials are looking for.
- Like Instagram, the use of hashtags makes it easy for users to search for products along the same theme or brand.
Cons:
- The tracking and reporting interface is not as in-depth as Facebook or Google’s.
- Due to constant traffic on Twitter feeds, users may be overwhelmed by the number of posts and scroll past ads. Nearly 6,000 tweets are posted every second, so it’s difficult to guarantee that your audience will see your posts on a daily basis.
Who’s doing it well? Humor attracts consumers when done correctly, and Oreo knows how to do comedy right. Their lighthearted tweets, often used in conjunction with images or videos, add to a fun brand personality that aligns well with their product.
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Want to learn more about what it takes to become a social media master? We can help. Take a peek at our social media marketing services.
Do you have any tips for marketing to millennials? We’re ready to hear them. Tweet us at @Perfect_Search.