Both, Millennials and Generation Z are big on technology, but Millennials still find it easier to disconnect because they have grown up in a world that isn’t just about technology and always-on media.
Social media provides Millennials and Generation Z with a way to consume all kinds of content; to find out what’s happening in the world (most news consumption amongst these generations is done on social) and also a way to connect with friends, family – and people they don’t know, but who they feel connected to through common interests.
Unlike the generation before them, these two generations are not only about consuming content but also focus on creating and sharing content. Most of them want to be seen, to be famous and to feel validated by likes and followers.
For a marketeer, there is more user generated content than ever. If you are able to tap into this and can encourage people to create content around your brand, you’re the winner. In order to enable this, brands need to win over the Millennials and Generation Z’s. One way of doing this is by being meaningful to them. Being socially responsible means a lot to these two generations and brands need to take part in conversations and topics that are important to them. It is all about connecting your brand to communities that are trending and to the influencers that they look up to.
Millennials and Generation Z’s content consumption is always on and they prefer video, images and info graphics. The shorter, more image-focused, and, most importantly, meaningful the video content is, the better chance you’ll have in forming meaningful connections with both generations. As we are all aware, more video content is being watched daily than ever before and it is clear that traditional TV has been overtaken by different VOD platforms amongst Millennials and Generation Z. With this in mind, as content creators, we need to be able to adapt to new technologies as quickly as our audience and find innovative ways to tell our story through each new device. Continuing the story via all of the different platforms is the key to this. However, this raises complexities; you need to take into account the different platforms, devices, the small communities within social media and the fact that Millennials are also the most diverse adult generation ever. This creates huge demand when it comes to content creation. The amount of content creators and marketeers have to produce to reach as many Millennials and Generation Z’s as possible, is insane. You need to be sure both your videos and your site are optimized for different social media platforms and video formats, for laptop and mobile screens, for different user personas etc.
Another catch is ensuring that Insight TV remains relevant to both Millennials and advertisers, while keeping in mind that quality requirements for Millennials and Generation Z’s are much higher than before. They will not gladly watch anything longform (that can mean anything over three minutes long) that is not at least HD. And HD will not be enough for long. We expect UHD to soon become the norm, as technology starts to more widely support mobile and laptop UHD usage through faster bandwidth and technological development. The UHD content that we produce at Insight TV will be relevant for these generations as technology advances, making it a solid future investment for our advertising affiliates. However, while quality matters, content is still king.
Crucial for advertisers and brands to take into account is how millennials and Generation Z make their purchased decisions. They are heavily guided by influencer and peer-to-peer recommendations. They are also far more likely to use ad blockers than generations before. This enables companies like Insight TV, to offer brands the best possible advertising environment within the content we create. We are able to tell authentic stories through global influencers that these generations can relate to. While focusing on creating these stories around trending topics that are relevant to Millennials, we also aim to be where they are. Given they are on so many platforms, in order for us to be relevant to these generations, we specialize in building these authentic stories through different platforms, including influencer’s / show talent’s own channels, affiliate channels and advertiser’s channels, events & sponsorships, experiential activations as well as Insight TV’s own social media channels, VOD platforms and linear channels.
A true, lasting connection between the content creator, the advertising brand and the Millennials and Generation Z’s is made by monitoring and listening to the cues we are given. That is why we place so much importance on understanding our target audience. We want to have an active conversation with them and take part in conversations about topics that matter to them. Emphasizing engagement that is authentic to each platform, as well as meaningful to each audience group, is something we strive to do in order to produce impactful content and a long lasting connection.
