Tech mistake |Today marketers have a wide choice of different content types to create; from video to blogs, from memes to whitepapers. But which types of content are most suitable for different age groups?
Today marketers have a wide choice of different content types to create; from video to blogs, from memes to whitepapers. But which types of content are most suitable for different age groups?
One size does not fit all
With such a variety of content types available for marketers, it’s important to pick the right types of content for your target audience for maximum benefit. Content marketing can be time-consuming so it’s important to know which types of content works best for your target audience.
While your target audience could be segmented in a number of ways depending on your product or services, such as job title or location, we want to have a look at what types of content can appeal to different age groups.
Generations
For the sake of this article we are focusing four different age group generations:
Baby Boomers (Roughly 50 to 70 years old)
Generation X (Roughly 35 – 50 years old)
Millennials, or Generation Y (18 – 34 years old)
Generation Z, or iGeneration (Teens & younger)
What content features are most valued?
Before looking at the type of content, we need to understand how age groups like to consume information and the features that appeal to them the most. These can then be translated into types of content that meet these qualities.
Baby Boomers
- Place importance in accuracy to detail and ease of use
- Consume printed materials but also still actively online (and will keep rising)
- Simplified design – want to find out information easily
- Primarily desktop-driven or tablet driven (less mobile)
Generation X
- Enjoy clear and concise information
- Mixture of mobile, tablet and desktop consumption
- Enjoy comparisons and reviews/ testimonials
Millennials aka Generation Y
- Large internet users and can regularly multi-task so content needs to be attention grabbing
- React to incentives and offers
- Brevity is key – want information quickly
- Mobile driven (and tablet use)
- Articles or written content should be short and concise
- Imagery driven
Generation Z aka iGeneration
- Used to changing media, apps and content
- Very mobile driven
- Often enjoy whatever is most popular as they will be embracing this first
- Sharing content easily is important
- Enjoy visual and interactive experiences
What content works best?
We’ve outlined some of the key features and preferences across different age groups; but what types of content do these translate to?
Baby Boomers
- Guides/ books – more detailed text
- Testimonials and Reviews
- Video (longer lengths & more detail, if useful)
Generation X
- Testimonials and Reviews
- Video content (again, longer content OK if useful, otherwise keep it short)
- Email newsletters
- Blogs
- Concise information – overviews, facts etc.
Millennials aka Generation Y
- Video (short)
- Promotional emails & discounts
- Blogs (shorter)
- Social media
- Lists and facts
- Emotional content – i.e. (real life perspectives, stories)
- Beneficial content i.e. recipes, checklists, guides
Generation Z aka iGeneration
- Social media
- Videos (very short)
- Quizzes
- Memes
- Imagery – photographs, graphics, (Instagram)
Align and Segment
The above information provides a guide around the most commonly preferred content for different age groups but you must make sure that the types of content also align with your business; its brand values, messages and services.
Age is a very common method of segmenting audiences but there are many others; having a clear understanding of your target audience is the first step when creating content. Each age group can vary so by segmenting data even further you can continue to improve your results.
Final Thought
With all the different types of content, there will be one thing that appeals to every audience: clear UX. Everybody has an aim when consuming content and making their journey as easy as possible will always be a good thing, so ensure fantastic UX across all content.
This article originally appeared on Chorus Digital as “What marketing content do different age groups consume?”