Who Millennials Are Paying Attention To
For the last decade, the message to marketers has been: build a strong social media presence for your brand, and do so ASAP.
Now, I think it’s safe to say the message has been heard. 91% of retail brands use two or more social media channels.
The problem is standing out. How do you make sure your brand’s presence is having an impact, over the noise of the competition?
Why are the younger generations engaging with some brands on social media, and not others?
Let’s start with a success story.
In the beauty world, the global brand MAC dominates every social media channel — except one.
On Instagram, their Earned Media Value (a metric for measuring social media impact) was half that of a small, 18-year-old company out of L.A. — Anastasia Beverly Hills.
ABH had far more engagement from its followers than its giant competitor. And it paid off. In 2012, the brand was ranked 22nd in the world in total makeup sales by NPD group. In 2015, after years of following an aggressive social media strategy, it was 10th.
ABH was able to stand out in a crowded social media sphere — but how?
Because their audience wanted to be associated with their brand.
Recently, a trend has emerged among young Instagram users — teenagers will only have two accounts: their main and their ‘Finstagram.’
Their Finstagram (short for Fake Instagram) is where they show a small audience their real selves, posting funny pictures of themselves and following whoever they like. As a consequence, Finstagrams are almost always private.
On their ‘real’ account, they show a more curated look to the world. They thus divide the highly public world of social media into a public and a private side.
On the private side, they may follow Kim Kardashian (and religiously like her posts)- but their public profile will only engage with more ‘socially acceptable’ accounts.
But what makes the cut?
The Finstagram is characteristic of a larger trend — younger generations are far more careful about who they choose to align their public image with.
A study conducted by Georgia Southern University focused exclusively on what they deemed ‘status consumption’ in millennials.
In short: millenials want to align themselves with brands that confer them status. These are the brands they’ll engage with in public, for all to see. These are the brands they’ll promote.
What this all means is that it’s not enough just to be on social media — your brand needs to have an impactful and consistent presence, and a persona that makes your audience want to be associated with you.
So how did David beat Goliath?
The ABH success story is based on carefully crafting a brand image that was authentic and desirable — something people wanted to be associated with.
To do so, ABH relied entirely on influencers on Instagram to spread their brand values far and wide.
Since influencer marketing was more subtle and personable — less “in your face” than traditional marketing, and more like a conversation among peers — it was easier for millenials to relate to and align themselves with the brand.
Then, they reaped the rewards.
Ready for it? 🤓
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