Jennifer Aniston opened up about how her “expectations” for her personal life shifted “overnight” after she stopped filming “Friends” in a recent interview. The actress also characterized the scrutiny of her lack of children as “really hurtful” and “nasty.”
A Virginia school board is suing two mothers, arguing that documents “inadvertently and mistakenly” released through a Freedom of Information Act request and shared online included confidential information.
Through three weeks, only a handful of teams remain undefeated.
Word-of-mouth marketing is one of the most valuable forms of advertising. After all, why wouldn’t you want customers to rave about your business to friends and family?
Word-of-mouth referrals are great advertising for your brand and an enormous confidence booster for would-be buyers. From a potential buyer’s perspective, if your existing customers are happy enough with your company to recommend it, that speaks volumes about your business.
It’s not just about getting customers, though. When you secure buyers through word-of-mouth referrals, they are likely to spend more, it helps consumers make the buying decision, and above all, shoppers trust their friends when it comes to recommendations.
Ninety-two percent of customers say they’d buy based on the recommendations of their friends and family. Not only that, but more people are reading online reviews than ever before, according to BrightLocal.
That’s why you want to encourage your satisfied customers to promote your business by sharing their positive experiences.
However, getting those word-of-mouth referrals isn’t so easy. Here’s how to encourage customers to spread the word.
Ideally, word-of-mouth marketing achieves two goals: encourage your customers to make word-of-mouth referrals to friends and (ideally) pass on their friends and family member’s details so you can market to them directly.
The following tips help you with both these goals.
You won’t gain word-of-mouth referrals if you provide a poor experience. Today, the customer experience is one of the most crucial parts of the sales process, especially when it comes to word-of-mouth recommendations and social sharing.
When you’re seeking continual growth, brand advocacy, and retention, the simplest strategy is to provide a stellar customer experience.
If you’ve spent even a few minutes online, you’ve likely seen negative reviews. There’s a good chance they’ve stopped you buying from a business, too.
When you’ve got dissatisfied customers, they don’t stop at telling their friends and family: they often go online and write a bad review. Even worse, they go on social media and detail their poor experience for an even wider audience to see.
Deliver quality every time and if your products and services are falling short, own the problem and fix it.
Just keep in mind that a few bad reviews won’t tank your business, just respond politely, and you’ll still reap the benefits of word-of-mouth marketing.
Want a tried and tested way to get your regular shoppers to recommend others? Then start a referral program. Start by creating an appealing offer for your customers. Maybe a discount for each new person they refer, prizes for referring a certain amount of people, or a small commission.
A great example of this is the Morning Brew newsletter. It gives incentives like merchandise and monthly exclusive events and makes it easy for their existing readers to spread the word.
Subscribers to the newsletter click on the blue “click to share” button, and they’re taken to a referral link, an email invitation, and social media buttons for sharing.
Gain attention and engagement with user-generated content. Of course, UGC advertising won’t always start organically, so give your customers a nudge by launching an official campaign.
Netflix, Starbucks, and Adobe are three companies doing this well. Whether it’s launching contests, creating branding advocates, or encouraging social shares, you’ll learn a lot from these brands and the methods they use.
Another way to get your customers to bring in word-of-mouth referrals is to get behind a cause. This could be something close to your company’s heart, a local non-profit, or a high-profile fundraising event.
Consumers are always keen to spread the word about a good cause, which means there’s an excellent chance they’ll pass it on to friends, family, co-workers.
There’s organic word-of-mouth marketing, then there are amplified word-of-mouth referrals, where you launch paid online campaigns to maximize your marketing efforts. Below is a step-by-step guide on how to target referred customers with paid ads.
You’re looking for a platform where your typical audience hangs out. For instance, if you’re targeting a younger audience, you might choose Instagram. TikTok is another option that is popular with the under-thirties.
For older age groups, Facebook could be ideal. If it’s business-related, then LinkedIn is your obvious choice.
Each social media platform offers paid advertising. For example, Twitter has its promoted and follower ads and there’s no minimum budget.
Before deciding on your campaign budget, be clear on your business goals. For instance, is it gaining newsletter subscribers? Or sign-ups for a free trial? Whichever goal you choose, make it measurable and trackable.
Also, think about your ideal ROI and the percentage of your digital marketing budget you’re willing to spend.
The ideal number is 15-25 percent of the business’s overall digital marketing budget, according to Web Strategies. To make this part easier, Web Strategies provides a free digital marketing budget calculator.
Offer your prospects an incentive—and make sure to put some thought into it. You’re looking for something your prospect finds useful and helps you reach your business aims. For example, if you want newsletter subscribers, consider an e-book with hot tips or a cheat sheet related to your business or industry.
Cheat sheets and e-books work well because you can create them once and then automate their delivery. Another example is discount vouchers for sharing their thoughts. Be sure to make your discount time-sensitive to create a sense of urgency.
Next, write your ad. Your first step is ensuring you’re using the language that resonates with your audience. However, there are other factors to consider in your ads, such as:
Don’t be afraid to get creative. As you’ll see in the word-of-mouth advertising examples below, creativity is a great way to get customers talking.
Finally, test and track your campaigns and evaluate the results. Specific areas to test include:
Remember evaluating and A/B testing are ongoing processes, so keep tracking and testing over time. If your ads aren’t delivering your desired results, then tweak as needed and try again.
Media-savvy companies know what it takes to get people talking about their adverts and sharing them. Although the following ads are offline commercials, they use the same approach in their digital marketing and social media efforts.
Let’s look at a few of the best examples of word-of-mouth advertising.
Coca-Cola has done more than its fair share of word-of-mouth advertising campaigns, from personalized bottles to broader issues like social isolation. However, the brand took its advertising to a new level with its Coca-Cola bears reacting to a Super Bowl in real-time.
The result? Everyone loved it. They felt like they were part of the Superbowl and part of the conversation. Apart from drawing viewers in, what made the advert so effective was those happy viewers were quick to share it with their friends and keep the word-of-mouth referrals going.
The advert worked so well because it engaged viewers from the first look, and the novelty value made consumers keen to pass it on.
The UK-based company BrewDog isn’t just great at developing craft beers. They’re also pretty good at creating share-worthy campaigns. You know, the kind of ads that get customers talking—and sharing.
A while ago, BrewDog put together “the most honest advert you’re ever going to see.”
BrewDog went with the bare basics rather than spending a small fortune on glitzy campaigns, including an image of their product, loud music, and not much else. BrewDog then teamed its adverts with an equally bland billboard and bus campaign.
As BrewDog itself put it:
Other brands spend big here investing in massive narratives, intricate Game of Thrones-themed visuals and slick films.
So we didn’t.
Crucially though, BrewDog’s advert was shown in the ad breaks of TV shows or events that get vast audiences, like Game of Thrones and the FA Cup Football Tournament.
By defying convention BrewDog, got itself noticed, even without spending vast amounts of money on its advertising.
In addition, the company isn’t scared of mixing it up or of courting controversy. And as everyone knows, controversy gets us talking, especially in the days of social media.
Despite its varying approaches, one thing that remains consistent with BrewDog is its dedication to revolutionizing the craft beer industry. In other words, whichever angle BrewDog takes, it stays true to its values.
It’s no secret that word-of-mouth saved Cadbury from an uncertain future. After a salmonella outbreak left the company reeling, it came back with a strong marketing campaign.
It wasn’t your typical Cadbury’s advert, which may be why it worked so well in turning Cadbury’s reputation around.
The advert, which featured a chimpanzee playing drums along with Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight” got everyone talking.
Then there was the big question people are still asking today: is it really Phil Collins in the chimpanzee outfit? (The answer’s “no,” by the way.)
Aside from making Coca-Cola, BrewDog, and Cadbury all have something else in common. They all use the same level of creativity in their social media campaigns, engaging users and inspiring them to share content.
What can you learn from these brands? Daring to be different, changing styles, and being novel enough to get people talking gets customers sharing is something every business can do.
How do you track the metrics for your word-of-mouth campaigns? Although you might have a bit less data than you do for your website, there are plenty of ways to track your success.
Urchin Tracking Modules show you how visitors interact with your website. Use tracking tools like Heap Analytics to monitor website visits and add UTMs to your ads and social media posts.
How often are paid ads viewed, and what do the impressions tell you regarding your campaign’s reach?
If you’re running an affiliate or referral scheme, how many impressions, click-throughs, and sign-ups are you attracting? Use affiliate tracking software to do this.
What keywords are your competitors targeting? Use a free or paid keyword research tool to find out, like Ubersuggest or the Ubersuggest Chrome extension.
By tracking metrics like UTMs, impressions, and through competitive analysis.
Apart from directly asking customers, you can offer rewards, encourage UGC and online reviews, and consider fundraising for a good cause. Paid ads can also be highly effective, when used carefully.
Word-of-mouth referrals are vital because potential buyers trust the opinions of friends and family. Word-of-mouth customers also tend to spend more money.
Organic word-of-mouth referrals are free, and you get them through reviews, links, USG, social media, etc. With amplified word-of-mouth advertising, you’re paying for targeted ads.
Word-of-mouth referrals are an effective method for attracting and retaining customers. When people are spreading the word about your business, whether through reviews, referrals, or UGC, they’re doing your marketing and getting the word out to a wider audience.
Consumers trust their friends’ judgments more than anything else. That’s why word-of-mouth referrals are crucial to grow your brand.
While you could take the organic approach, you can also use accelerated word-of-mouth campaigns to gain customers’ attention and target them directly.
Whichever approach you take, remember tracking your metrics is vital for measuring the effectiveness of your campaigns.
Do you use word-of-mouth marketing? Which tactics do you use?
One of the tricky parts about this is the fact parents are such a varied group. Forty percent of US households have at least one child under the age of 18, and that large group includes people from all walks of life.
The USDA estimates that it costs $284,570 (with inflation factored in) to raise a child through age 17.
To successfully target parents through paid ads, you have to deeply understand your target audience and use this knowledge to inform your marketing strategy.
Parents spend a lot of time online, meaning they may be pretty likely to see your paid ads.
For the first time, women in the U.S. are more often having babies in their 30s than their 20s. This means you’re looking at an audience with a lot of millennials who spend a great deal of time on social media. This is also the case with younger parents, and both groups use search engines to find answers to everyday questions.
The difficulty is not reaching parents; it’s targeting the right people with the right message at the right time. For example, there’s no point in reaching a teenager’s parent with an ad for baby formula.
You may have a rough idea about your target audience, but you’ve got to drill down further and figure out what matters to parents when targeting them through paid ads.
When we look back at our childhoods or those of our children, it’s often the big life events that stand out. There’s nothing wrong with turning 31 or 63, but it doesn’t quite carry the same excitement as your eighth birthday.
Events like birthdays, holidays, vacations, and graduations are important to children, and they’re equally important to parents. Even if money tight, most parents are willing to do what it takes to ensure their children have amazing memories of big moments.
For marketers, this is an opportunity to connect with parents. It’s not always easy to know what kids want, but through paid ads, your business can guide parents to the hottest gifts.
This should play an important part in your paid ads, especially at important times of the year like late spring, when kids often graduate from high school. Parents often want to mark these special days with the right gift or by throwing a wonderful party, and your business should be looking to help make sure this happens via paid ads.
Paid advertising is about matching user intent, so make sure you know what products parents need.
What does your target audience look like, and what are its priorities?
Increasingly, parents are millennials. To target parents effectively, many brands have to understand how to target millennials.
Some key points that advertisers need to understand about millennials are generally:
These characteristics are further enhanced by the fact that parents are busy. They want to use technology to help solve problems, and when they buy products, they need the experience to be fast and effective.
This means the experience you offer parents with your ads has to be perfectly optimized. Modern parents won’t waste their time on poorly optimized mobile sites or those with checkouts that take too long.
Paid ads should be backed up by a good user experience. If you get this right, it allows you to focus on solving your target audience’s pain points. Although parents have diverse needs, these often can be broken down into three categories:
If your website experience and products can come together to help parents achieve this, then you may find you have success with your paid ads.
Parents are usually fiercely protective of their children, and your products or services need to fit into this narrative.
When we buy products for ourselves, we make a complicated buying decision. When parents buy for their children, this is amplified. They want to know the products are safe, can benefit their children, and are going to last. If your products don’t demonstrate this, they’re not going to be as appealing for parents.
One of the ways you can help assure parents about your products is by offering a guarantee. If you believe in your products and services, you should be willing to offer assurances to your customers, and which you can state in your advertising.
In my article, “5 Simple Tips to Creating an Unbeatable Facebook Ad Campaign,” my first tip was “your offer will make or break your campaign,” and your guarantee is a part of this. Without the guarantee, your offer probably isn’t as appealing to parents.
Parents have to trust you and your products if they’re going to let your brand into their children’s lives.
As I’ve mentioned, many parents are now Millennials who are very tech-savvy, connected, and collaborative. When it comes to making sales, this means you need to be able to create a brand people can trust. One of the most important aspects of this is social proof.
The stats behind online reviews are impressive:
Reviews play a big part in modern consumer decisions, so you need to have a process in place to make sure you’re getting them. Once you do, you can use social proof to show parents that other parents have bought your product and had great experiences.
Parenting can be challenging, and there are many products out there that promise a lot but fail to deliver. Naturally, parents are eager to avoid such products, so a good review from a fellow parent can go a long way.
Of course, building this trust is based on you offering value for parents. If you’re doing this, you should take every opportunity to showcase it.
Children don’t come with a manual, and even if they did, following it would be nearly impossible. Naturally, parents look to authoritative sources to help them with their parenting—59 percent of parents say they have found useful parenting information on social media in the past 30 days. Your business may well be perfectly positioned to offer this information.
Targeting parents through paid ads doesn’t just have to be about your products. It can also make use of your knowledge.
Rather than just offering a quick solution to a problem, you can use your expertise to explain the reasons for the issue and offer advice.
For example, if a child struggles to organize their homework schedule, you can give parents tips about how to help their child become more organized rather than pushing your time-keeping app. You can naturally work your product into your resources, which begins to create a relationship with the reader.
Millennial consumers have grown up with internet marketing, and they’ve become skeptical about advertising. Using gimmicks doesn’t work with this demographic. It’s about offering value. The way you can do this is by showing your expertise and helping your target audience solve problems.
Your paid ads should have a collaborative feel to them, where you’re working together to make parenting easier, more affordable, and more effective.
What does a parent look like? It’s impossible to answer this question because they rarely look the same. There are so many different demographics within this audience:
The list is endless, and this is a good thing for marketers. If you can narrow down your target audience and understand who’s most likely to buy your products, you can target parents using relevant content.
For example, being a first-time mom is very different from doing it the second time around. First-time moms search for products in different ways than second-time moms, and they look for different things.
Through Google Ads, Facebook, Instagram, and other platforms, you can reach particular audiences. Make the most of this by working on your buyer personas.
Parents are exceptionally busy people. They’re often balancing bringing up a child with full-time employment and everything else that comes with life.
For example, due to work and daily schedules, parents may search for products late at night.
Understanding when parents search the internet can allow you to target them better and make your campaigns more effective.
Dig into your Google Analytics and find out when people are using your site and making purchases. Another great step is to ask parents about how they shop through surveys. People are often willing to answer quick questions, giving you great insights into how to target parents through paid ads.
It can be tricky to target parents through paid ads because they’re such a diverse group. Parents of teens are looking for very different things from parents of newborn babies, and your advertising needs to recognize this.
However, there’s one thing parents share: a desire to do the best for their children. To successfully advertise to parents, you need to understand how your business helps them with this.
By being there for parents on important days, guaranteeing your products’ safety, and helping them with high-value information, you could build relationships that bring in sales. The better you understand your target audience, the easier this should be.
Are parents a key demographic for your business? How do you reach them?
Growing a podcast is a challenge.
There are 1.75 million podcasts in the world and more than 43 million episodes.
There’s a lot of competition, but podcast consumption has also increased exponentially.
Thirty-seven percent of US adults have listened to podcasts, a three-fold increase compared to the last ten years. Podcast listeners also tune in to an average of seven different shows per week, and 80 percent listen to the entire or most of each episode.
The podcast industry has a bright future. Both the number of podcasts and podcast listeners have spiked.
One of the most effective ways to promote your podcast audience is using paid ads.
Here’s how to do it.
Paid ads provide a fast and effective way to promote podcasts and increase brand awareness. Unlike content marketing, which takes a ton of time, paid ads can quickly grow your audience in a matter of weeks.
Here are a few other benefits of paid ads:
A wide range of platforms offer paid ads you can use to promote your podcast, such as Facebook, Google, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and Discord. Below, we’ll cover why you should consider each platform and the types of ads they offer.
Google ads appear when users search for your business or use business-related keywords in their Google search. This lets you reach one of the widest audiences of any platform.
Types of Google ads include:
Facebook ads let you promote your social media page, posts on your social media page, or your podcast website. You can target users based on their demographic, geographic location, or profile information. Facebook ads are also an ideal way to build a community around your podcast, helping it grow.
Types of Facebook ads include:
Instagram ads are ideal for those who want to promote podcasts through high-quality photos and gorgeous visuals. You can also share short clips, highlight behind-the-scenes images, or share links to podcasts. With more than a billion monthly active users, Instagram reaches a massive audience.
Types of Instagram ads include:
Snapchat ads leverage unique advertising features such as augmented reality, face swap, and engaging filters to boost brand awareness and promote podcasts. These ads can also reach a younger audience, with the average Snapchat user being between 15 and 25 years of age.
Types of Snapchat ads include:
TikTok ads require users to set up an ad campaign to reach their target audience within 24 hours. The platform is newer, which means ads can be more affordable than more established platforms like Google and Facebook.
TikTok ad types include:
Discord Servers or chat rooms are filled with like-minded people who want to communicate on a game, topic, or any point of interest. If you have a Discord server dedicated to podcast listeners, head to Advertise Your Server (AYS). You can promote your server and attract dedicated listeners.
LinkedIn ads are ideal for podcasters who want to target a professional audience, such as business owners or working professionals. While it might not be the right platform for all podcasts, LinkedIn still boasts more than 37 million members and has high engagement rates.
Types of LinkedIn ads include the following:
Since several platforms offer paid ads, which is best to promote podcasts? There is no one right answer; you’ll need to consider your niche, audience, budget, and ad types each platform offers.
We discuss all these factors in-depth below.
Your podcasts’ niche or industry plays a big role in deciding which platform to choose.
Are you selling software for the B2B industry? PPC campaigns on LinkedIn will be key to attracting like-minded podcast listeners. Are you a beauty or lifestyle brand? Instagram ads with gorgeous models and pretty products will likely drive the best results.
Check out my social media marketing guide to find the ideal platform based on your industry.
Most paid ad platforms have distinct ad targeting capabilities. Before you start creating ads, make sure you know who you want to reach.
What are their likes and dislikes? Where are they located? What is their gender?
The more information you have, the easier it will be to create targeted ads your audience is likely to respond to.
If your podcast wants to pique the interest of Gen Zers, think about launching TikTok ads. A food-themed podcast could also use gorgeous food-themed pics on their Instagram paid ads.
The Pew Research Center has a social media fact sheet where you can determine the preferred platform based on demographic data.
Every platform has a distinct bidding process. Advertisers are charged based on their goals or objectives such as clicks, impressions, or conversions. The average cost will also differ depending on your niche or industry.
To maximize your revenue, consider the cost of the ads and its results. You can also run a survey of your listeners to determine the platforms where your audience is most active.
Different ad types will yield different results and perceptions of your podcast.
Some ad types will resonate with your audience better. You’ll need to experiment with different ad formats to find out which works best for your target audience.
For instance, advertisers who want to launch a unique branded campaign using filters or lenses could focus on Snapchat. Those who find carousel ads effective may leverage Facebook or Instagram.
Take the time to research your audience and test a few platforms. If one type of ad converts at a higher rate, you’ll want to stick to platforms that offer that ad type.
Besides your iTunes ranking, there are several other ways to track the effectiveness of your paid podcast campaign. Here are a few metrics and KPIs to gauge the success of your paid ads campaign.
At this point, you’re probably looking to create your podcast ad. As someone who has launched many PPC campaigns, here are tips to promote podcasts through paid ads.
Podcasts may be audio, but people are attracted to PPC ads because of images. Use an attention-grabbing image that matches the theme and subject of your podcast.
The Tim Ferris show has a video ad with a compelling illustration of the podcast host. Clicking the play button plays a persuasive quote that encourages listeners to check out the entire episode.
Test PPC ads to narrow down your target audience.
When you know your audience, you can leverage ad targeting capabilities to lower your costs and improve conversions.
Let’s say you have an upcoming episode about cooking from a popular local celebrity. You can narrow your audience based on location and a particular theme of the episode.
Likewise, you can also promote podcasts by modifying targeting options based on an episode’s content. A/B testing can help identify the ideal ad sets and demographics of your target audience.
To increase CTR and decrease ad spend, test ads with different images or copy. Like Tim Ferris’ ad in the previous section, most podcast ads consist of an audiogram or a short clip with subtitles.
I recommend testing various audiograms to find out which works best in generating clicks or conversions. You can also lead users to the website or landing page where they can listen or download the particular podcast episode featured in the ad.
Most advertising platforms provide analytics to track the results of your campaigns. Facebook campaigns can be tracked with Facebook Analytics while Instagram ads can be tracked with Instagram analytics, and so forth.
For every social media platform you use, check the data consistently. Use this information to improve the paid ad campaigns in that channel.
Not sure how to promote podcasts with paid ads? We’ve compiled a list of compelling examples to inspire your own.
iHeartRadio’s paid ad aimed to promote their Ron Burgundy podcast. It includes a short audiogram which provides listeners a sneak peek of their discussion on how the brain works. Curious listeners may be compelled to click the ad to listen to the entire episode.
Podcast ads usually have an audiogram, but it doesn’t mean your ads should stick to the norm.
The Exchanges at Goldman Sachs podcast features a behind-the-scenes video of the hosts speaking on-air. The subtitles let viewers understand the topic of conversation even when the video is on mute.
The Antigen podcast by Pfizer explores the political, scientific, and cultural elements of vaccination.
Their paid ad begins with the compelling question, “Do you like podcasts or science?” If the answer is yes, you can check out their podcast about COVID-19, potential treatments, and past pandemics.
March of Dimes podcast shares stories on pregnancy, parenthood, and loss.
Their paid ad campaign shared a snippet of a father’s inspiring story with his little girl born prematurely. The caption and the featured snippet will draw new parents’ who can relate to the content.
They also have an image of a mother cradling a baby, which can attract the attention of parents.
Paid ad campaigns can help boost awareness for your podcast and attract new listeners.
To maximize your results, use a compelling image, target the right audience, test paid ads, and make sure to monitor results. Tracking and measuring the success of your podcast promotion campaign will also help you monitor your results.
As you get more data, you can determine the most effective ad type and ideal targeting techniques for cost-effective spending. Here’s to hoping these tips will help you to promote your podcast and grow your audience.
How will you promote podcasts?
Because the oldest Gen Zers are reaching an age where they can make their own purchasing decisions, you have a whole new audience you can target with your paid ads.
Search interest in Gen Z has climbed so high that as of March 2021, searches for Generation Z surpassed searches for baby boomers and millennials.
In order for your ads to be successful, you need to understand the demographics and characteristics of Gen Z so you can tailor your campaign accordingly.
The ages of those considered to be in Generation Z vary by source.
To add to the confusion, there’s also different terminology used to describe them. While the name “Gen Z” appears to have stuck, this generation of young consumers is sometimes also known as the Zoomers, in contrast to baby boomers.
For this article, I’m using the definition from Pew Research Center, which categorizes anyone born from 1997 to 2012 as part of Gen Z.
Just as baby boomers were defined by the postwar world, Gen Zers have their own unique characteristics tied to the age they were born.
For starters, they’re the first generation to grow up with access to technology throughout their lives. In 1995, two years before the first Zoomers were born, just 44.4 million people worldwide used the internet. By 2000, that number had climbed to 413 million, before roughly doubling every five years up until 2015.
The oldest Gen Zers turned 10 in 2007, the year Apple launched its first iPhone. They’ve pretty much always had access to social media, with the first social platforms starting to gain traction in the mid-noughties.
Generation Z isn’t just unique because they’re digital natives.
They’re the most diverse generation in history. Just 52 percent of US Gen Zers are white, and almost one-quarter have at least one immigrant parent (compared to one in seven Millennials).
What’s more, despite the growing cost of college tuition, Gen Z are better educated than earlier generations. Of 18 to 21-year-olds who weren’t in high school in 2018, 57 percent were in college, compared to 52 percent of Millennials in 2003, and 43 percent of Gen Xers in 1987.
Perhaps as a result of their educational exploits, they’re also less likely to work in their teens and early 20s:
They might be young, but Generation Z is already impacting our economy. In the US alone, they spend an estimated $44 billion a year. Taking their influence on all household spending into account, their annual economic impact climbs to a staggering $600 billion.
So, you should be targeting them through ads, right?
Not necessarily. Generation Z isn’t the best target audience for every brand.
For instance, they don’t seem to like alcohol as much as older generations. Just 15 percent of drinking-age Gen Zers say they drink at least once a week, compared to 28 percent of Millennials and 36 percent of Baby Boomers.
They also watch less TV. They watch over 30 minutes less broadcast TV per day, and they don’t watch any more online TV than the average internet user.
While they might not be a fantastic audience for brands in the alcohol or broadcast TV spaces, there are definitely some things Generation Zers do enjoy.
For instance, they love gaming. Indeed, two-thirds of Gen Z males describe gaming as a core part of their personal identity.
More generally, they have very different ideas of “consumption” than previous generations. To them, the act of buying simply means having access to a product or service, not necessarily owning it.
Or, as consulting firm McKinsey puts it:
As access becomes the new form of consumption, unlimited access to goods and services (such as car-riding services, video streaming, and subscriptions) creates value. Products become services, and services connect consumers.
At this point, I’m going to assume your brand is relevant to Gen Z, and you’re eager to reach them.
With that in mind, here’s a word of warning: advertising to Generation Z is a double-edged sword.
They received their first smartphone at the age of 10.3 and spend an average of three hours a day on their mobile devices. As a result, many Gen Z experience ad exhaustion. They’re 12 percent more likely than average to use ad blockers, with 49 percent saying it’s because there are too many ads on the internet.
However, their buying habits suggest they’re actually extremely receptive to seeing the right sort of ads.
For starters, 44 percent describe social media as a popular source for product inspiration, while 69 percent want to buy directly via social media. What’s more, they’re more inclined than Millennials to make impulse purchases.
It boils down to this: if you target Generation Z with the right products, they might be more likely to purchase it in-store or through social commerce (if you offer it). With that in mind, in this section, I’ll discuss how to target them effectively.
First, a quick disclaimer—you should only target the oldest members of Generation Z. Just as a millennial born in the early 1980s may not share much common ground with one born in the mid-90s, there’s likely to be a lot of disparity between young and (comparatively) old Gen Zers.
These strategies are relevant to reaching young adults right now, but trends will change by the time the youngest Zoomers come of age.
I’ve already noted that Gen Z is the most diverse US generation of all time. Zoomers recognize and champion this, with 71 percent eager to see more diversity in advertising.
While they respond positively to authentic, genuine expressions of diversity, they immediately see through ads that latch onto it as a way to sell a product. As one respondent to a Facebook survey put it: “It has to be authentic diversity, not just brand image.”
Say you’re in fashion e-commerce. You should absolutely use diverse models and messaging, but don’t latch onto Black History Month or International Women’s Day to promote your latest flash sale.
Generation Z hates being patronized.
This should be obvious—we’ve all been teenagers, after all. Yet so many articles about marketing to Gen Z talk about how they have the attention span of a goldfish.
Not only is that untrue, it’s also extremely patronizing. It suggests Gen Z are so obsessed with their phones or playing Fortnite, that they’re simply unable to focus on your brilliant ads.
In reality, Zoomers have better recollection of ads than Millennials or Gen Xers, particularly for skippable ads lasting less than two seconds.
Also, they’re the most educated generation in history and more comfortable with technology than their parents. If you don’t give them the credit they deserve, don’t expect them to buy from you.
Zoomers were raised on a diet of social media. Facebook is older than a lot of Gen Zers, so it’s hardly surprising they’re bored of it.
That’s not to say they don’t use Facebook at all; one-third check it on a daily basis. But they check lots of other channels, too. One in nine use TikTok every day, while one in ten are daily Discord users.
The lesson here is simple: to target Gen Z effectively, you need to focus on a diverse range of platforms, while keeping one eye on the “next big thing” in social media.
You might think your online presence should be geared toward selling your product and building brand awareness.
Zoomers disagree.
Two-thirds say it’s no longer acceptable for companies to stay silent on social justice issues, while three-quarters believe brands have more responsibility than ever to promote social justice.
What’s more, they’re open to brands joining in the conversation via the groups and communities they’re part of.
That means you should incorporate key issues like climate change and the Black Lives Matter movement into your messaging. But, don’t simply use it as a platform for selling—it has to be genuine.
Gen Z is just entering the workforce, so they typically don’t have a ton of money. What’s more, they were hit particularly hard by the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic in terms of job retention.
As a result, the older end of the Gen Z spectrum is much more financially aware. Because of this, you could get a lot of traction from targeted ads that demonstrate the affordability and value of your products.
Advertising to Generation Z can be a real minefield. Some advertisers get it exactly right, but unsurprisingly, lots of others don’t. Here are two examples of ads that get it spot on, and two that missed the mark.
Food delivery services saw big sales growth during the coronavirus pandemic. But with competition from the likes of Uber and Deliveroo, UK-based delivery service Just Eat needed to stand out.
Its answer? A collaboration with the rapper Snoop Dogg!
As a quick glance at the Billboard Hot 100 will tell you, Gen Z love a collaboration, and this ad certainly resonated, clocking up almost 13.5 million views on YouTube.
Take a look at the comments and you can see it’s gained the sort of response you’d typically expect from a “real” music video:
No one likes to be stereotyped, and Gen Z is no exception. Given that they make up more than one-third of the world’s population, it’s understandable they want to be seen as individuals, not all grouped in together.
Despite this, the British Army launched a recruitment campaign aimed at young adults, branding them “Phone Zombies” and “Selfie Addicts”.
That’s a tough sell. If a brand insulted me, I wouldn’t buy a pair of socks from them, let alone potentially lay down my life for them!
As an aside, 61 percent of Gen Zers describe themselves as “global citizens,” which suggests a career in the armed forces might not be a natural fit for them anyway, regardless of the advertising.
Fashion retailer ASOS launched a whole range targeted at Gen Z in which all the clothes are animal-free, sustainable, and gender-fluid.
As part of this, the brand ran a poll through Instagram Stories to ask whether clothes should be gendered, with two-thirds of respondents insisting they shouldn’t be.
This was effectively a double win. Not only did the campaign raise awareness of the Collusion line, but it also proved ASOS cares about the same issues as its audience, and understands the importance of expressing your identity.
Here’s an ad found on the subreddit /r/FellowKid, which is dedicated to naming and shaming terrible examples of Gen Z-focused marketing.
To be fair, Thortful does a lot of good advertising. It has a huge inventory of greetings cards, many of which are actually funny, but this ad is objectively pretty bad.
It smacks of an advertiser desperately trying to link their product to something that’s popular with a young audience.
Also, while the Fortnite bubble hasn’t burst yet, interest in the online shooter game was at its peak in October 2019. Thortful missed the boat on this one.
The word “authenticity” is horrendously overused in marketing, but it’s absolutely crucial to targeting Generation Z effectively.
Remember, Gen Zers expect you to weigh in on social justice issues, and they want you to promote diversity. But if you do it inauthentically, they’ll run.
If issues like these aren’t central to your branding, it’ll be obvious you don’t practice what you preach—and that will drive away these young, savvy, conscious consumers. For help creating your Gen Z marketing strategy, reach out to our top-rated agency.
What are you doing to reach Generation Z through your advertising?
Finding new audiences to target is a constant challenge for marketers. If you’ve never tried marketing for Generation X, you could be missing out on a valuable group of consumers. Why should you customize ads for a Generation X target market? Your customers are individuals, but they also belong to a group based on what … Continue reading How to Target Generation X Through Paid Ads
The baby boomer generation may seem like an afterthought when you put together the target audience for your paid marketing campaigns, but they still hold a lot of the country’s wealth and remain a key purchasing demographic.
Baby boomers were born between 1946 and 1964. This generation still makes up a large portion of the population, with a 23.5 percent share as of 2019. In fact, they were the largest generation in history until millennials surpassed them.
The baby boomers have had a huge impact on social and economic policy and were the target audience for many marketing and advertising campaigns for decades.
The term “baby boomers” actually comes from the fact that there was a high birth rate following the soldiers’ return from World War II. As a result of their high numbers and growth to adult age during a time of economic prosperity, they’re also considered one of the most financially successful generations of all time.
This article focuses on the best strategies to deliver paid ads and marketing campaigns to boomers. To do this, you need to understand the generation’s personality traits, interests, and habits.
Keep in mind that the majority of this generation is reaching retirement age.
Their retirement may look much different than previous generations though. As many as 65 percent do not plan to retire. This is not just due to financial hardship; many enjoy their work, find their work time valuable, and think it’s important to stay active and involved to remain youthful.
They’re also more likely to spend money than previous generations. Their parents and grandparents were pretty tight with their pennies due to growing up in the Depression-era.
Compared to younger generations, boomers may be a bit slower to adapt to technology, and rightfully so. Many still use a landline and write checks rather than using debit cards.
They also don’t have the same trust in technology as younger generations. While younger generations accept that the internet poses a security risk (and are fine with it), many boomers haven’t felt the need to take the risk.
As a result, trust-building is far more important than design and aesthetics. Trust, brand loyalty, reputation, and security are critical to paid ad campaigns targeting baby boomers.
Why even target this generation, to begin with? Why not focus on millennials and Gen-X instead?
It’s because this generation still makes up a large portion of the population.
They also possess a lot of the country’s money and are working past retirement age, which means they’re still spending.
Interestingly enough, they’re the only generation experiencing growth in the workforce, so their influence on the economy is still very real. Plus, 40 percent are starting to spend money online, which opens the doors to more opportunities.
The big question is, do you own a business that could potentially benefit from targeting baby boomers? What are their interests as of right now, and what types of products are they buying? Keeping in mind these individuals are between ages 57-75, what are some baby boomer marketing characteristics you should implement?
First, any business providing accurate and actionable financial opportunities could be one. We find more of this generation is still looking for opportunities at an older age, and the days of “sitting on the front porch retirement” are over.
Businesses selling products to help seniors stay in their homes or help make their lives easier will also have a better shot at selling to this generation.
It’s less about what you’re selling and more about how you sell it.
First and foremost, keep ethics in mind at all times. There are so many slimy methods of marketing to people who are not as “tech-literate.” You don’t want to go that route. There are too many great ways to provide baby boomers with value while also growing your brand.
Marketing to baby boomers is all about trust, brand, reputation, simplicity, and transparency. Keep these five factors in mind as we go through the next few sections.
Most baby boomers are on Facebook, YouTube, and Pinterest, so you’ll want to focus on these three platforms.
Facebook has a vast assortment of ads and ad types you can use like carousel ads, videos, static images, sidebars, and pre-roll ads. Each of these has its time and place, but you want to make sure it’s not too intrusive. Keep in mind that “click-bait” will not work with boomers because they won’t trust you.
Remember, this generation grew up with infomercials, the ultimate bait and switch.
If you’re advertising on YouTube, think about what this person may be doing on YouTube when they see your ad. What are they watching? What are they looking up? One in three use YouTube to learn something. They’re not wasting the day away watching videos for entertainment like younger generations might.
Many of them also turn to YouTube to save time. They’re learning that they can quickly look something up on YouTube to get the information they want, rather than sifting through dozens of TV channels trying to find the right media source.
They want to save time and learn something.
Marketing to baby boomers is all about appealing to their feelings and emotions. The same is true with any generation.
What are they feeling?
We know a majority likely have grandchildren, so they might be online looking for activities to do with their grandchildren or for gifts.
Many of them aren’t retiring any time soon, so they may be looking for solutions to make their working retirement more enjoyable. This could be something to save time or help them learn a new skill they can turn into a side-income during their retirement.
Lastly, Boomers don’t want to rely on their children as much as other generations. They value independence, they want to stay in their homes, and they don’t like when people classify them as “senior” or “elderly.”
The Baby Boomer target market didn’t grow up with technology, smartphones, retargeting ads, or artificial intelligence. No matter what way you look at it, they’re not going to possess the skills necessary to understand a complicated ad.
If you overcomplicate it, you’re going to lose interest.
You need to make sure the entire experience from front to back is simple, quick, trustworthy, and as transparent as possible. Take a walk through your entire funnel or sales process and look for areas where Baby Boomers may get tripped up.
Your price should be front and center, right at the beginning. Do not try to bait them in with videos to entice them, it won’t work. Your ad needs to be straightforward.
Essentially, “this is what I’ve got, this is how much it costs, and this is how you get it.”
Avoid terms like elderly, senior citizen, golden years, aging, etc. They don’t relate to this language because most boomers don’t see themselves this way. They’re not looking to unwind and relax like previous generations. Boomers still possess a strong zest for life, so they may take offense to being called “old.”
This is where things get tricky. You can’t call them old, but you also don’t want to use language that is “too new.” While they’re not as out of touch as their predecessors, they’re still not up-to-date on trends and internet slang.
If they can’t understand your ad or what it is that you’re offering, they will move on. Simplicity is the goal. Advertising to boomers is actually easier because you don’t need to do anything fancy to get attention, but you still need to say the right things.
Millennials are so numb from marketing slapping them in the face that you need to be clever to grab their attention. The same doesn’t apply to boomers. For them, it’s all about trust. If they trust you, they’ll listen to you.
This generation takes longer to make a purchase. They grew up when you had to shop in person or call and talk to a live representative to make a purchase. They wrote checks and money orders and did everything the slow way. They’re not going to respond to you talking a mile a minute about the latest and greatest product they’ve never heard before.
They’re also not going to take your word for it. You need to show them that it works. Including video as a part of your content is an important step in the right direction, as is social proof.
Boomers also value brand loyalty and think you should earn rewards for shopping specific brands and companies consistently. That’s why the majority are members of loyalty programs.
You could use this to your advantage by creating a loyalty program or offering a discount for signing up for a yearly service.
Let’s take a look at some examples and break them down so you can see what we’re talking about in action.
As you look at this first ad, do you think that it will work for people in the baby boomers years?
Probably not.
They likely won’t get it, understand why the person has a beard, or get what the objective is here.
We might realize they’re saying you need a great razor to clean yourself up so you’ll get kissed but it’s a reach. An ad like this may be too “modern” for the older generation.
Here’s a perfect example where keeping it simple wins. There’s nothing creative about this ad. It’s plain and simple.
The ad tells you that it’s the best razor and here’s why. The only thing that could be better is a description of how many razors you get, how much they cost, and how long they last on average.
Transparency wins over cute and cliche.
How about this ad? Any idea why we think it’s a bad choice for boomers? They made the people look so old with a cane, the way they’re dressed, the use of the word “senior,” and the fact that they said, “make moving fun.”
This ad is patronizing and shows baby boomers in a way they don’t see themselves. The truth is, most are still quite active.
Understanding how to market to Baby Boomers is still a relevant topic and we believe it will be for another decade or so. This generation still holds a large economic share, they’re still active, and they show no signs of slowing down. The key is to focus on Facebook and YouTube.
If you’re lacking experience on these two platforms, we have a variety of resources to help you. No matter what, having a definitive buyer persona is the key to all marketing so start there and the rest will come.
What types of unique strategies are you using to target baby boomers? Let me know in the comments!
Finding new audiences to target is a constant challenge for marketers. If you’ve never tried marketing for Generation X, you could be missing out on a valuable group of consumers.
Why should you customize ads for a Generation X target market? Your customers are individuals, but they also belong to a group based on what year they were born. As unique as each might be, they move through some experiences and stages of life together.
What makes Generation X so valuable? We’ll take a look at who these consumers are, what experiences might influence how they respond to advertising, and a few best practices to make sure you hit the mark with your ads.
1965 to 1980 are typically known as the Generation X years.
The name “Generation X” was adopted from a 1991 novel written by Douglas Coupland called Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture. Some say the name also gained popularity due to the generation’s refusal to be defined. The X refers to the variable “x,” allowing them to be named but perhaps not limited by one definition.
Generation X has often been ignored as marketers instead targeted the larger baby boomer and millennial generations. However, a look at their spending tells us that this is a worthwhile audience to target in our marketing.
While stereotypes can be harmful, we can look at their shared experiences to consider what motivates them, what they value, and what they might worry about in their current life stage.
The oldest of this generation grew up during the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal. Others remember the Berlin Wall coming down.
Generation X adopted computers and the internet, lived through Y2K, and lived through the AIDS epidemic. Gen X is the first generation to have exposure to the internet for most of their lifetime, though most didn’t have access in childhood.
People often characterize Generation X as self-reliant, adaptable, independent, and ethical, with “big picture” thinking. They are occasionally viewed as skeptical, but you could also call them critical thinkers. They’re currently considered to be financially stable but also deal hunters.
Why should you target Gen X in marketing? Spending power is one reason. They make up about 25 percent of the population but bring home about 31 percent of the income.
There are about 65 million Generation X, and they outspend millennials by 41 percent and baby boomers by 18 percent.
What brands does Generation X like right now? In their top 10 brands, you’ll find tech, retail, media and entertainment, automotive, and apparel companies. Other categories can include solutions for the worries they currently face, such as aging parents, preserving their health and wellness, protecting their families’ safety, or helping them plan for retirement.
SaaS platforms offer flexibility and affordable ways to make consumers’ lives easier and better, both of which appeal to Generation X.
It’s wise to remember that the oldest of this group may act more like baby boomers, while the youngest may act more like millennials. Generation X marketing strategies should include paid search ads, email marketing, social media, and occasionally even direct mail.
Your online presence matters. Gen X shoppers tend to be careful researchers of companies and products before making purchasing decisions.
Ensure your website is clear, up-to-date, accurate, and full of reassuring information and reviews. If they don’t like what they see online, they’re going to move on, probably to one of your competitors.
Generation X is tech-savvy enough to use Google regularly and frugal enough to search for coupons and promotions. You can target them with promotional paid ads that use the language they’re likely to use for this type of search. Ensure your ad copy uses terms like “discount” or “promo code,” and be clear and authentic about your promotion.
Missteps to avoid? A strong sell isn’t needed or welcomed and could be off-putting, so avoid overpromising. Additionally, 66 percent still shop in brick-and-mortar stores.
Generation X consumers like social platforms, with nearly 78 percent of them being active on social media. Which platforms do they prefer? Statista shows:
Don’t forget platforms like Pinterest and Etsy. Thirty-five percent of Pinterest users are between 30 and 49 years of age, and 27 percent are aged 50 to 64. The average Etsy seller is around 39 years old. The content on Pinterest leans heavily toward their interests, including DIY, cooking, and home projects.
Create campaigns on each platform that target this group directly, and remember to use a range of ad types to ensure you’re capitalizing on these channels. For example, knowing they are heavy Facebook users, you’ll want to use all kinds of Facebook ads including images, dynamic ads, videos, and carousel ads to catch their attention.
Just remember that if they’re following brands on social media, they’re doing it to find out about promotions and discounts. Build some promotions and special offers into your social posting calendar just for followers and fans.
Generation X are loyal to their favorite brands but wary of invasive advertising. They don’t enjoy aspects of digital marketing that seem intrusive to their personal lives and aren’t fans of text messaging or retargeting.
They are more open to email marketing, and including offers and promotional codes in emails can be a great way to attract these customers.
Be authentic, and demonstrate that quality and service are essential elements of what you offer. You’ll need to create ads that speak directly to them, with ad copy and messaging that speaks their language. Use images that reflect real people and the daily lives of Gen X.
They’re mobile-friendly, and 90 percent of them own smartphones. Ensure your website and e-commerce store are optimized for mobile to deliver a great experience and convert visitors to customers.
Brand loyalty means building trust, and this generation wants social proof. Show and tell them they can trust you to deliver on your promises.
Share case studies, display testimonials, enable platforms that invite reviews, and share your best reviews via your advertising.
Enlist strategies to garner more reviews, then use them in your advertising. Use the insights you gain from studies to create ads that feel even more relevant and meaningful to your audience.
How can you inspire your customers to leave more reviews?
Watch for signs that your customer is happy enough to leave a positive review before asking. Good times to ask might be after they’ve expressed satisfaction, when they reordered a product, when they refer you to a friend, or mention or tag you on social media sites.
What can you do with the feedback you gain from customer reviews? Add snippets to your paid ad to help coax searchers choose your ad to click and use reviews, ratings, and testimonials in your ad creative.
Adding social proof to your paid search listings can help you stand out and increase click-through rate (CTR). This can increase your Quality Score, eventually lowering your costs per click (CPC) and increasing your sales.
Get creative and use customer reviews in paid social media ads, being careful to protect your customers’ privacy. Add a quote or line of a testimonial to your email marketing. Add them to your homepage to help attract organic traffic as well.
Generation X is currently at an age where nostalgia can be an effective element in advertising. They like reboots and throwbacks.
Is it that they’re more emotionally connected to the past or nostalgic than other generations? Not necessarily. Generation X has access (and the first significant access) to all their memories and old favorites. They also have access to platforms that allow them to share this content and connect with others based on it.
Generation X is interested in past events, entertainment, pop culture, and music. Seventy-five percent of Generation X spends their YouTube time watching nostalgic content, such as videos relating to past events or people. They also like to watch video content to learn DIY skills and to follow news and current events.
This McDonald’s commercial featuring Jason Alexander from Seinfeld has over 2.5 million views on YouTube. While there may be a few younger viewers catching these classics, you can bet that many Generation Xers remember watching it when it first aired on TV.
How can you use this in your advertising? Stir up nostalgia with throwback elements that remind them of their favorite TV commercials, programs, or movies from when they were younger.
Creating a loyalty program can be an excellent way to reach Generation X. Known for brand loyalty, Gen X is likely to appreciate and respond to companies who reward their loyalty.
They like to stick with brands they trust, so relationship building is important. Often overlooked by marketers, Generation X can be won over by feeling part of an exclusive group.
Building these connections over time will help ensure Generation X shoppers stay loyal and not wander to competitors. If you can show them you care with excellent service and programs that make them feel important, they’ll stick around.
What should loyalty programs include? Generation X likes special treatment, limited offers, and extra attention on special occasions. They’re likely to appreciate birthday promotions, recognition on special anniversaries, and special discounts and events.
The best Generation X marketing examples will use platforms that they use and target their interests and values. Typically, effective ads with this group will target Generation X marketing characteristics and use elements of nostalgia to help build connections quickly.
Watch for crossover ads that use nostalgia to catch the attention of Gen X, like the Domino’s and “Stranger Things” commercial. In this ad, one of the main characters from a popular TV show of the past few years recreates a memorable sequence from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, a 1986 movie well-known to this generation.
Younger consumers will recognize the “Stranger Things” actor. Nearly every Gen Xer will catch the reference and the cameo from one of the original actors.
When a company decides to tap into “Transformers,” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” and “Robocop,” they’re targeting a specific audience.
These movies came out during formative years for Generation X and when used in ads, can create instant rapport between a Gen X consumer and the brand.
It’s true that each generational group behaves differently, has different motivations and views, and consumes media differently than the others.
Learn a little about how Generation X lives and what they love before writing your ad copy, then let your language and ad copy show that they are your focus. Often ignored, this “middle child” generation is likely to respond positively to being noticed and understood.
Learning more about these differences can help you target these groups with paid ads that are likely to resonate instead of blanket advertising that misses everyone.
Remember, you don’t have to master this yourself! Reach out for expert help with digital marketing so you can connect with valuable audiences in effective ways.
What could targeting Generation X with paid ads do for your business growth?