Micro-influencers make the Instaworld go ‘round. They are the army of social media users who don’t have millions of followers – or even hundreds of thousands of followers – but they know how to communicate with and get their followers to take action. And that’s what’s important.

In this post, I want to break down for you who micro-influencers are in 2019, the value they bring to brands and marketers, and specifically how you can best leverage the power of micro-influencers in your next campaign.

Remind Me Again… What is a Micro-Influencer?

Okay. Okay. Okay.

Dr. Jonah Berger defines influencers as: Individuals who work in their category or are truly knowledgeable, passionate and authentic and are seen as a trusted source when it comes to recommendations for what to buy.

That’s a pretty comprehensive definition, I think. But just as there are levels of influence there are tiers of influencers. Influencer subcategories (like unfluencer, nano-influencer, micro-influencer, macro-influencer and mega-influencer) are defined primarily by the size of the influencer’s audience.

For several years, marketers agreed (for the most part) that social media users become micro-influencers when they grow their followings to at least 3,000 users. But with the growth of the nano-influencer, the definition of micro-influencer has changed a bit.

Today, nano-influencers are those with followings between 1,000 and 10,000 followers. Micro-influencers now have between 10,000 and 50,000 (to 100,000) followers. But it really does depend on who you ask and when you ask them.

For most brands and marketers, the most important thing to know about micro-influencers is that they typically have tens of thousands of followers as well as good, consistent engagement ratios. That’s the important part.

The Micro-Influencer vs Joe Blow

Before you roll your eyes and say “That’s not enough followers”, I want to make sure brands and marketers are giving proper credence to these numbers.

I saw a stat just today on Work Macro that said the average Instagram user has 150 followers (jaw drop!). According to Brandwatch, the average Facebook user has 338 followers and Twitter users average 707 followers. Jeff Bullas lists the average number of LinkedIn connections as 930 per user.

Now, I think the Instagram one’s skewed a bit because a lot of Facebook users have Instagram accounts that Facebook automatically created for them and many of these accounts have gone unclaimed (though I was surprised to see my octogenarian uncle Charles claimed his IG account and posts regularly – he’s the exception, not the rule.).

So, that number on Instagram may be a little higher for active users. Still, if you look at the average number of followers the typical social media user has across the other three major platforms, you can place a pretty safe bet that the average Instagram user (including Uncle Charles) has less than 1,000 followers.

I said all of that to say this:

Legitimately achieving the status of micro-influencer is an accomplishment that required a substantial investment of time, money and other resources from the influencer.

For all the ra-ra, very few social media users achieve the designation of macro- or mega-influencer. Only 1.6 percent of Instagram users have between 500,000 and 1 million followers. Greater perspective – the total number of Instagram users with more than 50,000 followers account for just 8 percent of the all Instagram users.

So, while our constant chatter about influencer marketing may make it seem like every mom you meet is an Instafamous mommy blogger, it’s just marketing.

The Benefits of Partnering with a Micro-Infuencer

Coming out the gate, a lot of brands and marketers gravitated toward the biggest influencers they could afford for their campaigns. Makes sense – if you want to reach the most people with your message you have to go wide. And targeting went by the wayside.

But marketers quickly figured out that even the most eloquent influencer campaign will fail if it’s targeting all the wrong folks.

So, the goal became finding ways to make influencer campaigns more effective at drumming up ongoing engagement.

There are a few things about micro-influencers that can really shape an influencer marketing campaign so it has more impact.

Micro-Influencers Have More Targeted Audiences

Micro-influencers tend to create content consistently about the same topic, whether that topic happens to be meatless recipes, special effects makeup, or being a #girlmom x4.

In fact, one of the key recommendations for anyone starting an Instagram account with the intention of growing (and possibly monetizing) their audience is to focus on a specific topic or vertical so followers know what to expect from you.

Ugh. What if I want to talk about other stuff?

Well, that’s cool, too. It’s not really about putting you in a box, BUT think about how and why you follow accounts on social media: You typically won’t follow an account with no profile picture, or no posts, or random images of women and seascapes or whatever. You follow accounts that make sense to you.

In social [media] situations, users want to understand the VALUE an account delivers BEFORE they will follow it. So, for micro-influencers (just like for small businesses), specializing in one thing helps you get really good at storytelling in that vertical AND helps people get what you’re about. Bottom line: You need to be relatable.

As influencers become more well-known and attract more followers, we’ve seen it where they’ll start exploring other topics (lifestyle influencers). But in general, people follow other people on Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter and Facebook to get a specific type of content.

For instance, I like @Zurifx because it’s fun to scroll through her pics. But most of the accounts I follow are either about business or about being a mom. That’s my language. Still, this is pretty cool.

There are cross-sections like that within the audience of every single influencer – people who think that one thing an influencer does is pretty cool, even if they are generally interested in something altogether different. I’m not super into special effects makeup, but I’m fascinated by Zurifx is able to create with it.

My thing is more topics that directly relate to moms of school-aged kids like home decor, healthy snacks for kids, working from home, successfully momming… those are the types of accounts that appeal to me. I’m also partial to hustle culture and marketing info. But here’s the thing…

Were a situation to arise in which I need this kind of makeup, Zurifx’s page would be my go-to for sourcing ideas, tips for creating different looks, and product recommendations.

Micro-Influencers Tend to Have Higher Engagement Ratios

Micro-Influencers with smaller follower numbers typically have higher engagement ratios than larger influencers who may have hundreds of thousands of followers. The primary reason for this is just what we talked about before – niche content.

Niche content draws a niche following of people who talk about the same things, are excited by the same things, and who can create dialogs within the community around a single post.

This post from @keto.nation_ generated more than 3500 Likes and 250+ comments about keto-friendly ice creams. But if you look at the type of comments made, you’ll probably get a better understanding of what I mean by followers creating meaningful dialog around a single post.

The larger an influencer’s following get, the more diverse the audience becomes. I’m not even talking about influencers who buy followers and how weird those audiences turn out to be. But for someone who has put in the work or someone who’s taking their existing following to Instagram or one of the other social media platforms, the larger that audience is, the more diverse and less targeted the audience will be.

Micro-Influencers Cost Less

One of the most obvious advantages to partnering with micro-influencers instead of larger influencers is the cost. A micro-influencer will typically charge less for the same type of content than macro and mega influencers.

Note: I made that distinction because different content types demand different rates – YouTube is going to be more produced and thus more expensive than Instagram Stories, for instance. And video will typically cost more than pictures.

Micro-Influencers Are UGC Machines

One of the most valuable products of any influencer campaign is user-generated content. We find that MOST of our clients include UGC as one of their campaign goals. When that’s the case, we will typically recommend using micro-influencers to give brands a wide variety of UGC from lots of different influencers. That variety is important, especially if brands want UGC to reuse across their own branded channels.

Why micro-influencers and not macro-influencers for UGC campaigns? Cost and output. For the amount of money brands would invest partnering with a single macro-influencer who would produce one or two pieces of content for the campaign, they can often use that same amount to bring in two, five, or even ten micro-influencers for the cost of a single macro-influencer.

It’s Easier to Get Content Rights

One of the HUGE things that a lot of brands don’t consider enough is getting the rights to their paid content. Now, Emily recently wrote a post on UGC rights and how important it is (and tough it can be) to get the rights needed to reuse your sponsored content on your own social media channels.

You may be surprised by the requirements and restrictions some macro-influencers will tell you about reusing content you’ve paid them to create. With micro-influencers, you are far more likely to be able to negotiate the right to use sponsored content across your own branded channels as well as in your PPC campaigns WITHOUT having to keep shelling out royalties to the influencer.

How to Vet Micro-Influencers

Finding the right influencer for your campaign is really about identifying the influencers who are most likely to deliver positive campaign results.

So, yeah… it includes stuff like making sure your influencer has good engagement and talks about the right stuff. But it also includes stuff like making sure the influencer you choose isn’t buying likes or blog traffic.

Of course, we’ve talked about this topic in a couple of different posts. Our Co-founder, Lauren deals with stuff like fraud detection, fake blog traffic, and fake engagement in the post she wrote How to Vet Potential Blogger and Influencer Partners.

So, let’s reserve this section for pointing out some of the qualities and assets your micro-influencer SHOULD have.

Influencer Is Posting Regularly

Like anyone, influencers get busy. Sometimes they take time off or will, for whatever reason, take a break from posting consistently. It’s not unusual to come across an influencer you like and discover she’s only been posting twice a month for the last few months. Happens.

But you want to make sure to partner with an influencer who is active on the platform where your campaign will be running. Remember… algorithms show posts from a platform’s users based on continued engagement. When people stop engaging with an account, it reduces the chances an influencer’s new posts will show up in everybody’s feed.

Engagement Ratio Tops 2 Percent

Look for influencers who maintain an average engagement ratio of at least two percent. For larger influencers, 1.5 percent is pretty standard.

I’ll be the first to admit, Instagram engagement isn’t what it used to be two or three years ago. As more and more users flock to the platform and Facebook pushes more to require brands to run paid ads to get the reach they need, it becomes less and less likely that droves of people will see branded posts.

But engagement is an important metric of actual influence because it gauges the responsiveness of both the influencer and his/her audience.

Brand Affinity Aligns with Your Target Demo

An influencer’s conversation on Instagram, Facebook, and other social platforms will tell you a lot about not just what the influencer likes, but also about the type of audience that your campaign will end up in front of.

So, you have to take into consideration not just which vertical an influencer occupies, but also which brands an influencer likes, which brands the influencer talks about, and which brands the influencer actually buys.

Take, for example, the screenshot below. The influencer on the left is hip and well-dressed, but her style of dress is edgier and will clearly appeal to a different demographic than the influencer on the right, who prefers a more professional style.

Successful Past Collaborations with Other Brands

While this isn’t essential, it can be a great way to gauge their suitability and professionalism. We recommend checking their feeds to see what posts they have marked with #ad or #sponsored and then review the content they created for these other brands. Is it the type of content you’d want representing your brand?

Positive Audience Sentiment

Earlier in this post I noted that people follow other people on social media for a specific type of content. One of my favorite micro-influencers on Instagram is @getupwithnards. I even had a picture of her on my pantry (where I keep all the carbs and foodstuffs) when I was trying to cut back my sugar and drop a little weight. Love her pictures and her advice.

I also follow

Best Campaigns for Micro-Influencers

I like this little graphic here because it highlights some of the most common goals for influencer campaigns. It also lets you know that influencer marketing isn’t just a one-trick pony designed ONLY to help you hype your brand.

Targeted Awareness Campaigns

I will say that in general, if you need to cover lots of ground (like get your product in front of a few million people), going with a few macro-influencers would probably be more effective than choosing to work with a dozen micro-influencers.

But if your goal is to hyper-target multiple different demographics with personalized messages, going with micro-influencers who have follower counts in the tens of thousands.

For instance, let’s say you’re launching a budgeting app and you’re trying to increase downloads.

To get in front of older social media users, you may partner with two or three mature micro-influencers over the age of 40 to grab the attention of Gen Xers and at least one blogger over the age of 50 to reach Boomers.

You could partner with an influencer like Lola Celotti (@lolacelotti) whose feed communicates warmth, confidence, and a bit of a carefree vibe. She seems familiar, like someone most people would probably feel like they know.

And then there are over-50 style influencers like Caroline Labouchere (on Instagram @carolinelabouchere), an over-50 model, runner, and speaker whose accounts are designed to inspire.

Both types of influencer would effectively target older social media users. And the brand message for our hypothetical budgeting app may be something like, “Everything you want to know about your finances in one click”.

Well, that same app would be useful for young adults just starting out and those in their early 20s. So, for that same campaign to appeal to younger app users, a brand could partner with a phD student who is also an influencer and a speaker, or maybe a young scientist who is also a style influencer. Someone who is young, relatable, aspirational and BUSY would be the perfect person to position the app as a way to “Connect. Automate. And live your life.”

I came across Sarah Habibi on Instagram while I was seeing what the #phDstudent hashtag had to offer. She’s on Instagram as @science.bae… which is enough to make me click all by itself.

But she’s also funny, verbose (she writes loooonnnng captions), stylish, and embarks on some pretty cool adventures. Plus, she’s a speaker. It’s just all wins here.

So, there’s one campaign, sure. But in this case, using micro-influencers for this particular brand awareness campaign allows for targeting very different groups within your core demographic of financial app users.

Micro-influencers really help when it comes to zeroing in on a specific audience and crafting messages that resonate with that group of people.

Seasonal Campaigns

Micro-influencers are good at spreading the word about sales. So, using them to promote different products available during seasonal campaigns can be a powerful sales driver. Choose micro-influencers on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter so your promotion shows up in audience feeds. Don’t forget to boost the most successful posts.

UGC Campaigns

Micro-influencers are great for getting tons of quality user-generated content when your goal is to build a library of social media content, marketing collateral and creative to use in paid ads.

Of course, you’ll get a lot more content AND DIFFERENT TYPES OF CONTENT by working with a virtual army of micro-influencers (as opposed to spending the same amount of money on two or three macro-influencers) to create content for YOUR brand that integrates the nuances of THEIR brand.

Let’s Wrap This Up

Can you believe it’s been seven years since influencer marketing became a thing? Of course, influencer marketing has a rich history and it existed years and years before we made a habit of posting pictures of ourselves taking pictures of… well, ourselves. But this current incarnation of influencer marketing – the social media-based one – is still relatively new, despite it feeling like we’ve been doing it forever.

Planning effective campaigns all boils down to goals-driven strategies. Working with micro-influencers is super-effective way to deploy strategies that will help you accomplish your marketing goals.

Six Traits that Make Marketing to Gen Xers Both a Joy and a Challenge

Born between 1965 and 1980, Generation X is thought to some of as the “middle child generation”. They are often overlooked for the cooler, trendier Millennial market. And believe it or not, Gen Xers won’t overtake Boomers by number for another ten years, according to Pew Research. But Gen Xers wield a significant amount of influence in the market, with spending power that tops $2.4 trillion.

In this post, let’s take a look at what makes the 66 million adults known as Generation X spend their hard-earned money, and how brands and businesses can capture the attention of the Digital Age’s first adopters by tailoring their marketing specifically for this booming audience.

Trait #1: Gen Xers Are a Nostalgic Bunch (Sorta)

It’s no secret people love reliving the good old times. Studies have found that that we spend more money when we’re feeling nostalgic. While nostalgia is nothing new (haha – pun), Gen Xers are the first generation to be able to indulge in their nostalgia by accessing retired sitcoms and music videos from the 80s and 90s on demand.

(Like when Ozzy got his own show… and it was both startling and hilarious? On the one hand, Ozzy was BACK! On the other hand, Ozzy was OLDER and didn’t know how to operate his own remote-controlled house.)

And it’s not just the music. Sony released an updated PlayStation Classic. Reboots of popular franchises like Star Wars, Transformers, and Full House grace our screens – big and small. Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Iron Man are back. Nostalgia is a growing market, and people are buying into it in spades.

One great example of this was the marketing campaign from Domino’s to advertise the new Domino’s Tracker app. Modeling its commercial on the classic 80’s movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and casting one of the original cast members alongside Stranger Things star Joe Keery, the company effectively covered all of their bases by appealing to people across generations.

Gen Xers were the last generation to grow up on Saturday morning cartoons, and the amazing storytelling that came with them. To this day, Gen Xers can be swayed with a great story… and even more if the great story you’re telling is a throwback. Ideally, you never want to alienate anyone from your marketing, even when targeting it at a specific group. Nostalgia is one thing that everyone can enjoy – if it’s executed well.

Trait #2: Gen Xers are BIG on Family

Gen Xers are still knee-deep in family matters. The majority of Gen Xers are married and have an average of 2.5 children per household . Many older Gen Xers have also assumed the role of primary caretaker for their own parents. But here’s the thing that sort of rattled the personal finance world a few months ago: According to a recent study released by Merrill Lynch, there is actually what is referred to as an “economy of support”. Millennials and adult Gen Zers are relying on their Gen X and Boomer parents to help them meet financial obligations, to the tune of $500 million a year. The money Gen Xers and Boomers would otherwise earmark for personal purchases and retirement is being reallocated to financially support adult children.

Gen Xers make up around 20 percent of the population, and control 14% of the nation’s wealth. But, 75 percent of them also help their parents financially, and 52 percent support their adult Millennial children struggling to make it on their own. Add to that the 54 percent of Gen Xers still controlling the spending of younger Gen Z children who are now teens and in their early 20s, entering high school, college and the workforce and you can see why Gen Xers have to be smart about their spending.

Many Gen Xers live in multi-generational households, really keeping their families as close as possible. This is why a lot of that family support spending happens. Family is incomparably important to this generation (we’re not going to mention the helicopter parenting thing), so keeping a focus on that is essential if you want to appeal to Gen X.

This doesn’t mean that you have to fill every commercial with the beaming faces of a happy family. What it does mean is that appealing to this generation as parents, adults (who are STILL rebels, by the way), and individuals.

Trait #3: Gen Xers Pretty Much HAVE to Be Smart Shoppers

Let’s talk about that $2.4 trillion in spending power. Despite being the hardest hit by the Great Recession, most Gen Xers count the cost of home ownership among their many financial responsibilities… in addition to college tuition, business costs (they’re the entrepreneurial generation who invented hustling), and saving for retirement.

This may explain why Gen Xers are so likely to zero in on good deals and thrifty spending… despite their ample incomes. You’re likely to find Gen X coupon clippers, so if you want to channel their spending power into your brand, you’ll need to offer them a great deal because these guys do their due diligence. They love comparing companies, products, and prices online to ensure they get the BEST possible deal.

That said, it’s pretty safe to assume that Generation X will respond positively to the use of compelling UGC in your digital marketing campaigns. They put a lot of stock into researching brands to figure out which companies are worth patronizing. Positive (and negative) customer reviews matter, so make sure you’re set up to receive recommendations and reviews. . Learn how to effectively use user-generated content, and you’ll be appealing to what these savvy shoppers find important.

Right now, the average Gen Xer is on the verge of big life changes, and these kind of changes always come with a price tag. Whether that’s focusing on personal investment, organizing retirement funds, or sending kids off to college. Money stays on the mind of Gen Xers.

Brands like Amazon (headed by borderline Gen Xer Jeff Bezos) have the market cornered when it comes to online shopping. Their unique mixture of great deals and customer reviews makes this a popular spot for Gen Xers to spend their time and money. It’s easy for them to research the products, they can save money compared to buying elsewhere, and with the option of free delivery, they can be confident with every purchase that they have either gotten the best deal or they’ve gotten the best value. Both are wins.

Trait #4: Gen Xers Prefer Analog… and Digital

Analog was a bit of a reach, I know.  But it’s totally true for Gen Xers. This generation didn’t grow up with the internet. There was no wi-fi, no smartphone, and no social media. But, they’ve adapted better to this new technology than the Baby Boomers who came before them.

All the technologies that we take for granted as part of our everyday lives came to fruition as most Gen Xers were already adulting. They had to either adapt or be left behind… typical choices for Gen Xers.

Despite this, they’ve have developed an intense affinity for tech and gadgets, while still nurturing a sort of inborn appetite for traditional live TV, old school radio, and even lo-fi vinyl records.

Gen Xers aren’t afraid of technology, but they still have old school boundaries in place from when they were growing up. They come from a time when there was only one telephone in the house that everyone used, and today 85 percent of Gen Xers use smartphones. They really are great at straddling both the traditional and digital worlds. This is the type of fluid duality marketers complain about when it comes to reaching Gen Xers, but the truth is being able to reach your target audience across multiple platforms isn’t a disadvantage.

Gen Xers are masters of cross-channel living. They will happily research the best product and price online before heading into the store to purchase. They all have social media accounts that they check throughout the day, but will also still put pen to paper and actually mail a handwritten letter. They survived Oregon Trail (or rather, they died of dysentery, but kept trying time and time again to make it), and played Monopoly, Clue, and Catan on the weekends… that was before they switched to The Sims, Candy Crush, and 2048.

Brands only have to make it easy for Gen Xers to find them and that means doing some savvy omni-channel marketing and beefing up your voice search and AI chops. In the next few years, 50 percent of online searches will be conducted by voice, rather than by typing. No surprise there. In January 2018, 39 percent of US adults said they were very likely or somewhat likely to buy voice-activated smart speakers in 2018, and 61.1 million Americans (nearly 20 percent of the population) expected to use a smart speaker in 2018.

This shows a considerable shift in the way that we use everyday tech… and where brands should be aiming their marketing. Even when working in the digital space, keeping it personalized and human, while combining it with the newest tech or digital practices inspires Gen X to take action.

Trait #5: Gen Xers Prefer Live TV… When They’re Not Streaming

Once branded the “MTV Generation”, it’s no surprise that Gen Xers are big live TV watchers. In fact, according to data from Nielsen, this generation watches more traditional live TV than Millennials . This does not, however, mean they’re not also indulging in streaming services like Netflix, although older Gen Xers still prefer traditional pay TV services over streaming.

So, when building your marketing campaign for this generation, traditional TV ad spots can work to your advantage. This generation grew up on massive amounts of TV, and are more than used to sitting through countless commercials, and seeing them become more and more inventive and interesting. They pay attention to what you’re saying in a commercial, but only if you stand out some. Make your ad original and appealing, and this generation will sit up and listen.

Alongside traditional TV, YouTube offers an amazing opportunity for brands to interact with Gen Xers. Of all the the most popular platforms (most of which are social networks), YouTube is one of the most effective ways for brands to reach Gen Xers, moreso than any other demographic. This is because Gen Xers rely on YouTube to improve their personal and professional performance and to find better ways to connect with their children and those around them.

Seventy-three percent of Gen Xers go to YouTube for DIY tutorials, according to Think with Google. They learn new skills by following DIY tutorials, which in turn could save them money.

Seventy-five percent of Gen Xers watch YouTube videos that relate to past events or people. They can rewatch old favorites that have been uploaded onto the platform for new generations to enjoy.

Sixty-eight percent of Gen Xers use YouTube to stay on top of current events, get the news, and keep up with what their kids are watching.

“I sat through what turned out to be a pretty fun night of YouTubing Carpool Karaoke with my nieces and nephews, which introduced me to both Cardi B and Migos. Weirdly enough, a few days later, my teenager met Quavo from Migos at the Pacers game, and you know what – I didn’t have to ask, ‘What the hell is a Quavo?’ Cool Mom moment.” -Sorilbran, The Shelf team member and Gen Xer.

Most Gen Xers aren’t fans of digital advertisements in the way that their Millennial, Gen Z, and Alpha counterparts are, but YouTube manages to get around this by toeing the line between traditional TV commercials and customer reviews.

Trait #6: Gen Xers Have a Tech-Driven Split Personality

While Generation X is no larger than any of the other defined generations we work with, the difference between the oldest and youngest of the group is much more defined.

Between the 1970s and the 1990s, the evolution of digital technology happened was much faster than in previous years, resulting in very different landscapes from the 70s to the 90s. It’s because of this split that we even have a microgeneration within Gen X – the Xennials; a mixture between Gen X and Millennials.

Xennials were finishing high school in the 1990s. Many are now looking after young kids, and being extra wary of their money after the Great Recession back in 2008 when they were first building up their careers and savings.

Compare this to the older Gen Xers who enjoyed an almost Boomer-esque economic period of stability and were able to climb onto the property ladder in the midst of an upswing – lucky them. Now they’re getting ready for retirement, with their own kids heading off into the world on their own.

Understanding these differences is key to understanding this generation. Younger Gen Xers and older Gen Xers can be vastly different from one another. These are the differences that make it a challenge to target Gen Xers.

Their parents may have ignored them after school, helping them to attract the title of “latchkey kids”, but marketers really shouldn’t follow suit. As with middle children in real life, this generation has had to fight for attention, breeding a collective of “I’ll do it myself” entrepreneurs, go-getters, and people who have no trouble bucking tradition and dismissing both the prevailing wisdom and authority. Gen Xers have launched over half of all U.S. startups, eschewing Boomers who refuse to leave their jobs, and creating roles for those digitally advanced Millennials to fill.

Let’s Wrap This Up

As youths, they were disinterested in what “the man” was doing to our country, rebelling through the pop punk movement, skateboards, and bags of teen angst. You can see this perfectly mirrored in the hit movie of the era, The Breakfast Club which shows a group of misfit teens learning that they want to be themselves, and that’s what will make them “cool”.

These latchkey kids were left alone for vast amounts of time, with their parents busy working, or simply taking a backseat approach to parenting – which was the way to do things back then. This turned them into the generation of parents who liked to hand out participation trophies, and never say “no” to their toddlers. A total 180 from their own upbringings. But, this built in need to rebel and nurture all at once makes wooing this audience a bit tricky.

While many may forget or overlook Generation X, they aren’t going anywhere. They not only have massive spending power right now, and if if they seem a little elusive at times, smart marketing teams would do well to target them.

Social media marketing is one of THE MOST EFFECTIVE ways to reach buyers during the holiday shopping season. So, we hand-crafted this infographic to lay out for you, move-by-move, a ho-ho-holiday social media marketing strategy that will get eyes on your product and clicks to your page.

An 11-Step Plan to Incorporate Social Media Marketing into Your Holiday Strategy

OKAY, GUYS… WE’RE DOWN TO THE WIRE HERE!

Christmas is officially 11 days away, and if you’re still trying to pull in those last minute sales, we’ve got a strategy you can use to get ‘er done.

It’s 100 percent true that consumers are starting their holiday shopping earlier each year. I actually picked up a holiday gift over the summer that’s been stored in my closet. Since then, we’ve been storing gifts all over the house… but there are STILL 12 people on my shopping list.

I’m not alone. By mid-December, more than half of consumers have already completed their shopping. Then… there are the rest of us, still eyeballing retargeted ads that pop up on Facebook and news sites all over the web. Still saving Pins and Instagram posts that will go with us into the stores over the next week or so.

Cool Takeaways from This Year’s Holiday Strategy

Holiday marketing isn’t just for the holiday. According to marketers, the #1 BENEFIT of social marketing in 2017 was increased exposure. Thirty-seven percent of shoppers defer to social media before making a purchase, and 81 percent of buyers say social media influenced their purchase, at least to some degree.

Yeah, but what about ad blockers? People don’t like ads!

True… but they make room for the unintrusive way ads and sponsored content shows up on social media platforms like Instagram and Pinterest. It’s worth noting that Instagram is the preferred platform for product discover, whereas Pinterest is the platform pinners use to plan purchases.

In fact, 42 percent of Millennials and 50 percent of GenZers say social media is THE MOST RELEVANT channel for ads. Millennial women surveyed by Bustle say they EXPECT to see brands represented on social media. Gen Zers say sponsored content that is the result of a partnership between a brand and their favorite social media influencers is an acceptable way for brands to approach them.

No kidding.

So, if you’re still grappling with whether or not you should incorporate social media marketing into this last-minute holiday push, the answer is absolutely.

Without further ado, here is the step-by-step guide to holiday social media marketing.

And that wraps up this year’s holiday infographic + last-minute marketing strategy. We hope you found it super useful!

Here’s a little snippet of code for you to use when embedding this merry little piece of content on your own blog (if you feel so inclined)… which we hope you do.

</p><br /><div style=”clear:both”><a href=”https://www.theshelf.com/the-blog/holiday-marketing-infographic”><img src=”https://s3.amazonaws.com/theshelf-email-marketing-images/blog_graphics/holiday-2018-infographic/holiday_infographic_from_the_shelf.png” title=”Step-by-Step Guide to Holiday Marketing” border=”0″ /></a></div><br /><div>Courtesy of: <a style=”text-decoration:underline; color:#11d3c8;” href=”https://www.theshelf.com/the-blog/holiday-marketing-infographic”>The Shelf</a></div><br /><p>

The 8 Things About Millennial Women and Millennial Moms You May Be Missing

By far, the most coveted demographic for those selling consumer goods has to be Millennial women. This magical segment of the global population has been responsible for sweeping changes in how we tell stories, how we use family photos, how we use digital, what a founder looks like and even how we think of motherhood. Magical is the right word, right?

They are primed to be the most financially independent generation of women in history. They are the most educated cohort of women in history. They are the most ethnically diverse generation in American history (67 percent of Millennial Moms are multi-cultural, according to research from Carat; they and their children are part of the two most ethnically diverse generations currently living in the US). And they are a vocal bunch.

On the heels on Gen X women, many of whom rebelled against societal norms, Millennial women are using the shattered pieces left by the generation that brought us Grunge and Gangsta Rap to build a modern woman who is progressive, active and powerful… whether she thinks she has it all or not.

Full disclosure: I just watched gangsta rap pioneer Ice Cube in Fist Fight (#teacherfight) last night, so the concept of Gangsta Rap doing the middle age thing is like, “Whaaaa…?”

As part of our What Makes Them Buy series, we looked at Millennial Men and Baby Boomers already. In this post, we’re going to look at two more distinct segments of the Millennial population – Millennial Women and Millennial Moms – and talk about the traits brands need to know about them to roll out targeted, authentic, effective influencer campaigns.

Trait #1: Millennial Women Are Hustlers

We’re going to go ahead and give Gary Vaynerchuk his due propers for making a hard-core value like work ethic trendy again by calling it hustling. The hustle culture is nothing new. A few years ago, hustling was used almost exclusively to refer to urban dwellers who created multiple streams of income for themselves by finding opportunities and capitalizing on them.

Of course now, conversations around hustle culture are social media fodder. And Millennial women are hustlers.

• Millennial women are driving the $20 billion resale apparel market that’s making sites like Poshmark and ThredUP a household name.

• Millennial women and minorities are launching new businesses at a faster rate than any other segment of the population.

• According to Worldbank.org, young women in the Middle East and some North African countries are outpacing men with regard to launching and heading up organizations. Young women are 60 percent more likely than men to dream up innovative solutions, and it’s 30 percent more likely for their innovations will have international reach compared to men.

• Young women also lead the charge for social change, venturing into social entrepreneurship and even rolling out programs in conflict-affected areas… fearlessly.

• And outside of business, 48 percent of Millennial women surveyed by Bustle say they volunteer, while 63 percent say they plan to volunteer in the future.

Trait #2: Millennial Women Plan Their Purchases

Millennial women plan their purchases. They will spend more than intended if they find a product that better suits their needs. Still, one characteristic that is consistent throughout their holiday prep is planning.

This is a big one, especially this time of year because you really have to get those influencer strategies rolled out well ahead of when your customer will be buying, if your customer is a Millennial woman.

For all the fabulous living being depicted in Instagram feeds, by and large, Millennial women are a frugal bunch, in large part because of the current economic climate. Consider this:

Generally speaking, Millennials have more debt and less wealth than their parents did at the same age. Millennials are, however, making more money than their parents did at their age. One of the main culprits driving the disparity between the net wealth of Millennials and the net wealth of their parents at the same age is student loan debt. Student debt has taken a heavy financial toll on this generation, causing them to delay wealth-building activities like buying their first home.

These are some of the factors which contribute to the tendency for Millennial women to be more mindful about their spending, saving and financial well-being. It also helps fuel their drive to hustle.

Source: From @21Ninety on Instagram

Here’s another thing about the planning: Millennials prioritize differently than did their parents. Unlike previous generations that had cut-and-dry lists of what grown-ups should buy (house, car, then vacations and luxuries… in that order)… Millennials instead plan their purchases to suit their lifestyles. They cut back drastically on non-essential items (which can INCLUDE an actual house or car) so that they can spend freely on items they believe will have the greatest impact on their emotional well-being and social lives.

Whereas Boomers would place a priority on buying a home, a car and getting their financial houses in order, Millennials are far more likely than previous generations to get their financial houses in order by renting instead of buying and participating in the sharing economy instead of buying (or leasing) a car.

Doing this frees them up to, say spend the money from a recent raise at work taking more trips abroad, or boosting their budget for dining out (or ordering in).

Trait #3: Millennial Moms Rely on Social Media to Inspire Planned Purchases

Millennial women use social media to source ideas for gifts, holiday travel, and entertaining for the holidays. Often, final purchasing decisions are made after months of collecting ideas and bookmarking images spotted on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and even blogs.

According to Popsugar 34 percent of moms between the ages of 18 and 34 get gift inspiration for their kids from lifestyle blogs, and 43 percent of Millennial women go to Pinterest to get food and drink inspiration for holiday entertaining.

What may be of interest to marketers is that Millennial women expect brands to use social as a way to introduce products. Eighty-one percent of Millennial women surveyed by Bustle say social media is the best way to reach them, and 57 percent expect to see sponsored content from brands – that’s an important part of product discovery.

As well, Millennial women have preferences when it comes to the type of sponsored content and advertisements they see. Fifty-seven percent of readers chose humor and social good as their preferred themes for branded content. Thirty-six percent preferred cause-related spots, followed by motivational spots (33 percent) and real-life scenarios (30 percent). We’ll talk more about why these are the top categories of ad content in the next section.

Nevertheless, Millennial women rely on visual content to help them gather information and opinions more efficiently and evaluate purchases. You know the old saying “a picture is worth a thousand words”? Yeah, well… That’s because it takes 4 minutes to read 1,000 words and it takes less than 100 milliseconds to process an image.

Trait #4: For Millennial Moms, Adulting and Momming Are Part of Their Identities, Not Just Something They Do

More than a million Millennial women become moms each year. In 2016, there were 17.3 million Millennial moms, according to Pew Research. Today, I would estimate that number to be between 19.5 million and 20 million Millennial moms.

With nearly 90 percent of new mothers being Millennials who are members of the world’s first “Always-On Generation”, you can image motherhood is crucial to their identities. In fact, with so many “social” eyes watching, being a perfect mom is a goal to which many Millennial Moms aspire.

Research from BabyCentre’s well-known 2015 State of Modern Motherhood report said 64 percent of Millennial women feel enormous pressure to be the perfect mom.

In the previous section, I talked about the types of sponsored content Millennial women prefer to see. Millennial women favor inspirational or funny ads, content that shows a person (or better a brand) doing good in the world. But Millennial women also want to see ads with regular women doing regular things and having real-life challenges. Millennial women aren’t looking for perfection, even though some may feel that’s what the world expects of them. Whereas Millennial men respond to ads of regular men doing amazing things, Millennial women are okay with taking a break from amazing just to see someone else finding ways to deal with an over-packed schedule, work pressures, and the perpetual dance to juggle all of life’s social, familial and professional obligations.

Like Gen X and Boomer moms, most Millennial Moms work out of necessity. Only 35 percent of Millennial Moms call themselves homemakers. Interestingly, about the same percentage of Millennial Moms are the primary breadwinners in their households, and a third of those are either unmarried, or not co-habitating with a partner. In a world where two-thirds of Millennial Moms MUST work, 21 percent of Millennial Dads are now stay-at-home dads.

Trait #5: Millennial Women Are More Confident About Money

Unlike mothers of generations before them, Millennial Moms are, by and large, more confident with and more savvy about finances and products that protect their family’s financial well-being. Forbes recently reported that Millennial women are poised to become some of the most financially independent women in history. Not only that, but Millennial women are also some of THE MOST educated women in history.

Millennial women are more likely than men to have finished at least a bachelor’s degree, and 29 percent of Millennial wives between the ages of 25 and 34 earn more than their husbands.

For many Millennial women, money equates to independence, power, success and happiness.The majority of Millennial women (like, 7 in 10) are going into the workforce and marrying later than did women of previous generations.

Source: Mental Floss

They’re focusing on growing their careers and building financial stability ahead of walking down the aisle. So, by the time they marry, many Millennial women have already successfully managed their own households, budgets, bills, income and even investments.

Granted, Millennial women are thrifty spenders. They heavily research and prepare for purchases well ahead of making them. Not only that, but they are also couponers. Seventy-four percent of these consumers compare prices online and 55 percent download coupons from couponing sites.

Source: https://insights.popsugar.com/6-10-Millennial-Women-Plan-Apparel-Holiday-Purchases-44106878

Trait #6: Millennial Moms Are Willing to Pay Extra for Convenience

Life is busy. For Millennial moms, the work to balance life as a spouse, partner, parent, professional, influencer and agent for social change comes with a hefty price – time. As a result, Millennial moms – more than any previous generation of moms – are willing to pay a premium for convenience.

We’ve talked about their earning power and their education. We talked about how they’re starting families later than did women of previous generations. We talked about how thrifty and money-conscious Millennial women are. Now, bundle all of those insights together and digest this: Millennial moms will pay extra if you can make their lives a little easier.

According to Trybe:

• 83 percent of Millennial Moms shop online to hunt for the best price, as opposed to going from store to store

• 79 percent of Millennial Moms use e-commerce to get a better selection of products

• 62 percent of Millennial Moms shop online because of the good shipping options

The work-life balance for Millennial Moms is an ongoing struggle. So, it makes sense that 25 percent of Millennial Moms are willing to pay at least $50 a month to have someone step in and help them keep their home lives organized, and to keep their family from partaking in the one in five family meals that are now being eaten in a car.

Millennial Moms are also far more likely to have necessities like diapers and beauty products delivered to their homes rather than spend hours shopping for them in-store.

Trait #7: Millennial Women Are Loyal to Brands Who Are Loyal to Good

Millennial women aren’t brand loyal, not in the traditional sense. I remember my mom buying the same brands with every shopping trip, even down to the type of breakfast cereal she bought. All raisin bran were not created equal. Some, she thought, outranked others based strictly on the manufacturer. My grandma was the same way.

I agree that not all raisin bran are created equal. But I don’t base that idea on the logo at the top of the box, because I know formulas change. I base it on things like the presence of GMOs, sugar content, number of ingredients I mistake for another language, and whether or not a particular mixture of whole grain goodness makes my kids go nuts after they eat it.

Millennial moms are loyal to quality – whether it’s the quality of the product or the quality of the brand itself. By that I mean, Millennials in general are willing to pay a premium for a better quality product. They are also willing to pay a premium to buy from a brand that incorporates social good as one of its core values.

Fifty-one percent of Millennial women expect brands to give back to society, and 34 percent said they would be willing to spend more money on products that are environmentally-friendly. To give you an idea of what kinds of social good matter most to Millennial women, the Women 2020 report (which you can download here) identified six key areas Millennials women think are the primary issues facing women today.

Trait #8: When Millennial Moms Talk (and they do a lot of talking), the World Listens

Millennial Moms are social creatures indeed, significantly more social than Gen X Moms. For them, social media is more than just a place to chat about current events. It’s where Millennial moms show their communities who they are and what they’re about.

Eighty-five percent of Millennial women post pictures of their past experiences to social media and 80 percent post in real time. Seventy-two percent of Millennial women share from other sites to social media. This includes opinions about products.

Millennial Moms are totally okay with offering their opinions online about products – any products at all. They talk openly about clothes, cosmetics, motherhood, brands, retailers, experience-based services, even financial products.

What’s more, in addition to giving advice, 46 percent of Millennial Moms look to the recommendations of their network when it comes time for making decisions on acquiring goods and services, or making purchases.

While Millennial Moms favor Facebook (with an average of 500 Facebook friends) and Instagram, the average Millennial Mom has at least three social media accounts, according to a Weber Shandwick study.

Millennial Moms prefer smartphones to laptops. More than half of the Millennial Moms surveyed said they spend most or all of their time online on their phones, and spend more than 17 hours on social networks every week. That’s 30 percent more time than the average mom spends on social sites.

The Finish Line

Millennial women are an interesting and an influential bunch. More than any other demographic, they are actively spearheading societal and economic changes that impact how brands reach and engage them. This post was the tip of a very large iceberg, but it should definitely provide you with insights that can guide your marketing efforts this holiday season.

Of course, if you’re ready to roll out your influencer marketing campaign, we’re the best in the business. Give us a call to schedule a demo.

8 Surprising Traits About How Boomers Are Using Digital Media (… and Yes, Social Media) to Make Buying Decisions

Baby Boomers are an economic force. They are a generation of adults who are still in the workforce, still affecting social change, and still crushing it on a day-to-day basis… despite being in or approaching retirement. They are the most active , vital and healthy generation of over-50 we’ve ever had. They are digitally savvy, spirited, and are redefining what it means to be an elder American.

Fact is, if you’ve focused your marketing strictly on wooing Millennials, you are probably leaving stacks and stacks of money on the table. In this post, we shed some light on 8 traits most marketers would never suspect about Boomers, and how this digitally-savvy, financially strong generation uses social media to make buying decisions.

Of course, you know us… before we get into that, let’s talk numbers.

Who Are Baby Boomers?

In the years following World War II, we had what you call a baby boom, a temporary spike in the number of children being born. The general consensus is that the generation of Americans, born between mid-1940s and the early 1960s are the Baby Boomers. They grew up in a post-war world with three important values:

1. High hopes for the future

2. A great work ethic, and

3. A make-do-and-mend mentality

A Boomer will tell you he or she grew up during one of the best periods in modern history, and they’re probably right. The years between World War II and the modern Civil Rights movement in the U.S. were ripe with social change and technological advancements. They grew up in a society with a good level of wealth and job opportunities, are still one of the fittest generations to date, and ushered in a new age of consumerism for all to enjoy.

Today, there are more than 70 million Baby Boomers in the U.S. ranging in age from 54 – 72 years old. But, their age doesn’t stop them from indulging in social media like the rest of us. Sixty percent of 50-64 year olds are active on at least one social media site, with Facebook being the most popular. They’re also fans of longer online content, with 60 percent of Boomers regularly reading blogs, and 70 percent watching video content online.

So, as is our way, we want to use this post to outline some of the key things you need to know about marketing to Boomers.

Trait #1: Boomers Are Doing HALF of All Spending Right Now

Yeah, half.

Boomers grew up during a time of affluence, when finding a good company you could stay with for your entire career was THE move. And there were plenty… which is how Boomers were able to spearhead a little something called consumerism. Boomers have more disposable income than any other generation.

In fact, in 2012, Nielsen reported that by 2017 upwards of 70 percent of the disposable income in the U.S. would be controlled by the over-50 crowd. That’s a little misleading because by 2017, the oldest Gen Xers were already in their early 50s. But by and large, the over-50 crowd is made predominantly Baby Boomers. If you’re sleeping on Boomers, you’re sleeping on a huuuge market of spenders. Boomers are controlling most of the disposable income and doing half the spending in the U.S..

Source: Visa

Even though Boomers have tons of cash to spend, they are typically very bargain-oriented. Maybe this is why they have such a large chunk of savings to dip into. But, it’s worth bearing in mind that if you’re marketing to this generation, you’ll be well-placed if you portray your prices as a bargain, deal, or special offer.

Despite staying in the workforce longer, many Boomers are reaching retirement age, too. They have the time and means to research and find the best product for their needs and budget. You won’t be able to fool them with splash campaigns. You’ll need to make sure your product, strategy, and marketing are all top-notch to get them eyeing your product.

Unlike Millennials though, Boomers are much more confident in choosing when to spend their money. We’ve seen influencer marketing grow in effectiveness in recent years thanks to the shopping habits of the younger generations who trust recommendations more than traditional advertising. But, Baby Boomers aren’t as reliant on this kind of information as their younger counterparts. In fact, only 12 percent prefer having the help of others to make buying decisions.

Instead, Boomers are most concerned with the level of attention and customer service they receive from a business. They are traditionalists at heart, and they grew up in a world where the customer was always right, and the service you received was often more important than the product itself.

Who else has a parent or grandparent who still eats at the same restaurant they have for years, where the food is only so-so but the staff members know their names and always ask them about their family? With Boomers, good service trumps a celebrity influencer campaign any day.

Trait #2: Baby Boomers Spend More Time Online Than Millennials

The typical view that older people don’t know how to use the Internet like us young ’uns is slowly falling apart (the Facebook – Capitol Hill weirdness aside). The vast majority of the Boomers use social media regularly, find information through search engines, and spend a large portion of their free time online. In fact, on average they spend 27 hours a week online – that beats Millennials’ time by two hours!

A large percentage of a Boomer’s online activity is carried out on their cell phones. Not only that, but of all the generations, Boomers are the most likely to click the links they see on social and YouTube. Why? They’re researchers who like to get a feel for what a company is about before making a purchase – especially an online purchase. That’s good news, right? It gives you a chance to get them on your site so they can see what you’re about and make purchases. Just one more reason to make sure your website looks and works great on mobile devices.

Facebook is by far the most popular social network across generations, Boomers included. They use to it connect with friends and family, keep up to date with local news and events, and more and more, Boomers are letting Facebook influence their shopping habits.

Businesses that are active on Facebook, and using targeted ads as part of their strategy will be able to cash in on this much easier than those who don’t.

Trait #3: Boomers Spend More Per Online Purchase Than Millennials and Gen Xers

Here’s one for you: 92 percent of Boomers shop online, and the average Boomer who shops online does so at least once a month. Surprised?

Boomers shop online just as much as Millennials, but they have more disposable income in their hands so their average spend is much higher. Boomers are more likely to spend on higher-ticket items like wine, appliances, home goods and healthcare.

Trait #4: Baby Boomers Are Proud and They Have Reason to Be

Boomers came of age in the 1960s and 1970s – a heady time of social change and fighting for causes. Even though Gen Xer and Millennials have been walking the road to social change that were paved by Boomers back in the day, Boomers are still deeply invested in the issues swirling around in social chatter today. Boomers favor socially-conscious companies that give back to their communities – especially those pushing for domestic issues that support the country’s long-term success.

Trait #5: Boomers Still Prefer to Shop In-Store

We already know Boomers spend more per online purchase than do Gen Xers and Millennials. But they’re a lot more like their Gen Z grandkids when it comes to shopping because they still prefer to shop in-store.

In fact, 84 percent of Baby Boomers prefer to make their purchases in person to experience great customer service first hand and get a feel for the merchant. Boomers spend more time mulling over a purchase than do time-pressed Millennials. So, they are more likely to take their time wandering the aisles (physical and virtual) looking at a wider range of products, or talking to service staff to get the low-down on products that interest them.

Here’s the social connection to in-store shopping though: According to Sprout Social, one in four Boomers follow brands on social media, and 60 percent of them are following those brands to get access to discounts and promotions you don’t typically see in-store. That’s in addition to the assumption Boomers have (like all of us) that brands should leverage social as a way to provide higher quality customer service.

So, the carrot dangling in front of your Boomer customers could be as simple as announcing a senior discount across social or a targeted ad campaign. But don’t call it a senior discount – that’s a sucky name for Boomers… maybe go with something like “Boom Day Discount” or something not quite so… senior-y.

Trait #6: Boomers Are Too Busy Crushing It to Be
“Old”

Once upon a time being part of the over-50 crowd was considered being old. Makes sense. A hundred years ago, the average life expectancy was something like 47 years (WOW!), according to the Nielsen & BoomAgers report, Introducing Boomers: Marketing’s Most Valuable Generation (you can download it here).

Source: A recent pic of 60 year-old Angela Bassett from Mastiffhaven . Yeah… 60.

Occasionally, we still slip up and think of Boomers as an “old” generation. Stop it. Not only do they not want to be reminded of their age, if you saw Tom Cruise doing his own stunts in Mission Impossible: Fallout or have ever laid eyes on Angela Bassett, you know “old” is woefully inappropriate.

It makes more sense to focus on their accomplishments and what they can still accomplish in the future now that the kids are gone. Many of them are enjoying an empty nest and they now have the opportunity to experience “grown-up” things WITHOUT THE KIDS for the first time in decades.

This includes the retirement staples like community work, sure. But it also includes things like solo traveling (which we raved about here), dating and building their own social media followings to become influencers in their own right (you can check out our post on Instagram influencers over the age of 50 here).

Trait #7: Baby Boomers Are Fit and Healthy

Speaking of hot bods…

Boomers are actually an incredibly active and healthy group. Many of them have yet to retire, and are still working full-time, working hard to pay off their mortgages. Boomers have always been more health conscious than their parents. They were adults in the 80’s when diets really started to take off, and the public started to exercise in order to lose weight. Health has long been a top priority for them.

People now live longer than ever thanks to medical advancements, and Baby Boomers don’t want to retire simply to relax. They want to use this new found freedom to explore the world. They want to travel the world, take up new hobbies, and experience that 24K Magic Bruno Mars talks about.

Trait #8: Baby Boomers Value Loyalty

Once you have captured the trust of a Baby Boomer, it’s your for life – as long as you look after it. Loyalty is hugely important to this generation, which you can easily use to your advantage in marketing. They love a good loyalty scheme, both in-store and online, but make sure it’s obvious you have one.

This idea of brand loyalty also ties into what we mentioned earlier about exceptional customer service. One of the best ways to keep customers coming back time and time again is to provide the best service you can. This is especially true with Boomers.

Let’s Wrap it Up

Baby Boomers are much easier to market to online than many marketers think. They may prefer shopping in store, but they’re more than happy to research online, and make purchases there if it’s going to save them money. Don’t discount them just because they’re older because they are, by far, the most valuable generation to marketers today.

Baby Boomers value quality – quality of the product, quality of the customer service, and quality of the marketing. As long as you can focus on this, you’ll have no problem marketing to this affluent group.

8 Defining Traits About Millennial Men That’ll Help You Target Your Marketing Efforts to Convert More Sales

Millennial men. How do you get ‘em? How do you move Millennial males to Click, Like, Engage, Opt-in, and Buy in your next digital marketing campaign? For the past few years, younger Millennials have garnered a reputation for being difficult to target, but the crop of spenders born between about 1980 to around 1997 (WHY ARE WE STILL SO FUZZY ON THIS?) aren’t as hard to read as marketers make out.

So… in our trademark irreverent way, I’m going to tell you in this post how to find, get in front of and woo Millennial males by telling you some of the shopping habits we’ve seen showing up repeatedly in the data.

Let’s do this.

Yeah, They’re Different, But…

It’s true that targeting Millennial men is different from targeting Gen X and Boomers (at least until Millennial men start having kids). But that’s not really because Millennial men are weird. It actually has more to do with their levels of exposure.

In this post, I want to identify eight important traits of Millennial men that you can leverage this holiday season during your campaigns. And when the shopping frenzy comes to an end, you can lean on these same traits to refine your marketing strategies during the Super Bowl and on into March Madness.

Saddle up.

Trait #1: Millennial Men Have Access to Tons of Information

Millennial men are digital beings. Not in a Ghost in the Shell kind of way. But most Millennial men probably cram to remember a time when they didn’t have the Internet at home, at school or both. In 1997 when the youngest Millennial babies were being born, only 18 percent of U.S. households had Internet access.

Three years later, the percentage of U.S. homes with the Internet had more than doubled, reaching 41.5 percent. 2001 was the tipping point; half of American households had the Internet. That means by the time the youngest Millennials entered kindergarten, most of their friends had the Internet at home.

Source: U.S. Census

Millennial men are used to having access to copious amounts of information. They are self-educated now… which means the role of the marketer has shifted from that of an informant to more of an adviser, ironing out the nuances between products and services that may look the same at first glance.

The way marketers approached Boomer and Gen X men when they were in their 20s and 30s probably won’t work on Millennial men because they can literally Google what you’re saying as you’re saying it.

And Google’s faster than your wordy pitch.

To deliver more than just information you need to focus more on delivering insights and communicating the experience consumers will have with your product.

The influencer who comes to mind for me is Lewis Hilsenteger from the popular YouTube channel Unbox Therapy, currently boasting 12.5 million subscribers and 2.3 billion video views. Hilsenteger showcases and reviews all sorts of cool technology and broadcasts his reviews to social.

Source: Unbox Therapy

Trait #2: Millennial Men Are the Most Educated Generation of Men in History

If that sounds like a killer stat, that’s because it is.

According to “15 Facts About Millennials,” a report released by the US Council of Economic Advisers (you can view and download that report here), Millennials are the most educated generation in US history.

In 2013, 47 percent of 25 to 34 year-olds had a post-secondary degree (Associates, Bachelor’s, or Graduate degree). Another 18 percent had attended college without earning a degree.

The way to a Millennial man’s heart (and wallet) isn’t through gimmicks and celebrity endorsements. They’re too smart for that, and we have seen too much as a society to believe the words of a celebrity whose only connection with a brand is the contract he signed to promote that brand.

Except for Matthew David McConaughey, who sort of looks like he put out word that he needed a car and the Lincoln folks began building cars just for him.

“That’s a big bull…” Oscar winning actor Matthew McConaughey vs an 1800-pound bull – my favorite of his Lincoln commercials .

Only 1% of Millennials say they are moved by ads from brands. Instead, they make their buying decisions based on independent research, online reviews, and user-generated content.

Like Millennial women, Millennial men favor authenticity over ads, social proof over self-proclamations, and the recommendation of a friend (even an online friend) over a million-dollar Super Bowl spot.

That said, a Millennial man will likely respond to the same types of content his grandpa did – ads that are funny and clever, and ads that turn regular guys into heroes by putting them in extreme circumstances. (I’m sure this explains how Captain America has made his way down through the generations over the last 77 years.)

Trait #3: Millennial Men Earn Less Than Boomers

Millennial men earn 20 percent less than their Boomer dads did at the same stage in life, despite being more educated. When compared with their parents, some Millennials are earning only slightly more with college degrees than Boomers did without degrees.

Source: 15 Economic Facts About Millennials

The average college educated Millennial has more debt in the form of student loans than did their parents at the same age. Plus:

• Millennials are less likely to have jobs while attending college

• Millennials have experienced slower wage growth than Gen Xers and Boomers.

• Millennials aren’t buying homes at the rates their parents did. They are renting longer and living in multigenerational homes.

• In 2016, one in three Millennials lived in multigenerational households, more than any other generation. Men between the ages of 25 and 34 are more likely than women the same age to live in multigenerational homes.

• Percentage wise, there are as many Americans living in multigenerational homes now (20 percent) as there were in the years following the Great Depression (21 percent). In stark contrast, in 1980, when Boomers were in their 20s and 30s, only 12 percent of them lived in multigenerational homes.

Source: Pew Research

But don’t cry for Millennials just yet. While Millennials are earning less than their parents did at their age, a recent survey found that Millennials are also more likely to plan their spending than Gen Xers and Boomers.

In fact, older Millennials and younger Gen Xers were the primary participants in the life design movement that Tim Ferriss kicked off with his New York Times best-selling book, The 4-Hour Workweek a decade ago, a lifestyle centered around the idea of living richly by spending money and time on the things that matter most to you.

CEO and author of I Will Teach You to Be Rich, Ramit Sethi starts off his Personal Finance class at CreativeLive.com this way: “I don’t know… Is anyone else tired of 65 year-old guys telling us we can’t spend money on lattes?”

Life design is about investing in the things you want and restricting the resources you put into the things you don’t want. For some Millennials that could mean downsizing your living situation after getting a much-deserved raise and spending more on international travel. It could mean renting a house instead of buying a home, or using rideshare services instead of buying a car and using the money you save to explore other passions or fulfill other indulgences, like eating out, or subscription meal services.

Most of us probably can’t imagine our parents being okay with that. Heck, when I called to wish my uncle a happy birthday a few years ago, one of his first questions was about my living situation.

“Do you live in an apartment?” he asked.

“I live in a condo, Unc,” I answered.

“Do you rent or do you own?”

Classic Boomer line of questioning, right?

When it comes to things like renting vs buying or saving vacations for retirement, Millennials are the anti-Boomer. But Millennials do spend on the things that matter to them.

In 2017, Millennials led in holiday travel and holiday shopping despite being less likely than previous generations to stretch their budgets with credit cards.  By and large, they would rather pay in cash than to rack up high-interest credit card debt, and with less disposable income, that takes planning.

According to Charles Schwab, 34 percent of Millennials have a written financial plan compared to 21 percent of Gen Xers and 18 percent of Boomers.

That said, you need to play the long game. Millennials are planners and researchers with more than enough information at their fingertips to learn what they want to know about new products and services.

Trait #4: Millennial Men Do Shop… More Than Their Dads and Grandpas Ever Did

Millennials represent a quarter of the US population and have more than $200 billion in annual buying power. In addition, they hold considerable influence over how their Boomer parents spend money (that’s another $500B to spend indirectly).

So, Millennial men have money, and they spend it. Millennial men are willing to shell out more money for a product if it will last longer than a similar product of lesser quality. This is especially true of Millennial dads, who tend not to be coupon-clippers, even during the early years of building a family.

By and large, 66 percent of Millennial dads prefer quality products that they think are the best for their families, as opposed to what’s most convenient or the least expensive.

Millennial men buy clothes more often than did men one generation ago, picking up new apparel items at least twice a month. They also tend to be early adopters of new technologies and products.

Millennial men spend an average of $2,200 a year in retail, directing their spending toward home improvement, apparel, digital, electronics, and mass merchandisers, and they tend to shop alone.

Source: CNBC

Trait #5: Millennial Men Defer to Social Media for Purchasing Decisions

About 70 percent of Millennial men use social media, according to Nielson Newswire. They use blogs, online news websites, and social networking sites to make purchase decisions.

As well, 45 percent Millennial dads typically use search to get answers to questions on everything from the best baby products to the best cities for families. This they do in lieu of getting advice from their own dads.

Far more than Boomer dads, Millennial dads are kicking in on one-on-one time with the kids, shopping decisions and housework. As most Millennial families are two-income households (sort of goes back to what I talked about in Trait #3), the changing role of fathers in the home is just too big for marketers to ignore.

Millennial dads dedicate 28 percent of their time online to dad-dedicated content and 60 percent of Millennial fathers say they’re better dads because of the resources they’re able to find online.

There’s an opportunity here, of course. Most brands target moms with respect to things like grocery shopping, household items, and child rearing. Many Millennial dads are feeling like there’s not enough brand-owned content online that’s specifically for fathers. Remember how I said men like seeing themselves as the hero in ads? Well, dads do, too. And typically, dads are positioned in TV ads and other content as add-ons, like a cool Texan uncle who smells like leather and tells great stories (sorry, I was in Dallas over the weekend).

Millennial dads are looking for brands that produce quality products and that are listening and responsive. If you can accomplish that, you’ll get Millennial dads on your team.

There’s one important thing I’m not mentioning here, though.

Ad blockers.

Omnicron Media Group estimated nearly 30 percent of internet users are using ad blockers, and high-income Millennials are the biggest user of ad blocking software.

According to an Elite Daily Millennial Consumer Study, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest have the most sway over the spending habits of Millennials. Brands that can build ongoing relationships with trusted social influencers have the best chance of reaching Millennials.

Trait #6: Millennial Men Also Leverage Social for Bragging Rights

Bragging rights, I get. I’ve seen more than my fair share of calf muscles, black and white gym photos and shirtless guys in sunglasses. I’m in Atlanta, so I’ve also come across the occasional gold Bentley.

(Why, dude? Why?)

That’s what comes to mind when I think of Millennial men using social media to brag.

BUT – and I’m totally stunned by this one – according to Allianz Global Assistance USA 2018 Vacation Confidence Index Millennial men are more likely than any other group to post vacation and travel photos for the sole purpose of making people envious.

I know, right?

The study reports that 36 percent of Millennials ages 18 – 34 have engaged in social media deception – curating their social media feed with pictures that make their travels look better than they actually were. Millennials in general are twice as likely as Gen Xers and seven times more likely than Boomers to practice social media deception.

AND there is a direct correlation between trusting what you see in your social media feed and the likelihood of indulging in deceptive social media practices themselves.

Trait #7: Millennial Men Expect More Out of Brands

Millennials hold brands to a higher social standard than previous generations. They expect the retailers and service providers to be helpful at every stage of the sales process, and responsive after a sale is complete. They also expect brands to take on the responsibility to do good out in the community. When they find brands who are crushing it in business and in the community, Millennials tend to stick with them.

The Elite Daily study I mentioned earlier confirms that 62 percent of Millennials demonstrated more loyalty to brands that engaged with their customers on social networks. In fact, half of the Millennials surveyed consider themselves brand-loyal. Millennials, as a whole, are more loyal to brands than Gen Xers and Boomers, in part because of the level of social proof and transparency social media offers.

Trait #8: Millennial Men Spend a Significant Amount of Time Online

Where have all the cowboys gone? Well, if the cowboy was born between 1980 and 2000, here’s where Nielsen.com says you can find him:

• Millennial men 18 to 34 years old make up 30% of the TV market

• Millennial men spend an average of 23 hours a week watching traditional television.

• African American Millennial men watch 3 hours of video online per week.

• Hispanic Millennial men watch 2 hours of online video per week.

• Asian American Millennial men watch nearly 4 hours of online video per week

• 88% of Millennial men listen to the radio for an average of 11 hours a week.

• 38% of Millennial men use Twitter

• 55% of US Millennials ages 18 to 29 are using Instagram

Let’s Wrap It Up

Here’s some good news for you: As Millennial men get older, they do begin to adopt some of the more traditional habits of men in their late twenties and thirties, habits we’ve seen before… habits we know how to market to. So, it turns out Millennial men are not as “mysterious and inscrutable” (quote from Señor Chang on an episode of Community) as marketers once thought.

What is new to brands and marketers is the way in which Millennial men make their buying decisions. They are not swayed by the most bedazzled ad or the celebrity endorsement. Millennial men focus on the brand itself and choose whether to buy products from that brand based on input from their online community, user-generated content about the brand itself, and their own thoughtful deliberation.

How Gen X Moms and Gen Z Teens Use Social to Make Buying Decisions (Back-to-School Edition)

Back-to-school marks the unofficial start of the year-end shopping season. There are probably very few people who see the start of classes as some sort of big spending holiday, even the parents doing the spending.

But you buy enough 24-count boxes of crayons for 50 cents, and composition notebooks for a quarter (and the obligatory device upgrade), and you will soon have enough supplies (and devices) to count school shopping among the most expensive events of the year.

A Replay of What Makes Late Summer the Start of the Winter Holiday Season

In our first post, we looked at the numbers that substantiate this idea of back-to-school shopping launching us into the big spending holidays. And we introduced the first two of four avatars doing the spending this holiday season (or influencing those who do). Here’s a quick review:

The average American family will spend more than $500 on school supplies, computers, devices, and school clothes at the start of the school year, and surpass more than $29 billion in back-to-school spending. And that’s just for K-12 families.

For parents who have kids heading back to college, that segment of back-to-school shoppers spends nearly twice as much as the K-12 crowd, shelling out $54.1 billion. That means parents and students spend somewhere around $83 billion just on back-to-school shopping.

Let’s give this a little perspective.

According to the World Bank, $83 billion exceeds the Gross Domestic Products for 130 out of the 195 countries in the world today.

Back-to-school shopping is the second biggest shopping event of the year, bested only by Christmas shopping. But compared to Christmas, the amount of money we spend sending our kids back to school is less than 10 percent of what Americans spend come Christmas time.

Great. People spend money during the holidays. What’s new?

What’s new is that according to Nielsen, 39 percent of heavy social media users (those on social 3+ hours a day) believe social is THE place to go when they want to find out about products and services.

That’s why your influencer marketing campaign needs to start today. In addition to giving you the lay of the land with today’s post, we’ll show you:

1. How to identify influencers

2. How you can propose partnerships

3. How to choose the right success metrics for your campaign, and

4. How to launch your influencer marketing campaign

In my last post, I ran the profiles of Millennial Moms and their beloved Gen Alpha children.  This week, the big spenders we’re targeting are Gen X Moms and Gen Z teens and preteens.

Gen X Moms

Who They Are

Born between 1965 and 1980 Gen X Moms are a little hard to peg for most marketers. Having been virtually defined by Boomers as “slackers” in their youth for graduating college just as jobs were flying overseas, and formulating the collective consciousness that made Nirvana’s Never Mind the soundtrack of a generation, people… and marketers… still think of Gen Xers as deliberately disconnected.

There’s a good reason for that.

While Boomers were defined by events like the Civil Rights Movement, Flower Power, and the birth of Women’s Liberation, Gen Xers grew up during the War on Drugs, the Gulf War, and the birth of the AIDS crisis.

Gen Xers are the nation’s first latch-key kids. Arriving home from school alone to make dinner and take care of younger siblings, Gen Xers played the role of parent daily in the hours before their actual parents made it home from work. They came of age during a time when divorce rates peaked (around 1980) and kids had to choose a side.

They experienced the misfortune of trying to build lifelong careers like their Boomer parents at a time when globalization and outsourcing made it possible for workers halfway around the globe to take their jobs.

Job security disappeared, and pensions became a relic of the good old days.

Understandably, Gen Xers earned a reputation for being fiercely independent, resourceful, rebellious, and a little disconnected from the ideals that defined their community-minded Baby Boomer parents. As well, they sort of shun the ideals that are defining their tech-driven, global-community-minded Millennial offspring.

That said, let’s take a leering look at Gen X Moms.  The 65 million Americans who make up Generation X include a brigade of moms who laid the foundation for how and if their kids would engage with the Internet. These women are the overworked, well-paid bridge that connects their aging Boomer parents and their maturing (fingers crossed) Millennial and Gen Z children.

Marketers largely overlook them because they have a hard time figuring out how and where to market to women who have become accustomed to going it alone.

And while Boomer Moms and Millennial Moms may sing Kumbaya louder than Gen X Moms (let’s face it, Gen X Moms probably aren’t interested in holding hands and singing with you anyway), Gen X Moms are shaping the workplace, politics, and society almost completely undetected.

How They Use Social

According to a post in Adweek, Gen X Moms are just as likely to listen to the radio (48 percent) and read a newspaper (62 percent) as they are to stream music and read a newsfeed.

Source: Pew Research

Yes, 85 percent of Gen Xers have a favorite TV show, but Gen X Moms are also heavy social media users. In fact, adults 35 to 49 year of age spent an average of 6 hours and 58 minutes a week on social networks, compared to Millennials, who spent 6 hours 19 minutes a week on social.

As for those television programs, the drama of TV ends up being fodder for social media posts. Of those surveyed, 42 percent of the folks using Facebook on a second screen while watching television were Gen Xers, ages 35 to 49.

In fact, 84 percent of Gen Xers surveyed said they use multiple devices (TV, smartphones, and laptops) during the prime time hours of 7PM to 11PM.

Gen X Moms also use social to follow the brands they like, though they are not necessarily in the habit of positioning themselves as social influencers like Millennial Moms.

Gen X Moms use social media as a way to “stay in the loop” with their favorite brands and keep up with contests and deals. Gen Xers also use social as a way to engage with the brands they follow (goodbye 1-800 numbers and “support@” email addresses).

Gen Xers tend to be more loyal to their favorite brands than either Boomers or Millennials are to their preferred brands. They are almost twice as likely to follow a brand on social media than Boomers, but they’re quick to unfollow if a company gets spammy, offensive or just annoying in general.

Source: Sprout Social

How They Shop

Like Millennials, most Gen X moms work outside the home.  Seventy-five percent of Gen Xers earn more than Boomers did at their age. The catch is they have more debt, so their net worth is less than that of their parents.

Nevertheless, when it comes to spending, Gen Xers are the heavyweights. They make up a quarter of the population, and account for 31 percent of consumer spending, even with 29 percent of Gen X women being the primary breadwinners in their households.

Gen Xers make it a point to follow a brand’s social media activity before buying from them more than half the time. In the end, nearly 7 in 10 Gen Xers who do follow a brand on a social network will buy from that brand, according to “The Social Generations: Millennials Ask, Gen X Buys, & Baby Boomers Observe” post published by Sprout Social.

Gen Z

Who They Are

Born between approximately 1997 and 2010 (some estimates extend that period to 2016), Generation Z kids are the offspring of Gen Xers, Millennials, and yes, Mick Jagger.  The oldest Generation Z kids are in college and preparing to enter the workforce while younger members of Generation Z are still in elementary school.

The members of Generation Z make up a quarter of the US population, and in just two more years, they could account for up to 40 percent of all consumers, according to Fast Company. Most of them are still young enough to get an allowance, the sum total of which comes to about $44 billion a year. Nothing to sneeze at. And like their Gen Alpha younger siblings, they have a say in how their Millennial and Gen X parents spend the $600 billion they control, chiming in on everything from breakfast foods to which family homes to buy.

Nearly half of all Gen Zers (48 percent) are non-white, which is why we counted them in the last post as the most diverse generation in America, and definitely the first to be a majority non-white. Some reports include Gen Alpha as a subset of Generation Z. For the purposes of this series, we’ve separated the generation into three distinct groups:

1. Generation Alpha ages 7 and younger

2. Generation Z Preteens, ages 8 to 12

3. Generation Z Teenagers, ages 13 to 20

How Gen Z Preteens Use Social

Kids have gone digital. Traditionally, marketers set aside billions of dollars in ad spend to reach kids via broadcast and cable television. But the days of after-school shows and Saturday morning cartoons are long gone.

Today, preteens are more interested in consuming their multimedia content in bite-sized chunks, and doing it on demand. So, it makes sense that the preferred social network for kids under the age of 13 is YouTube.

Not only is YouTube a popular social channel, but YouTube earned the distinction of being voted the Most Love Brand in Smarty Pants LLC’s “Brand Love” study for the second year in a row. The study, which polled more than 8,000 kids ages 6 to 12, discovered YouTube’s influence over kids is surprisingly stronger than several heavyweights, including Oreo cookies, Lego, McDonalds, Hershey’s, M&M’s, fidget spinners, and Toys R Us (RIP).

That means on-demand videos beat out toys and candy for best thing ever with Gen Z Preteens. This trend toward having access to tons of multimedia content even amongst kids is why Cisco VNI  predicted 80 percent of the web’s traffic will be video by 2019, according to Marketing Dive.

Nielsen reports TV viewership is down 50 percent for kids between the ages of 2 years and 11 years old, but it’s unclear whether that’s because kids are watching TV only half as much, or if it’s because only half the kids are watching TV at all.

In response to this shift away from traditional TV, marketers are expected to spend $1.2 billion on digital advertising directed at Gen Z preteens by 2019 according to PwC. In addition to the original programming for Netflix and YouTube, BBC also plans to invest $44 million in children’s programming between now and 2020.

How Gen Z Teens Use Social

Gen Z teens are in the unique position of being born into brand strategy as a way of life. They are simultaneously managing their live persona and balancing it against their online persona, while carefully curating content that will positively position them for both college and the job market in the years to come.

Only 49 percent of Gen Zers admit social media is an important part of their lives, but they can’t deny they get a certain amount of validation from the hard work they put into maintaining pristine social media profiles.

The typical Gen Zer who uses social media has already learned how to masterfully present their different social media personas in accordance with the culture of each platform they’re using. And yes, this is the kind of work Gen Xers and Boomers pay SMM agencies to do for them.

Three-quarters of teens ages 13 to 17 identify Instagram and/or Snapchat as their go-to social media platform. While more than 90 percent of teens use the messaging function on their phones to socialize, 40 percent also add messaging apps like Whatsapp to their phones to socialize.

Gen Z teens are commonly referred to as the generation that grew up on smartphones, but don’t forget this generation is also old enough to remember flip phones.

Lots of the older Gen Z teens in high school and college can probably remember when laptops were strictly for Mom and Dad’s work, tablets didn’t exist for them outside of Leap Frogs and Etch-a-Sketches, and the not-so-smart but oh-so-common flip phones were the phone all their friends used.

After all, not many parents were lining up to buy their fifth grader a $600 iPhone when Apple first introduced them to the world.

Today, 89 percent of teens use smartphones, and 80 percent use laptops; 68 percent of teens have access to a tablet versus 54 percent of teens who now have access to a desktop computer.

How Teens Shop

Now, before we get into how Gen Z shops when they hit the stores, there are a couple of interesting traits that have emerged in this group that we want to point out.

First, Gen Z members are not brand-loyal like their Gen X parents. In fact, they’ve been referred to as less trusting of brands than any generation before them. They are far less brand-conscious and would rather take the word of their favorite social media influencer over even the most elaborate and polished 60-second spot. They don’t want to know your brand story unless it directly fits in with, and springs from, their existing interests.

They have honed the ability to identify good content vs bad content (or valuable content vs everything else) in just 8 seconds.  As a marketer, you have 8 seconds to make an impression that will result in something other than a screen-swipe or a click-away.

Third, Gen Zers don’t seem to be very patriotic. Terrible news for the Captain America franchise. When asked, 68 percent of Gen Z teenagers said they feel the US is moving in the wrong direction.

Now that those three points are out of the way, we can talk about how teens spend their money.

Food.

The Taking Stock with Teens Spring 2017 study from Piper Jaffray reported 24 percent of Gen Z teenagers spend their money – whether earned or not – on fast food purchases, and their favorite places to spend are Chic-Fil-A and Starbucks.

Their next big purchase is clothes at 19 percent of their total budgets. Boys are more likely to go for brands than girls, who are more interested in finding the right styles irrespective of brand name, according to Mediapost. And like men, teenage boys tend to shop based on a specific need, as opposed to girls who are more impulse-driven and tend to shop based on their budget, not their needs.

Both male and female Gen Z buyers are more likely to buy clothes in-store after browsing online, according to Fashion United. Other popular spending categories for teens include:

• Cars (9 percent)

• Accessories and cosmetics (9 percent)

• Shoes (8 percent)

• Video games (8 percent)

• Electronics (7 percent)

Among the most beloved brands for teens, Amazon leads the pack followed by Nike. Teens seem to show a preference for apparel made by companies like Nike and Under Armour, that specialize in sportswear. In the Piper Jaffray survey, 41 percent of teens named an athletic brand as their favorite clothing brand. Adidas is also showing rapid growth among older Gen Zers. Other popular brands for teens include Converse, H&M, American Eagle, and Forever 21.

Source: Fashion United

As the observant bystanders in households where their Millennial siblings have had to move back in with Mom and Dad after college, Gen Z teens are learning the value of money, stability, and making good financial decisions. They are more financially cautious.

Frugal.

And more likely to save than Millennials were at the same age.

Let’s Build Some Campaigns

In the third and final part of this series, you’re going to get a 9-step summer influencer marketing plan that you can implement now and tweak in the coming months for fall and holiday campaigns. (You’re welcome, by the way). If you missed Part 1 of the 2018 Summer-Fall Marketing Plan,  you can read that one by clicking here.

Now that you know the major stakeholders in the upcoming holiday shopping season, it’s time to start building some campaigns. In the next post, I’m going to lay out a 9-step influencer marketing plan that you can follow to launch a BOSS influencer marketing campaign.

 Part One: How Millennial Moms (and Their Gen Alpha Kids) Will Be Spending This Shopping Season

Welcome to the 2018 shopping season!

Believe it or not, Back-to-School shopping marks the unofficial start of the annual shopping season. Not to be confused with the start of the holiday season (Black Friday), shopping season kicks off with back-to-school deals that show up in stores and online around July.

You’ve probably already noticed the fall apparel in the stores and closeout prices starting to show up on summery home decor. Those are telltale signs it’s time to start thinking about your holiday influencer marketing campaign.

For marketers, the period between Fourth of July and Labor Day is summer vacay, yes, but it’s also one big shopping event. It’s a time when consumers are collectively and consistently spending big bucks for a non-holiday-related event. In this case, that event is back-to-school shopping.

Unofficial Shopping Season = Official Holiday Marketing Campaigns

As is my way, this is a three-part series that will load you up with all the stats, facts, and strats you need to launch a summer/fall influencer marketing campaign that can seamlessly roll into the holiday shopping period.

Part One of this series is the numbers post. You’ll have every number you need to justify why you should spend your chill time by the pool putting together an end-of-summer marketing plan. I will also give you the 411 on reaching Millennial Moms and their kids.

Part Two of this series is all about Gen X Moms and their Gen Z teens, and it’s a lot of good info.

In Part Three, I’m going to lay out a 9-step summer influencer marketing plan that you can implement to get the ball rolling. The post talks about:

1. Identifying influencers

2. Proposing partnerships

3. Choosing the right success metrics for your campaign, and

4. Launching your influencer marketing campaign

We’re diving into the deep end here, and looking at what big brands are doing right now to grow their audiences and push customers into their sales funnels weeks and weeks ahead of Black Friday.

** FYI, if you were looking for a specific strategy for back-to-school shopping, Lauren penned this spectacular back-to-school marketing guide that you can use as your playbook. **

So, why is it so important that you start your influencer marketing campaign RIGHT NOW? Well, it’s important for a couple of reasons.

People Are Shopping Earlier, Shopping Longer, and Spending More

The stores seem overrun every December 24th, don’t they? If you happen to be one of the people sitting, gridlocked in the mall parking lot a few days before Christmas, you’re in the minority. Even if it doesn’t seem like it.

During the 2017 holiday season, the National Retail Federation reported that only six percent of shoppers surveyed expected to still be shopping between December 20th and December 24th. People started their holiday shopping earlier last year, and earlier in 2016 as well. I would bet people are shopping even earlier this year as hundreds of Toys R Us stores close down permanently. (Sad face for my childhood imaginary friend, Geoffrey Giraffe.)

The same can be said for people shopping for school supplies during the summer months. The average family started shopping earlier last year than they did in 2016. American families spent hundreds of millions of dollars on school supplies before the fireworks even lit the sky for Fourth of July.

When August 2017 rolled around the average family had already completed 45 percent of their school shopping.  And I’ve got news for you: Back-to-school shopping – which goes through the beginning of October –  overlaps holiday shopping for parents, many of whom start buying holiday gifts as early as September, according to this article in Money.

People Are Going Online to Shop Now, More Than Ever Before

The number of people shopping online is steadily increasing.  M-commerce (mobile commerce) is expected to account for 49 percent of the total e-commerce market by the year 2020. And e-Commerce is growing 23 percent year-over-year.

In 2016, 76 percent of shoppers used mobile devices for their holiday spending, a 31 percent increase over mobile shopping in 2015, according to the American Express Spending and Saving Tracker. I felt pretty 3008 about being included in that number until I read that more than a quarter of Millennials who have them report making purchases from their SMART WATCHES at least once a month.

Come on, guys…

According to Statista, the average value of an online order is:

• $147.03 when made from a desktop or laptop

• $114.81 when made with a tablet

• $108.83 when made via smartphone

I can tell you from experience that online shopping is crucial, even for non-hipsters, and especially for moms. The big-box retailer just two miles east of my house misses about 30 percent of my would-be in-store purchases because I make them online and have the products I could buy in-store shipped directly to me.

Sure, in the time it takes me to order online, I could drive the two miles to the store. But… online is so much more convenient. A guy delivers it… I stay out of the unforgiving Atlanta heat…

Win-win.

Plus, I get free shipping if I spend more than $35 (which I always seem to do). Honestly, if Kroger could figure out how to get avocados, bagged salads, and Trix cereal to me the same day, I’d never set foot in a grocery store again.

I’m not alone in this, but we’ll talk more about that later.

Here’s How Much Will Be Spent Over the Next Six Months

$83.6 Billion on School Stuff – That’s Why We Call This the Unofficial Start of the Shopping Season

The National Retail Federation estimated families would spend $83.6 billion on back-to-school shopping in 2017 ($29.5 billion on K-12 and $54.1 billion on college students). That’s why we can confidently proclaim back-to-school time the unofficial start of the shopping season.

The average household with kids (nursery school through college) is expected to spend a whopping $501 per child this year on stuff for school ($554 per child for families in the South).

To put this in perspective, a 2016 holiday spending article published on The Motley Fool estimated parents spend an average of $422 per child on holiday gifts, out of the $929 the average person spends shopping for the holidays. That means a parent will spend more shopping for back-to-school items for a child than on holiday gifts for that child. Surprising.

Back-to-school shopping generates billions in revenue for retailers, and according to Deloitte, here’s why.

For the 2017 back-to-school shopping season, parents planned to spend, on average:

• $104 on school supplies, purchased by 98 percent of back-to-school shoppers

• $284 on clothes and accessories, purchased by 97 percent of back to school shoppers,

• $307 on computers and hardware, purchased by 23 percent of shoppers

• $254 on gadgets, purchased by 18 percent of shoppers

That’s why the back-to-school shopping season is second only to the holiday shopping season in total annual revenues.

As for the Other Big Spending Days This Shopping Season…

Estimates have yet to be released on 2018 Halloween spending, but both 2017 and 2016 were record years for Halloween retailers who raked in $9.1 billion and $8.4 billion in those two years for the un-holiday.

And while Americans typically only spend about five bucks per guest on Thanksgiving dinner, that number quickly jumps up to more than $200 a person when you add Black Friday and Cyber Monday purchases to the total spending for the Thanksgiving weekend celebrations.

According to T. Rowe Price’s holiday study, more than 70 percent of the parents surveyed admitted to spending at least $200 over the past 12 months on holiday spending for one child. One in three parents say that number topped $500.

Of course, Christmas spending peaks between Black Friday and the first week in January, during which time retailers generate right around $1 trillion in sales.

Now that I have sufficiently justified the validity of this opportunities for brands and marketers of all kinds, the next thing I want to do is introduce you to the four people you’ll probably be marketing to for the rest of the year.

Now Let’s Meet the Four People Doing the Spending

Let me lay the foundation for the rest of this post (and the next post) by giving you a clear picture of who’s actually going to be frequenting online and offline stores between September and January.

I’ve decided to focus quite a bit of our attention on moms and school-aged kids. Here’s why:

Kids influence $1.2 trillion in spending, weighing in on everything from breakfast foods (Nature Valley breakfast cookie, anyone?) to the family car, according to Digitas. This global phenomenon (and it is, in fact, global) of giving kids a say in household purchases directly impacts the way in which brands target kids.

Moms control 85 percent of household purchases, with spending power that tops $2 trillion. Women also outpace men when it comes to using mobile for shopping, especially in-store shopping.  I, and 41 percent of my female contemporaries, look up email promotions while actually in the store.

How does that play out? While my better half is loading the conveyor belt with products from our cart, I am punching in the names of products as they move down the belt to find discounts. Last week, between the time we got in line and the time he handed the cashier the money, I cut our bill by 25 percent from coupons I could click to download to my phone.

Honestly, he could not have cared less. Like, really. Men aren’t typically coupon clippers. But I counted it a victory, a dazzling display of teamwork. That’s women shoppers for you.

That T. Rowe Price study I mentioned earlier to drive home the point on holiday spending comes with a caveat:

• 11 percent of parents say they pulled from their retirement accounts to cover holiday spending

• 11 percent took out payday loans specifically to cover holiday spending

• 14 percent pulled from their household emergency funds to ante up for old Father Christmas, and

• 56 percent charged their holiday spending

While Millennial parents are more likely to save up for holiday spending over the course of the year than Gen X parents (83 percent vs 67 percent), Millennials also admit to spending more than they should for the holidays compared to Gen X parents (75 percent vs 63 percent). Millennial parents also place far more value on making sure to buy their kids everything on their holiday wish lists than either Gen X parents or Baby Boomers (75 percent vs 50 percent vs 33 percent).

That said, I’m going to focus this post on reaching Millennial Moms, Gen X Moms, Gen Alpha kids, and Gen Z with your influencer marketing campaigns. Now, let’s meet the four people holding the purse.

Millennial Moms

Who they are

There are approximately 9 million women in the US who fall into the category of being a Millennial Mom. Estimated to be born between 1980 and the year 2000, Millennial women range in age from about 18 to 38 years old, and are the offspring of Baby Boomers and Gen X parents.

And Mick Jagger.

About 1 in 5 US moms are Millennials. More than 80 percent of new moms are Millennials, according to BabyCenter. Like Gen X and Boomer Moms, most Millennial Moms work out of necessity. Only 35 percent of Millennial Moms call themselves homemakers.

Unlike mothers of generations before them, Millennial Moms are by and large more confident with and more savvy about finances and products that protect their family’s financial well-being. One-third of Millennial Moms are the primary breadwinners in their households, and a third of them are either unmarried, or not living with a partner.

Motherhood is crucial to the identities of Millennial Moms. In fact, with so many “social” eyes watching, being a perfect mom is a goal to which many Millennial Moms aspire. In a world where most Millennial Moms either choose to work or absolutely must work, 21 percent of Millennial Fathers are now stay-at-home dads.

The work-life balance for Millennial Moms is an ongoing struggle. Twenty-five percent of Millennial Moms are willing to pay at least $50 a month to have someone step in and help them keep their home lives organized, and to keep their family from partaking in the one in five family meals that are now being eaten in a car.

Up to 67 percent of Millennial Moms are multi-cultural, according to research from Carat. In fact, Millennial Moms and their children are part of the two most ethnically diverse generations currently living in the US.

How they use social

Millennial Moms are social creatures indeed, significantly more social than Gen X Moms. Millennial Moms rely on community to make buying decisions, and are totally okay with offering their opinions online about products – any products at all. They talk openly about clothes, brands, retailers, experience-based services, even financial products.

What’s more, in addition to giving advice, 46 percent of Millennial Moms look to the recommendations of their network when it comes time for making decisions on acquiring goods and services, or making purchases.

While Millennial Moms favor Facebook (with an average of 500 Facebook friends) and Instagram, the average Millennial Mom has at least three social media accounts, according to a Weber Shandwick study.

Millennial Moms prefer smartphones to laptops. More than half of the Millennial Moms surveyed said they spend most, or all, of their time online on their phones, and spend more than 17 hours on social networks every week. That’s 30 percent more time than the average mom spends on social sites.

How they shop

Millennial Moms shop for deals. They are far less brand loyal than Gen X Moms, and focus instead on quality over brand name. In fact, according to Trybe:

• 83 percent of Millennial Moms shop online to hunt for the best price

• 79 percent of Millennial Moms use e-commerce to get a better selection of products

• 62 percent of Millennial Moms shop online because of the good shipping options

Millennial Moms are far more likely to have necessities like diapers and beauty products delivered to their homes than to spend hours shopping for them in-store.

Generation Alpha

Who they are

Who’s your daddy?

The first Generation Alpha babies were born in 2010 (though I’ve seen content that puts their birth year at 2014). Currently, Millennial Moms are giving birth to some 9,000 Gen Alpha babies every day; more than 2 million Gen Alpha babies are born every week around the world. By the time the entire generation has been birthed (2025), there will be more than two billion Gen Alpha babies.

Gen Alphas are predominantly the offspring of Millennials, some Gen Xers, and… Mick Jagger. They have arrived in the world at a time when the Internet of Things enables them to live in a wholly-connected America.

How they use social

Mark McCrindle, an Australian social researcher who has done extensive studies and projections on generations Z Alpha, refers to Generation Alpha as “screenagers.” Although the oldest Gen Alphas are only in the second grade by now, 81 percent of parents say their Gen Alpha kids either watch videos or play games on electronic devices every single day.

As a result, startups that produce Alpha-targeted apps (like Age of Learning’s popular app ABCmouse) are leveraging the market being carved out by the most tech-savvy, influential, and materially-endowed generation the world has ever seen.

Coincidentally, ABCMouse has well over 1 million paid subscribers, of which I am one.

Raising Eva

I spend $240 a year just on subscription services for my kid’s mobile device. She likes this little Samsung phone I had before I upgraded. She also has two toddler laptops she convinced her dad to buy for her – one for learning the basics and one that teaches in Spanish. She’s 4.

Plus, Dad bought reams of paper for activity sheets that we print off… like it’s the early 2000’s. Which means printers and ink (or toner, or whatever it’s called now) is an additional cost we assume, primarily to deliver these traceable activity sheets that give her the opportunity to spell out her name. I shell out another $75 a week for daycare, so she can socialize with the other kids her age a few times a week.

And because I sort of dig Sprout and Noggin, by this time next year, I’ll be paying an additional $50 a month for premium channels (which means finally buying a television after being TV-free for a decade) for someone who can’t even go into a carnival Funhouse by herself.

And she’s over Dory, so she needs new bed sheets, likely Marvel or Black Panther-themed. I’ve been trying to convince her that she’s better suited to be Shuri or Okoye than T’Challa… what, with her being a girl and all.

And we haven’t even talked about her hair, shoes, clothes, and ever-changing snack preferences. Or the tablets Dad bought Eva and her one year-old sister for Christmas.

Take it from the parent of two Gen Alpha kids.

The Interesting Dynamic Between Millennials and Alphas

What’s interesting about the Millennial-Alpha connection is that Millennial parents seem to display an almost obsessive relationship with their kids. This tendency may be attributed to the fact that they themselves may have been a little sheltered by their Gen X and Baby Boomer parents (the web refers to them as helicopter parents – you know, for hovering over their kids they way they did). Or, it may be the result of such a high number of Millennials growing up in single-parent homes (about 40 percent).

At any rate, Millennial parents value parenting as perhaps the most important part of adulthood, out-ranking even professional aspirations and financial success. Millennials are the most educated  generation on the planet, and the most socially connected in decades, but they face trials American parents haven’t had to face in decades.

Specifically, economic instability, job uncertainty (Millennials change careers more than Gen Xers, Boomers, or the Silent Generation ever had to), climate change, and shifts in the global political landscape that can have a catastrophic impact on the future of the entire world.

This is the environment in which Millennials are rearing children. Yet, they spend twice as much time with their kids as previous generations. Dad is home more to shoulder some of the responsibility of helping around the house. Millennial Moms are somehow present with the kids and working full-time.

And they want to give their kids the world.

Conclusion

In Part Two of this three-part series, we’re going to look at the other two big holiday spenders – Generation X Moms and Gen Z, the nation’s teens and tweens, born between 2001 and 2009. And we’ll look at how they spend their time, how and where they use social media, and how and where they will be shopping season.