With social distancing restrictions in place following the COVID-19 alert, media consumption has seen a massive increase. How media is being consumed, however, is noticeably different between each generation group. This is no surprise given that Millennials and Gen Z were brought up in a world booming with technology.
A recent study by Global Web Index found some interesting insights into media consumption across different generations during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Let’s take a look at the results, starting with Gen Z.
Gen Z
Gen Z are those aged 16 to 23. They were shaped by mobile technology, social media and cyberbullying.
During the COVID-19 outbreak, they’ve been consuming more online videos than any other generation, with over 50% of this age group watching this medium. Second to that, online TV and streaming are other popular methods of consuming media for this age group.
What does this mean for marketers?
For marketers targeting this age group social media video content is key. With a vast majority of the age group using social media videos to receive news, as opposed to traditional written articles, marketers should take advantage of this. They should opt to use video on all social channels where possible – YouTube, Instagram and even LinkedIn.
Millennials
Millennials are those aged 24 to 37 years old. They were shaped by 9/11, Y2K, the internet and technology.
During the COVID-19 outbreak they, like Gen Z, have been consuming quite a lot of video content (44%), followed by online tv/ streaming (41%), and online press (36%).
What does this mean for marketers?
Like Gen Z, Millennials are very digitally aware and focussed, so creating engaging video content is key to capturing their interest. Many millennials look at their phones first thing in the morning and the last thing at night, so taking these opportunities to hook your audience in with video can leverage your marketing.
Gen X
Gen X, aged between 38 and 56, were the first generation to experience the use of computers.
During the COVID-19 outbreak they have been watching more broadcast TV (45%) than any other generation. In addition to this, a significant number of Gen X’s are watching online tv/streaming (38%), radio (38%) and online videos (35%).
What does this mean for marketers?
Amongst the Gen X cohort, it is clear that video is a far more popular medium for media consumption than traditional text-based mediums, such as books (21%). To take advantage of this, marketers can create video content to distribute on both traditional media (broadcast TV, radio) and new media (online tv, google ads, social media).
Baby Boomers
Baby Boomers, aged 57 to 64, were shaped by Woodstock, civil rights, and economic prosperity. Some of which would remember the first Moon landing, The Civil Rights Movement and The Vietnam War.
During the COVID-19 outbreak, broadband TV (42%) was the most apparent medium for media consumption amongst Baby Boomers. All other areas, such as books/literature and online videos, ranked rather low (<15%).
What does this mean for marketers?
For Baby Boomers, features and ads on broadcast TV are the most effective mediums to engage with this demographic.
With a growing number of generations becoming acclimated to technology, digital tools such as AI and video are becoming more important than ever. To put your best foot forward in the growing digital landscape, marketers should incorporate video content into their content strategy.
For more information on how to get started with video, get in touch with Vmation.