Unmasking The Connected Generation (& 5 Content Tactics It Craves)

From television to social media, there are battles being waged between individuals and organizations on all fronts.

Except, as Ryan Hanley explains, instead of fighting with tanks, each side is deploying content to defeat opponents and capture the attention of prospective customers. 

Physical products, services, and interactions aside, the majority of the information we consume on today is considered content.

Blog articles, social media updates, Netflix documentaries, Snapchat stories, news reports, books – it’s all content in one form or another.

As the business landscape has evolved into a digital world and traditional marketing practices have given way to inbound marketing, content has become the center of most modern campaigns.

If your business is putting out poor or half-hearted content, be warned. You may be losing the battle for your audience.

In Content Warfare: How to Find Your Audience, Tell Your Story and Win the Battle for Attention Online, Ryan Hanley provides specific strategies to help your business rise above mediocre content marketing and start creating content that impacts your bottom line.

Hanley shows marketers why the scammy and spammy tactics that worked in the past are no longer effective and how today's buyers value the authenticity, transparency, and honesty that comes with content marketing more than ever.

Below, we’ll discuss several key insights from Content Warfare that you can use to win the content battle in your industry.

The Connected Generation vs The Unconnected Generation

As marketers, we’re constantly trying to better understand people. To make this easier, we typically break large masses of people into smaller demographics, such as Generation Y, Millenials, and Baby Boomers.

Hanley argues, however, that these different generations don’t really exist – at least, from a marketing perspective. Instead, he explains that buyers can be placed into two different generations: the connected generation or the unconnected generation.

“The Connected Generation consists of individuals willing and open to communications and building relationships, who ultimately make buying decisions based on digital content and interactions.

The Unconnected Generation is everyone else. Unconnected Generation consumers often require in-person transactions, exhibiting an unwillingness to communicate via email or other digital tools, and general skepticism about the internet.”

Rather than positioning your marketing message towards one particular age group, Hanley suggests it’s most effective in today's market to focus on those who are already most willing to communicate digitally and make buying decisions online – the Connected Generation. 

5 Content Marketing Tactics the Connected Generation Can’t Resist

With 600 billion being spent by millennials alone in the United States each year, the Connected Generation is a forced to be reckoned with for marketers and the entire focus of inbound marketers like us.

The following are five essential factors to take into account when trying to make a play for their market share with your inbound and content marketing:

1. Intimacy & Personality

The Connected Generation wants to know more about the person behind the brand’s that it buys from. They want to hear about your family, your favorite sports teams, your hobbies, and your opinions. In many ways, this generation often blurs the line between professional and personal.

With this in mind, make an effort to share more of your personality through content, especially on social media. Here at IMPACT, we make an active effort to show our culture, interests, and sense of humor on our social media accounts.

For example, take our recent take on the viral Mannequin Challenge:

 

Stop everything. #mannequinchallenge #impactbnd #impactlifestyle #hubspotpartner #hubspotting #instagood #thanksgiving #photooftheday #inbound #inboundmarketing #marketing @hubspot @hubpartner

A video posted by IMPACT Branding & Design (@impactbnd) on Nov 23, 2016 at 6:26am PST

2. Vulnerability/Humility 

As hard as it is to believe, your brand doesn’t have to be perfect. In fact, that can raise red flags with the Connected Generation.

The Connection Gen wants to hear about your mistakes and how you overcame them. These difficulties make you appear more human and relatable. This honesty also builds trust, showing your audience that you’re not hiding anything, hold yourself accountable for missteps, and are always striving to improve.

Our team tries to strike this chord by sharing personal stories and experiences on our blog.

From what it’s like working remote to dealing with the loss of a loved one, we try to be as open and honest about our struggles as possible and turn them into learning opportunities for our audiences:

• How to Support Your Team During Tough Personal Times
• 5 Pieces of Advice I Wish I Had During My Job Relocation
• Coast-to-Coast: 3 Lessons Learned After 1 Year as Remote Employee

3. Rich Media

In our full synopsis of Content Warfare, I'll outline the 3 remaining tactics for reaching the Connected Generation from Ryan Hanley and share more examples how they can be implemented effectively at your organization. Simply click "keep reading" below to continue.