Labels Are Out, Emotions Are In: Tapping Millennial FOMO

Millennials. I learn something new about this group everyday, and you would think I’d be an expert considering I am one of them. Yet, each time I sit through a talk on Millennials, I’m surprised by how little I actually know. Does your brand know how to target this group efficiently? I actively try to answer this question everyday.

I work in the higher education industry, so Millennials, Generation Y, Generation Z, etc. are the prime audience that I try to target. Kelly Meyers from Code and Theory did a wonderful job dissecting the younger Millennials and Generation Z by explaining how they think, behave, and feel. She walked us through innovative campaigns she’s worked on (Burger King & Maybelline), trending platforms teens primarily use (Instagram & Snapchat), how this generation really expresses themselves, and how marketers should integrate these insights into their daily strategies.

Beyond the captivating statistics Kelly provided on Millennials, a few key points from her presentation really stood out to me:

  • Teens are not necessarily addicted to their phones but addicted to being connected with their friends.
  • Teens value shared and unique experiences, are more willing to share those experiences publicly, and need a sense of collective community more than ever before.
  • Teens could not care less about designers and labels because they care more about what their friends are doing and who they are doing it with.
  • Contrary to popular belief, teens don’t use Snapchat to send dirty pics but to simply tell a story though photos.
  • Teens and young millennials use their phones as an extension of themselves that express who they are.

Kelly stressed that the next generation puts a huge emphasis on community and life-experiences:

The internet is not a place, but rather is woven in and out of their life through mobile. There is no beginning or end to where real life stops and the internet begins.

That was pretty darn poetic! It’s time for us marketers to listen to this new and emotional generation by tailoring our strategies to what they want to see rather than what you want to post. User generated content is so successful because it plays off their experiences and uses their language. Break out of your comfort zone and try something new on your platforms today!

Erica Santiago is an Assistant Director of Communications at NYU Stern by day and a part-time MBA student by night. You can follow her on Twitter @ericasantiagony.

Master Class: Engagement@Scale – Three Steps to Leveraging Brand Advocates


On 20 February 2013, I had the pleasure of attending Master Class: Engagement@Scale – Three Steps to Leveraging Brand Advocates with Dachis Group. Speakers from the Dachis Group included: Michael (MJ) Jones, Vice President of Technology; Liz Schroeter Courtney, Social Strategist and Allison Squires, Social Strategist.

The presentation focused on social marketing as the ideal way for brands to authentically interact and scale engagement with customers. Social media facilitates messaging large groups of people. Additionally, panelists spoke about leveraging brand advocates, a brand’s most trusted and effective audience group, to spread a brand’s presence beyond internal corporate efforts.

The Dachis Group offered a three step approach to working with brand advocates around (I) identification, (II) mobilization and (III) measurement.

How do companies identify advocates?

Advocates:
+ Frequently talk about particular brands
+ Have positive feelings about particular brands
+ Desire to influence others
+ Advocates should be people that others trust

According to Edelman’s trust index, people trust academics, experts, people like me and employees at a company more than CEOs, government institutions and financial analysts.

“Friends are better marketers than marketers.”

92% of people trust earned media, such as word-of-mouth.

What’s more, 67% spend more online after receiving recommendations from online communities.

It’s the power of advocacy.

How do companies mobilize advocates?

+ Foster relationships — Make advocates feel valued
+ Create mutually beneficial relationships – Reward your advocates
+ Must be authentic, not just driven by money

Good examples of brand advocacy include:
+ Red Bull
+ Coffee Mate
+ Starbucks
+ Vitamin Water

How do companies measure results of working with brand advocates?

The aforementioned companies successfully mobilized advocates to increase customer awareness and mindshare in the market.  Things to consider:
+ Increasing the reach of the brand
+ Enthusiasm and sentiment
+ Conversion patterns and business impact
+ Community engagement
+ Frequent activity, frequent brand mentions and frequent purchases

Finally, give advocates space to engage with the company’s audience. Does your company provide forums, community events, product initiatives, etc. Help advocates develop a suite of experiences for audiences to engage and invigorate positive feelings about your brand.

Want to see it for yourself?

Lisa Chau has been involved with Web 2.0 since graduate school at Dartmouth College, where she completed an independent study on blogging. She was subsequently highlighted as a woman blogger in Wellesley Magazine, published by her alma mater. Lisa currently works as an Assistant Director in Alumni Relations at Dartmouth College. She has been published in US News and Forbes. You can follow her on Twitter.

Thursday: Newly Added & Open Events

Day 2 is almost over, but that doesn’t mean SMW NYC is close to ending. With so many events, you could have missed some great ones. We also added a few new ones. So, to highlight open and newly added events, we recommend you checking these out:

New at our Global HQ

9:30: Master Class: Build Insanely Effective Landing Pages With Old School Secrets
4:30: Social Collaboration: Nokia Lumia 820 Design Challenge: The winner is…
5:00: Performance: Max ZT, Hammer Dulcimer


At our Content Hubs & Across the City

9:30 at JWT: FORTUNE Interview w/ Bonin Bough, Followed by panel: The Secret Sauce of Native Advertising? Authenticity
9:30 at 92Y: Half The Sky Movement: Using Transmedia to Inspire Real Impact
9:30 at Hearst: The Shift from Presentation to Participation, A Discussion With HuffPost Live’s President Roy Sekoff
12 at 92Y: Healthy Living: How Behavior and Patients Can Fix Healthcare, with Jay Parkinson, Greatist, StartupHealth.
12 at JWT: Technology, Advertising & Startup Council (TASC)
2:30 at 92Y: Cowbird and the Storytelling Life: A Visual Story Workshop
2:30 at Bloomberg: Purpose: Driving the New Economy
6 at JWT: Deep Focus Presents: An Evening of Disruption
6 at 92Y: Connections: How the Internet of Things is Transforming Our Social World
8 at JWT: Controller Rocks the Stage: A Night of Music at JWT
7 at Projective Space: “The Magical Sharing Experiment”: Launch of yerdle in NYC presented by Let’s Collaborate!

Don’t wait any longer- we’re running out of time! Register now, and join us tomorrow!