Channel preferences among teens, young adults
Email Insider just done with several demographic groups age 34 and under regarding their channel preferences for receiving and/or being influenced by promotional messages.
The four groups were:
- Teens: 15-17 years old, still in high school
- College students: 18-24 year olds still in school
- Wired: young males, post-college between the ages of 18 and 34 years old, without kids. They are employed full-time or self-employed, have a good income — an annual household income of at least $35K
- Young homemakers: females, between the ages of 18 and 34 years old, who consider “homemaker” to be their primary occupation
Though the study found younger people prefer the use of social channels such as SMS or social networks, not surprisingly, those don't bode well for promotional messages. It's well-established that advertising on social networks like Facebook results in low CTRs. "No business has figured out how to advertise successfully inside a social-network," says WSJ blogger Ben Wortham.
Promotional messages are best delivered via promotional channels, even among the young, the study concluded. That's one reason why email is still an important medium. I know it's old hat and that we are all enamored with the latest and greatest technology. But, email has a long track record for delivering on its promise to persuade consumers to make purchases or take actions.
For example, 50% of college students say they have made a purchase influenced through email. 53% of young homemakers have purchased as a result of an email marketing message they received the study said.
Constant Contact suggests that the is "mostly sunny." Of course, you'd expect them to say that considering email is their bread-and-butter. However, they cite none other than uber-marketer .
"Don't believe the naysayers and media pundits who proclaim email is either dead or on the ropes. The medium that roared to life as a viable commercial channel in the 1990s has plenty of life left in it, as long as email marketers themselves don't kill it through misuse or abuse," states Larry.
He cites y who says, "Email is actually highly integrated into social networking as a marketing channel."
Though, in those cases, email's role is more transactional than promotional, it's an important function nonetheless. I can't imagine using a social network that doesn't include email messaging capabilities.
Bottom line -- Like it or not, email is not going away anytime soon. It's still king of the direct marketing hill and serves a vital function within social networks, not to mention as a primary tool for business communications. As to teens and younger adults, they'll get used to it. They will have to as they enter the workforce.
