Quality Content & Constant Consideration

Generation C & Constant Consideration

The friendly folks at Google launched Think Insights a few weeks back, giving online marketers (and those who care about online marketing) plenty of ammunition by way of industry-relevant research, case studies, infographics, and sheer statistics when it comes time to make arguments about whether it is or isn’t worthwhile to invest (and invest heavily) in quality online content.

Of particular interest to me is a research study that explores a consumer/user-group identified as Generation C, a group that is made up almost entirely of millennials, a.k.a., YouTube’s favorite demographic. This group has firmly embraced the tenets of the digital age, to the point that they’re consuming, influencing and being influenced by online content at such a momentous pace that another Think Insights study notes the entire buying cycle in one industry (auto) has morphed from one of distinct phases to a single cycle of constant consideration.

The Gen C study indicates this group cares deeply about the 4 C’s: creation, curation, connection and community. To put it even more simply: they’re concerned about quality content, especially the online variety. Of course, this makes it more crucial than it ever has been before for you — yes, YOU — to be concerned about quality content. Why? See the next section.

Gen C Exposed

Who are these guys, and what do they want? The Insights team reveals 8 truths about the Generation C:

• Gen C is more than one age group, but it’s almost 80% millennials
• 67% of Gen C uploads photos or videos to social sites
• Gen C spends well: $500 billion/year in the US alone, and 85% of Gen C’s purchase decisions are influenced by peers
• 88% of Gen C has a social profile, and 65% of them make daily updates
• 40% are more likely to consume video on YouTube than TV
• Even in the sack, 91% are never without their smartphones
• 80% watch YouTube videos on their smartphones
• 39% actually don’t mind ads at all, as long as they are relevant

Reaching the In-Crowd

If the aim of your web content is to reach and inspire the Gen C crowd — given their spending power and influence, why shouldn’t it be? — then you need to check out Insights for … um, insights into what makes this group tick and then develop an executable strategy that ensures what you’re producing content-wise stays in the cross hairs of their constant consideration cycle.

That’s what my my boss, Brice Bay, meant in an earlier post when he discussed the importance of keeping your online content fresh, up-to-date, and quality-focused: you have to impress, and what impresses Gen C is very clearly quality and authenticity. Everything else is just in the way or easy to ignore.

Otherwise, your company’s web content might just leave Gen C wondering if you’re comfortably numb to their online demands.

Joey Hall – VP Content Marketing