Mostly they hang out on social media platforms. Youtube, Instagram and Snapchat took the first three spots among the most popular networks for teens. In fact, teens are getting away from their parents’ social platforms. You'd better be comfortable constantly creating lots of content to stay top of mind. With that much time spent online, teens want to be entertained, educated and engaged. Because teens are constantly online and looking to be continuously engaged, you have to adapt a variety of media on your content mix. It's not surprising that the video-sharing platform YouTube was named the most used by teens, followed by the image-first network Instagram and then by Snapchat, a platform that has introduced the concept of ephemeral content. "Back then, teens' social media use mostly revolved around Facebook. Today, their habits revolve less around a single platform." And by looking at the sheer amount of information teens consume every single day, you have to find ways to stand out above the noise.
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A recent Pew Research study discovered that almost half of America’s teens are online “almost constantly.” In that study, 45 percent of respondents confessed that obsession — a figure that has almost doubled since the same study was conducted three years ago.
What do they do online so much, you ask? Mostly they hang out on social media platforms. Youtube, Instagram and Snapchat took the first three spots among the most popular networks for teens. The largest social network, Facebook, landed in the fourth spot.
So, given this information, as these teens approach adulthood, how do you market to the growing Gen-Z cohort? Here are some ideas.
Be where they are.
Even though Snapchat has noticeably lost its appeal to the masses, teens named it the second-most-used platform. Also, notice that Facebook, the first network that comes to mind when we adults talk about social media, took fourth place, which is pretty disappointing for that megasite.
In fact, teens are getting away from their parents’ social platforms. Not only do they like to have their “cool” platforms where they connect with peers, they are also much more open to experimentation. When they adopt a new platform, they do not stress over saving their content, backing up their images and so forth. They jump right into it.
So, if you are marketing to teens or want your company to stay “cool” with Gen-Z, you have to be as adventurous and experimental as they are. Is some obscure network suddenly getting traction with teens? You’d better be there. Not sure how to market your business on a platform where you overlay your clips with music? You’d better figure it out, and fast.
Skeptical about how ephemeral content can help you make a lasting impression? You’d better be comfortable constantly creating lots of content to stay top of mind. That latter tip brings me to my next point.
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