If you’re running any kind of campaign, whether it’s to solve a problem, promote a product or service, or increase attendance for an event, you know that you need a) an engaging way of doing that and b) to reach your target audience.
Simple, right?
In theory, yes. But in practice, it might not be as cut and dried as you think. That’s because you first need content that is sure to spark interest in your audience and second, you need to ensure that you choose the right channels to reach your target audience.
Video content is being consumed more than ever before
Let’s take video as our example of a type of content. Animated videos have been statistically proven to be an excellent driver of engagement. For example, 50% of people watch informational videos before making an online purchase and it is estimated that the average person spends a whopping 100 minutes every day watching videos online.
So if the future of video as a marketing or informational tool is looking rosy, surely we’re all set to go?
Not quite. And that’s because different generations consume content in different ways. To make sure you reach your target audience and avoid wasting time, effort and money, you need to identify exactly who you’re targeting, and where and how they’re consuming all of this lovely video content!
Understanding your target audience
Understanding what type of content your target audience engages with is a key part of your creative strategy.
Broadly speaking, this comes down to a matter of generation. If your animated video has been created to generate leads for a particular service, sell tickets to an event, or promote a product it is highly likely that to reach your target audience it will have been created with a specific generation in mind.
Therefore you need to look at where different generations consume video. First, let’s break these generations down.
Boomers
Boomers, or Baby Boomers, were born between 1946 and 1964 and therefore grew up without technology. That’s not to say they don’t use it but they have known life without it and thus have a different relationship with it than younger generations.
Generation X
Gen X was born between 1965 and 1980 and they too experienced a childhood, or many of their formative years, without computers and mobile phones. Like Boomers, they have a different relationship with technology than their younger counterparts, although the vast majority of Generation X are tech-literate.
Millennials
Born between 1981 and 1996, most Millennials have spent most of their lives using some form of technology, whether that be game consoles or smartphones. They are tech-savvy and consume video content on different devices than their predecessors.
Generation Z
Gen Zers sometimes referred to as Zoomers, were born in or after 1997. Shocking as it may seem to some of us slightly older folk, they have never known a life without technology.
The different consumption habits of different generations
So if we’re looking at a range of people who have only been acquainted with tech in their later years to people who perhaps can’t even begin to imagine a life without it, it goes without saying that their approach to consuming content will vary wildly.
Choosing the right channels to reach your target audience is crucial to ensure that your video campaign is a success.
Which channels should you use to reach your target audience?
Older users, particularly Boomers, use Facebook the most. In fact, 92% of Baby Boomers surveyed by Sprout Social said they had an account. This is higher than other demographics. Compare that to the 57% of Boomers who said they use YouTube.
Generation X may have grown up without social media but they’ve made up for that since and Facebook is also their go-to platform of choice, with YouTube and Instagram in second and third place.
Somewhat surprisingly, Millennials are not so different to their Gen X elders and although they tend to spread themselves across a number of different platforms, generally they split their time online equally between Facebook and Youtube with Instagram in third place. They also spend time on Snapchat and Pinterest.
Generation Z mostly shuns Facebook with only 36% of the platform’s users being from this age group. It seems that for now, and for the foreseeable future, Snapchat, TikTok and Instagram are the places to hang out instead.
So now you know how to choose the right platforms to reach your target audience by age group, but are there any other specifics you may need to think about?
Breaking down the demographics further
After all, it’s probably fairly unlikely that you want to target the entire Baby Boomer demographic or all of Gen Z. The likelihood is, that you’ll be aiming for a subsection within a particular age group.
For example, are you creating video content for a B2B or B2C audience? Is the purpose of the video to attract new candidates for your job vacancies? If so, your company’s LinkedIn page will probably be a good place to post your content as well.
LinkedIn would also be an appropriate channel to reach an audience if you’re promoting an upcoming conference or live event that you’re hosting or participating in.
It’s also worth thinking outside of the social media box and considering posting your content to popular blogs, which target a specific audience.
Choosing the right device to reach your target audience
Keep in mind that different generations like to consume their content, particularly video content, on different devices.
Boomers and Generation X typically use desktop computers and laptops for watching videos. Younger audiences, however, prefer to watch content on their mobile devices; their tablets and, predominantly, their phones.
What this means is that your animated videos can have a slightly longer run time if you’re targeting older consumers, but they’ll need to be shorter and snappier to catch the attention of the younger, mobile user who is far more used to scrolling past if something doesn’t immediately capture their attention.
Choosing the right creator to reach your target audience
At Content Creatures, we know a thing or two about creating animated video content that targets a specific audience.
If you’re looking for a way to get the message across to the people you need to engage with, either through animated videos or a more robust creative strategy, get in touch with us today.