Marketing Across Generational Differences- Social Media Strategies

I fell into marketing by way of my love for sociology- societal behaviors, structures, trends, and motivators, to say the least- as both subjects are directly related. The most impressionable area of study to me, which also marries sociology and marketing, is generational differences within society. Whether it’s in the workplace (my area of study), consumer trends and advertising, or technology and the realm of social media, these generational differences play a large part in determining motivational factors.

General Breakdown of Generations: 

Traditionalists/ Veterans (1922- 1946)

Baby Boomers (1946-1964)

Generation X (1965-1981)

Generation Y/ Millenials (1982-2000)

There’s even a generation Z, if you ask certain researchers! No worries if you fall on the cusp of two generations. I do. Cut-off points for the generational divides vary, but not by much. I also believe that these can be broken down into sub-generations, in ten-year spans- but that’s for another blog!

As a marketing student and business owner, I realize the importance of understanding what drives consumer motivation, and how it’s imperative to success. So, my love and interest (and insane need to know why?!?) drove me to further study the subject of generational differences in my spare time as well, and I stumbled upon this "fantabulous" blog site called What the Gen?!,  brought to us courtesy of The Center for Generational Kinetics.

Center for Generational Kinetics - What We Do 

 

Here’s a blog site that devotes its research toward gathering insight on generational gaps, specifically Generation Y, and explores the attitudes, learning styles, and motivations of the generation, from a marketing and sales perspective. There are so many interesting posts and reads on this site in regards to social media marketing and target marketing across the generational divides; it’s like my own personal, pastime paradise…

A most interesting read was a post regarding social media, called Social-Media Marketing and the Like , which touches upon the questions of “Who is Paying Attention to Facebook and Twitter Ads?”, and raises questions as to the accuracy of the information pertaining to actual traffic to sites like Facebook. Having a Facebook page with tons of likes, or pushing advertising via Twitter is not the way to forge success in the social media realm; especially when it comes to the Gen Y audience, but definitely on a broader spectrum as well. So… a few tips:

• Have a social media marketing strategy that outlines and defines your target…
• Identify your influencers…
• Relate to the consumer (engage them, they’ll like it!)...
• And don’t forget to identify ways to measure your social media success! Where are your customers coming from, did they visit your website from a link on another application, like Facebook? Analytics- need I say more?

This information is just a small bit regarding social media advertising across generational gaps. I urge you to check out What the Gen?!?, as well as the links listed below- you may get hooked too!

Happy Marketing!

http://www.genhq.com/whatthegen

 http://www.genhq.com/whatthegen

http://www.genhq.com/social-media-marketing-and