Young consumers spend a lot of money online and also spend a majority of their time connected to the Internet as well, so if you run an online business, you already know how important it is to hit this demographic in order to guarantee the success of your organisation. But targeting this group is more difficult than it seems. Whereas it used to be all about setting up a Facebook brand page and waiting for young customers to find and “like” you, today things are more competitive and more complicated.

Where Have the Young Consumers Gone?

While Facebook certainly is still popular amongst young individuals, it isn’t the only social media platform they frequent. In fact, more and more young people are surfing over to other sites, like Instagram, Snapchat, and Vine. While you can simply follow them over to these other sites, your goal as a business owner will be to figure out, yet again, how to effectively use these sites in order to entice younger consumers to make purchases from you.

Using Social Media to Understand Young Customers Better

The ultimate question is, how can online business owners effectively use social media in order to learn more about their young customers’ wants and needs, especially when it comes to children who are using the Internet to find their favourite toys and to play games with friends over social networks? Put simply, the answer lies in creating a sort of sub-brand that you can use to create a brand new image that young people will connect with.

For example, Mean Stinks was a program started by Proctor and Gamble for its Secret deodorant line. This was a social media campaign that aimed its efforts at young people who were being bullied. By connecting with these individuals and providing them with support and education when it came to dealing with bullies, the company was not only able to market themselves to these consumers but were also able to gauge how people are being bullied and what solutions are available. In essence, the company was providing a great service while also doing its job of marketing to young consumers.

Gaining Insight Through Conversations

By using social media websites like Facebook, YouTube, or Instagram, you can effectively create a community of young consumers who are able to communicate with one another freely about an issue that matters to them. And in observing what these teens and older children discuss, your company can gain valuable insight into what their needs are.

If you run an online business that caters to young children who love to play games when they come home from school, you can tweak your product line to suit their needs. Or if you want to focus your products on teens, you can determine how they love to spend their time with friends and the tools that they use to look good, feel good, and do great in school. The key is creating a campaign and social media presence that’s respected, that has a moral cause behind it, and that doesn’t abuse the system.