Times are changing, and so are the traditional forms of advertising. In 2017, 81 percent of the US population owned a social network profile. Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat estimate that approximately 40 percent of the overall audience consists of millennial users. Tableau research studies show that the number of millennials on social will likely increase 5 percent by the end of 2018.
With a variety of unique experiences on social, each requiring a different approach, advertisers are challenged with serving a meaningful message to the right person at the right time.
Here are three tips for keeping up with the Millennial Movement:
1. Video Generates Engagement
Knowing where to find millennials is only half the battle – catching and keeping their attention is a different story. Facebook IQ data shares that millennials are 1.35-times more likely than baby boomers to say video is the best medium for discovering new products. While Twitter & Ogilvy share video consumption research, results prove that social feeds are the number one way video is discovered.
You may be thinking by now that it’s simple – serve video ads to millennials using social channels, and watch the results flow in! Right? Not quite, not all social placements are right for the millennial audience.
2. Create a Mobile First Video Strategy
Putting marketing dollars behind mobile-only placements will ensure efforts are maximized towards units where the audience is most likely to engage. Of Facebook’s 215M monthly users, 93 percent access the platform through a mobile device. Therefore, you want to produce mobile, “snackable” video units. Units on FB under 15 seconds have an average completion rate of 75 percent.
So, is the solution to simply serve short videos to millennials on their mobile devices, through social channels? Unfortunately, it’s not that easy because unlike traditional TV video spots, there is no singular video ad experience on mobile social.
3. High Impact or No Impact
Social platforms offer many ways to serve video, between video sizes and creative placements, users can engage with video in a variety of ways, depending on the behaviors and interests of individual users. Vertical story placements across social platforms see high view rates, as the user has no other distractions on the screen, and video carousel placements allow advertisers to tell a story using multiple video units and opportunities for engagement. High-impact units like a canvas allow the user to choose what aspects of the ad they want to engage in.
In short, 2018 is a crucial year for advertisers to shift their focus to the channels and units that have proven to engage millennials. To make an impact on the millennial audience, develop a mobile-first strategy utilizing high-impact placements that engage users. Creating highly interactive units that are easily accessible on a user’s mobile device is not only recommended for all social platforms, but it is also crucial to the success of 2018 social media campaigns.
No longer can we rely on what has worked in the past; advertisers must leave their comfort zone to create experiences that speak to millennials in a meaningful and impactful way.