First the Baby Boomers, then Generation X, and now we have Gen C, a sociological concept that categorizes a wide range of the population. The demographic of Gen C includes Gen X, millennials and teens who have come to embrace the four social C’s—Community, Curation, Creation and Connection. Gen C is widely noted to the inclusion of social media in their daily routines. For example, one of the most popular forms of social media is YouTube. This social community thrives on the submissions of videos, which range from home produced footage to highly produced film. Gen C, in particularly, has incorporated the videos on YouTube in most aspects of their lives, such as how-to demonstrations and advertising.
YouTube by the Numbers
YouTube has revolutionized the advertising industry by reducing the need for print advertisements at a magnificent amount. Instead of looking to newspapers and magazines for op-eds and product descriptions, people skip over to YouTube. Thanks to the mobility offered by handheld gadgets including tablets and smartphones, it is much more convenient and cost effective for people to simply flip open to YouTube to search for entertainment, education and news reports. As a matter of fact, individuals have upped the amount of YouTube they are viewing by 50 percent compared to 2012. Most impressively is that YouTube is accessed by more young adults ages 18 to 34 in the U.S. than cable TV networks. As part of this demographic, Gen C’ers are more likely to see an advertisement on a YouTube channel than they are a cable television channel.
Connecting to Gen C
In order to reach the Gen C YouTube viewers, we must first understand when, where and how often does this demographic go online for news, education and entertainment. To start, in a survey conducted by the research firm Ipsos, it was discovered that 66 percent of Gen C are spending as much or more of their time watching videos on the Internet rather than flipping on the tube. More specifically, one in three of those in Gen C watch more videos online than they do on television sets. Of this population, 46 percent feel that YouTube is a different form of television.
Community of YouTube
As a key part of the Gen C mentality, social engagement is evident online by this demographic. For example, more than 50 percent of Gen C YouTube users have shared such videos online with others within their social network. Additionally, digitized marketing campaigns should become part of this social engagement process if they intend to reach this demographic. In doing so, they stand to be recognized by the Gen C population since 51 percent stated they watch YouTube videos to determine whether or not to purchase a service or product. Additionally, approximately 40 percent of Gen C go to YouTube specifically to pursue their preferred brands.
Social Media and Sales
As 70 percent of Gen C subscribe to at least on YouTube channel, marketers should mark their path in advertising using this social media megalith. Rather than losing out to the opportunity to sell products and services to Gen C, businesses should opt for the social engagement and online connection afforded by YouTube. A study conducted by MarketShare supports this notion, stating that for categories of brands ranging from cosmetics to auto insurance, those companies that took to YouTube for advertising increased their sales.