In a world of digital TV, mobile devices and wearable technology, it's safe to assume that a large portion of your audience is computer literate – but that's not to say everyone's expertise is equal and their preferences are the same. There are some significant differences in the ways the various generations interacted with brands, devices and content. By recognising and building these differences into your content strategy, you might just find it's easier to get through to the audiences you're targeting.
1. Baby boomers
While 50% of baby boomers use smartphones, 79% regularly use the internet, suggesting that content directed at desktop reading is more suitable than for other generations.
2. Gen Xers
A recent Australian study showed 18–54 year olds spend more than 40 hours online every week. What's more, Gen Xers are 70% more likely to use Twitter as a primary sharing platform than baby boomers, but they tend to prefer long articles to short ones.
3. Gen Yers
Gen Y consumers don't feel a sense of loyalty to brands and are digitally fluent, expecting brands to engage with them online and responding particularly well to apps and community-related content. Gen Yers love to be heard, both within their peer groups and when it comes to interacting with brands.
4. Millennials
Not only do millennials love using their smartphones to browse buying options online, 59% will even whip out their phones and compare prices while shopping in-store. They're also finely tuned when it comes to online humour and are more likely than other age brackets to share images.
5. Gen Zers
The millennials are growing up and in their place, we have the extremely tech-savvy Gen Zers who have grown up with different internet devices from their very earliest days, Gen Z expect to follow brands from platform to platform and who are all about engagement as they love making connections.