MENLO PARK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Marketing trends for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are shifting from traditional channels, i.e. print, radio and television advertising, and even classic word-of-mouth marketing, as millennials implement new, more viral digital practices, like social media and particularly online video, according to data from new SMB survey.
The new survey report, Unlocking The Most Powerful Shift In SMB Marketing, was released today by Magisto, the world’s most popular smart video storytelling application.
The survey found that traditional marketing goals have not changed for SMBs, revealing that three out of four SMBs want to generate new customers and over half want to build customer loyalty and grow brand awareness. But, according to the survey, the way SMB marketers reach these goals is shifting drastically from traditional methods, such as print and TV advertising, to strategies using social media and video, a shift driven mostly by the millennial generation.
The survey found that millennial marketers are 84 percent more likely to use social media to promote their small businesses than invest in print advertising; according to the data, millennials are 136 percent more likely than baby boomers to create videos for social media; and virtually no millennials marketing SMBs would invest in television advertising.
By contrast, nearly one out of three baby boomers marketing small businesses employ TV ads and other legacy marketing options.
“Millennials retain the same basic marketing objectives as their older colleagues, but are besting their counterparts with a more evolved media mix, greater authenticity, more sophisticated targeting and an overall better understanding of new tools like social video,” said Magisto’s CMO, Reid Genauer. “Even when baby boomers use social channels, they’re publishing outdated product centric ads, and are missing their audience and the real opportunity by treating Facebook like late night local TV.”
“This data confirms the rate of change and the impact millennials’ social-first advertising strategy is having on the SMB marketplace,” added Genauer.
Massive changes are underway for SMB marketing, driven by millennials. Key findings in the report include:
- Social is the new mass media. Nine out of 10 millennials at SMBs lead with social media in their marketing strategy.
- The culture of authenticity. In order to make a sale within social media, millennial marketers understand the need to speak with the authenticity that the channel requires. Over half of millennials at SMBs lead with branded lifestyle video stories versus traditional product overviews that their older colleagues continue to create.
- Targeting audience. Millennials inherently understand how to push the right content to the right audience at the right time versus posting media and hoping that an audience finds it. According to the data, millennials are 183 percent more likely than baby boomers to post a video to Instagram.
- Understanding the power of video. Millennials are using video marketing as a pillar of their marketing tactics. According to the data, millennials are 136 percent more likely than baby boomers to create videos for social media.
To better understand the habits of today’s evolving marketing trends for SMBs, Magisto surveyed over 550 SMBs throughout the United States. The company looked at how SMBs leverage today’s marketing trends and tools, and how millennials are driving those trends with a focus on social media and video creation.
For more on the findings of the 2016 Unlocking The Most Powerful Shift In SMB Marketing, download the full report.
About Magisto:
Magisto is the world’s most popular smart video storytelling application that uses Emotion Sense Technology™, a patented story detection that automatically analyzes and edits raw video footage and photos into movies, making video storytelling for consumers and businesses easy to share. Magisto is available for iOS, Android, PC and the Web. For more information, visit Magisto.com, Magisto.com/business or finds us @magisto. It’s not magic, it’s Magisto.
