Best Ways to Market to Different Generations

Every successful business owner knows that marketing is the key to expanding a business and gaining new customers, but not all types of marketing are equally effective. Multiple marketing techniques exist; each of which are helpful for reaching different age demographics. Knowing which type of approach to use to target various generations is essential for a successful marketing campaign.
Youth
Children are easily targeted through television. Commercial advertising to young people during popular television shows can bring in sizeable revenues. The key is advertising during after school hours and on the weekends when children are most likely to be watching television. Another way of marketing to children is through strategic store displays and product placement. Noise and Bright Colors are always great ideas to catch their attention. Mobile apps are also a great way to reach children and generate familarity with a brand, Rovio’s Angry Birds is a great example of how mobile apps are reaching the youthful market.
Teenagers
When they are not in school, teenagers spend a lot of time on social networks. That means hours perusing Facebook and reading Twitter updates from friends. Every business — regardless of whether it is marketing to a teenage demographic — should have Facebook and Twitter accounts. This is an easy way to keep potential customers updated on special deals, sales and information pertaining to a particular business. Retailers, for example, can post pictures of the season’s new inventories, and Twitter is a viable way to respond directly to followers. One of the important aspects to consider is the right mix of organic marketing on the social networks with advertising models. Facebook is particularly useful remarketing specific ads to those teenagers that have already connected to your brand, product or service.
Young and Middle-Age Adults
Young and middle-age adults are one of the most profitable demographics for business owners. Marketing trends for this generation are directly connected to digital media. Online banner ads and pay per click marketing, for example, are profitable ways of reaching the millions of people who use the Internet to get their news, socialize with friends and conduct business. The introduction of remarking tools have made these even more effective as you can target audiences that already are familiar with the brand, product or service. One of the top things to consider is if remarketing is a part of the banner campaign and what that looks like compared to your standard banner campaigns.
Another increasingly popular way of marketing to young and middle-age adults is by using mobile marketing. Mobile marketing companies help business owners take advantage of the rising number of cell phone users who access the Internet using their Smartphone devices. Mobile marketing companies help serve business owners by teaching them which customers to target and how to gain the most financial return on their marketing investments. While mobile apps are great for youth, mobile SMS campaigns have also become very successful, with success rates in the high 90’s SMS is a must for targeting this generation.
Seniors and Baby Boomers
Senior citizens and baby boomers are less likely to take advantage of digital media. Traditional marketing methods are still the primary way of reaching senior citizens and baby boomers. For example, according to StateOfTheMedia.org, individuals over the age of 55 are significantly more likely to subscribe to newspapers than individuals under age 35. As of 2011, approximately half of Americans over age 55 and six in every ten Americans over age 65 read a newspaper on a daily basis. With this age range being the fastest growing user base on social sites it shouldn’t take long before they become a viable audience for other digital campaigns but for now you might find a higher rate of success with email marketing. While email is prone to low open rates, developing loyalty programs with email marketing can be extremely successful with the generational group.
Alex Nieland provides editorial on the mobile marketing industry. Mr. Nieland has written several publications relating to the latest tips, trends, and statistics within the mobile advertising sector.