Millennials comprise a key marketing segment, but also present a conundrum as well. Marketers want to know more about this burgeoning segment, yet can’t easily find the answers.
Well, according to comScore’s Marketing to Millennials report, it’s clear that consumers born between 1980 and 2000 have an insatiable appetite for multimedia content. This demographic has almost entirely adopted social media, with 91% of those surveyed reporting they have a Facebook account. Nearly half (46%) are Instagram members and 39% are on Twitter.
What’s more, Millennials are also some of the biggest users of mobile devices. More than 80% own smartphones and they use their devices as the primary means to access the internet. Two-thirds of Millennials use their desktops and mobile devices to browse the Internet and read digital content.
More importantly, nearly a fifth say they solely use mobile devices to go online.
When it comes to video views, the 18-to-34 age bracket is also the predominant content consumer. The report cites comScore’s Video Metrix data from November, a month when the average viewer watched an estimated 355 videos. While the number seems steep at first glance, it could refer to every instance in which a person hit the play button for a video or watched an ad.
According to the report, marketers must realize they’re dealing with a new generation of consumers that has completely different expectations than consumers in the past. Because they grew up when digital content was the norm, rather than the exception, they look for brands to curate content creatively and deliver continuous experiences across channels.
The report provides companies with important context for understanding the media consumption habits of this very valuable demographic, defined in this report as 18-34 year-olds. In addition to Millennials accounting for a disproportionate share of total screen time in the U.S., their digital behavior also provides some insight into what the broader media landscape will look like in the future.
With their always-on technology habits, Millennials should be easier to reach with brand messaging, the report notes. But marketers must tread lightly because these digital natives are fickle about their interactions and will ignore companies that cross into the zone of blatant promotion. One way to approach this up-and-coming consumer demographic is to think about social media, mobile search and video content, or SoMoVi.