But here are some questions:
Who are the DN, and How Do we get an accurate understanding of them?
& After understanding them, How & What are the most appropriate digital marketing channels to reach them?
I did my research to answer these questions and I found some really interesting information. Here you go …
First, Who are DN?
They are the Digital Generation, who used technology since a very young age and grew up using it - they evolve with the digitalization, the older they are the more they are attached to the online and digital world.
Second, How do we get an accurate understanding of DN?
It is very important to reach an optimum understanding of the DN in order to be able to reach and get through to them… Watch this video: Understanding The Digital Generation
Furthermore, BVA (The French Polling Institute) Published a survey bout this generation (18- 24 years olds), "born with a mouse and a keyboard, and now permanently tied to their smartphone". This study is titled GENE-TIC which stands for Generation and Technology of Information and Communication, and it took place between 2009 and 2010. Various techniques were used in this study to understand this generation and how they function in the digital life of their own.
Here are some of the Results they reached:
- The constant gamer.
- Corporate Defiance.
- The Group they trust.
- How do they get the news?
- Workplace.
- The group.
- The information.
Those results are of the kinds of practices DN perform online, For further and in depth explanation of the results, Click here.
So in order to reach an understanding of DN, markets should undergo Surveys and studies or use existing ones in order to understand DN's wants, needs and their lifestyles. Techniques like: Spywares, video recordings, online questionnaires, feedbacks and more can be useful in such studies.
Now, Once you know who are DN and understand them. The next step is to target them through Digital Marketing…
Third step of the process is the selection of the appropriate Digital Marketing channels. Obviously this is the hardest part where the efforts of all the marketing team should be put together to draw the new Digital Marketing Campaign which would appeal to the DN.
I found an interesting article on MarketingProfs: '9 Ways To Reach Digital Natives' , By Ann Handley. I think its useful as it gives tips about how to reach DN specifically, Which are the following:
(I copied the main points as this article is only available for members)
1. Offering or sponsoring online research tools. Digital natives research before they buy. They ask their friends, and they search exhaustively online. Think: User-contributed product reviews, and the ability to share product reviews and comments on your product and services with friends.
2. Constantly refreshed content. Digital natives are impatient. They want content served fresh, all the time. Think: Content that is engaging, not boring, and that informs, not sells. Think forums and blogs and other ways to spawn frequent information updates.
3. Creating content to share. What's yours is theirs. Think: Finding ways to encourage digital natives to pass along your online newsletters, videos, podcasts, whitepapers, blog posts, or whatever you're producing.
4. Tossing out marketing-speak and your product-centric point of view—in all your communications and advertising. Think: Talk with your customers, not at them.
5. Finding ways to include video and/or audio. Video, audio, and other kinds of media are fun to share and pass around, and embedded video and audio players are often easier to pass along than text, too. Think: Producing some compelling media in digital or audio format.
6. Fostering brand loyalty. The loyalty of digital natives can be intense, and some may, entirely on their own accord, evangelize your brand or product. Think: Facebook applications, reaching out to bloggers who are leaders in your industry or who write about things related to your product or services.
7. Monitoring the conversation, and participating in it. Read leading bloggers who write about your products, services or industry. Comment on their blogs, start a dialogue when the opportunity arise. Think: Make it someone's job to monitor Twitter, read Amazon product listings, write industry-specific blogs you publish, or read and comment on blogs written by others.
8. Being transparent. What does that mean? It means fully embracing the "empowered consumer" and giving them the tools to harness their opinions—good and bad, said Ben Grossman. Think: Interacting with your customers openly in nothing but a forthright, honest manner.
9. Being prepared for the worst. The flip side of that loyalty is that digital natives have no patience for shenanigans. A ticked off customer has a larger platform, and negative feedback can send ripples excruciatingly far. Think: Dealing with disgruntled customers as issues occur. (And not wishing they'd simply go away.)
- I hope you find those tips useful -
In addition to all that marketers have to pay attention and not forget some basic and important Marketing Concepts. The selection of appropriate channels have to be smart and strategic. Also, marketers have to study the marketing mix and take it into consideration to have a more valid and successful selection process. The P's of internet Marketing Mix are: Product, Promotion, Price, Place, People, Process, Physical Evidence. Moreover, Positioning is just as important in a Digital Marketing campaign, because it helps the company to target and focus on specific audiences and Position their product they way they want in the customers' minds - In this case the target audience are DN.
Back to 'What are the most appropriate digital marketing channels to reach them', After knowing how to reach and select the Digital Marketing channels to reach the DN, here are the channel options marketers have, this diagram is very beneficial and useful for companies to consider the options and see if they're going to work for their specific campaign.
The options or Digital Marketing channels are the following:
1. Search Engine Optimization, which I talked about in this blog post: 'Digital Marketing .. Tips'
4. Social Media Marketing (Check this SlideShow about: Using Social Media Tools To Reach Digital Natives)
5. Onsite Marketing, i.e Content Management which consists of Blogs, RSS Marketing, and personalized Recommendation.
9. Behavioral Targeting - Marketing
11. Partner Management, examples of it are on the diagram.
12. Contextual Advertising/Marketing
For more help in the selection process, Datran Media does an annual Marketing and Media survey about the marketing channels and which ones perform best, and how their performance changes with time.
"Each year, Datran Media conducts its annual survey to capture insights from marketers around the globe. This year, Datran Media asked marketers to address their toughest challenges in this increasingly difficult economy. The results of the survey reveal significant optimism towards 2010 marketing and advertising spending, after a decline in 2009".
Check out the survey and get some facts and statistics: '4th Annual Marketing & Media Survey'
I hope the information I gathered is beneficial and will help you in the process of selecting the Digital Marketing Channels to Target the Digital Natives. GOOD LUCK!
Innas A.
Innas your post is really helpful and has the information you need in order to understand the topic and to help you develop and improve your digital marketing strategy. There is a book about the topic by John Palfrey called Born Digital:Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives, for those in your audience that want to expand the information about this topic.
ReplyDeleteWow, you did go into details, didn't you?
ReplyDeleteIt's great that you've provided definitions of digital natives and reminded of the basic digital marketing techniques.
Unfortunately, I couldn't make the diagram larger and look at it.
However, I've found a study conducted by Volkswagen and MTV (You can read about it here) that can help single out a couple of the marketing techniques out of those you've listed.
The research they've done shows that half of the Natives use social media on a daily basis, not least to post about their favourite brands or follow product recommendations. Which shows that social media has quite some potential to help marketers/companies reach Digital Natives.
The study also points out the wide use of mobiles (also for the use of social media)... Another potential lead for marketing strategies!
I guess this are not *that* surprising when we see our own use of phones and social media, but it's interesting to see it confirmed by research data.