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Never has it been more important for marketing companies to have a strong online presence, especially when trying to get the attention of impressionable millennials. For this generation, content sharing helps develop relationships, inform opinions and to some extent help define the person doing the sharing. The key to winning the attention of this audience is relatable material that defies mainstream media. This in turn enables millennials to feel connected to the content and each other.
As one of the top creators and producers of digital content for teens and Millennials, DEFY Media takes a keen interest in understanding what motivates youth to watch rather than ignore a video. To keep and grow our own brands’ audiences, we have to be in tune with the ever-changing way content is viewed by youth. Our most recent annual ACUMEN Report delved into how youth 13-to-24 years old discover content, what gets them to pay attention, and what thematic elements appeal most to them.
The study discovered one of the foundations of content discovery is wrapped up in how today’s 13-24 year olds build relationships with their peers. Connection with others often occurs in the digital domain and the sharing of content is a key factor in forging bonds. Youth have a ‘the video I share with you becomes a common experience between us’ approach, thereby forming a bond in the same way shared life experiences create bonds. And the lack of a digital connection can even break bonds; as one interviewee told us, “I have a friend who refused to join Facebook, and I haven’t talked to her in five years.”
Sharing via social media, and sometimes texting, is the primary forum where youth discover content. In-person interviews revealed an interesting behavior whereby youth thumbed through their social feeds and then suddenly stopped because something had caught their attention. We called this a “thumb-stopping” moment. The top two qualities that got youth to stop scrolling and start clicking were rooted in sharing and bonding with peers; content “liked” or viewed by a lot of people (59 percent) and content sent by “someone I respect” (58 percent).
Other top thumbstoppers were a bit surprising. While sites like YouTube are rooted in do-it-yourself production quality, 46 percent of 13-17 year olds and 57 percent of 18-24 year olds would open content that looks “professional and polished.” Their explanation was that if it looked polished, it meant somebody invested time in the content and thus it might be good. The study also found YouTube celebrities exert a thumb-stopping influence, with their presence motivating 43 percent of 13-17 year olds to open and view content.
A thumbstopper may get youths’ attention but it doesn’t guarantee the content itself will be appealing. The themes youth described as engaging can be loosely categorized as “rebellion” and “reflection.” Rebellion is a check on the mainstream, or a message that you don’t-have-to-grow-up; youth described this content as “random and hilarious.” Reflection normalizes common events and engenders feelings of, “That’s me!” and youth described such content as “relatable.” Here are just a few manifestations of rebellion and reflection themes:
- Makes fun of TV shows
- People surprised or caught off-guard
- Major fail
- Activity I can imagine doing with friends
- Thought I’ve had but never said out loud
- Something that happened to me
Rebellion and reflection are more of a spectrum rather than either-or. An “activity I could imagine doing with friends” may seem reflective, but if the action is a stunt gone wrong it can look like rebellion. One journalist summed it up as, “This is a long way of saying that every time someone young goofs up on YouTube, it’s a marketable event.”
So if you’re neglecting thumb-stoppers and steering clear of rebellion, you might have the answer to why your videos aren’t playing well with today’s youth.
