Businesses depend heavily on content marketing to attract new clients and boost revenue. Online stores generally focus on the buying power of adults but often neglect to consider the purchase patterns of teens. Teenagers are buying — they simply do it in a different way than adults. In today’s rapidly advancing world, it shouldn’t be a surprise that conventional marketing methods ‒ commercials, billboards, and radio ‒ are less successful with teenagers than they were in the past.
By adapting, remaining creative, and understanding the teenage consumer sphere, you’ll tap into a wider market and boost brand visibility, subsequently generating more leads and closing more sales. Keep reading to gain more insight into the top ecommerce marketing tools to keep you relevant with your teenage audience.
Social Media And Influencer Marketing
Connect and engage with them over social media. According to Pew Research Center:
- 95% of teens own smartphones,
- 45% are online throughout the day on an almost constant basis.
The most popular social media platforms amongst teenagers are:
- YouTube – 85%
- Instagram – 72%
- Snapchat – 68%
Offering a seamless check-out by using the ecommerce tools offered via social media is vital for securing sales with your teen audience.
Around 19% of teens base their buying decisions on an influencer’s opinion. Teens are more receptive to influence marketing than any other demographic, and they also rely on the opinions of their peers. Teens look to social media for authentic and crowdsourced information, positive reviews, and feedback. Posts from teens will always perform well if your company engages with them in return.
Harnessing The Power Of YouTube
More than 70% of teens spend 3 hours or more per day on youtube. If you are specifically targeting a teen audience, make sure your business has an active presence on YouTube. Upload videos that showcase what’s new in-store, or give virtual tours of your physical retail store. Provide valuable content, such as tutorials on how to style, use, or troubleshoot items from your online store.
Upload unboxing videos or product reviews to social media and promote them with easy links to the product. Don’t lose your adolescent audience’s attention with slow landing pages or forcing them to navigate a maze of products to find what you’re promoting.
Offer Value And Incentives
According to the National Retail Federation, 66% of teenagers think discounts, coupons, and loyalty benefits are key factors in determining where they spend money. Teenagers have a relatively smaller budget when it comes to shopping, so they will want to stretch the rand value further by taking advantage of promotions that offer steep discounts, freebies, or free shipping. You’ll be able to take advantage of teens’ limited finances by carrying a wide variety of lower-priced products, impulse buys, or bundled deals alongside your primary inventory.
Data Protection, Transparency, And Privacy
Keep their personal information private. Research shows that 62% of teenage customers are willing to share personal information with ecommerce retailers in exchange for discounts and rewards. They have, however, grown up in a digital age and understand the importance of data security and expect their personal information to be kept secure. As a business, you’ll need to be transparent about the use of your customer’s personal information and implement strict safety protocols and secure payment gateways to protect it. Additionally, you must strive to simplify the process for teenagers to edit or update their information.
Stay Relevant With The South African Teenage Market
Currently, in South Africa alone, thousands of ecommerce retailers compete for the teenage market. Online sales growth necessitates the ability to distinguish yourself from your competitors. Open Circle Solutions stays on top of the latest trends and understands the niches of the unique teen consumer market so that we can offer highly targeted solutions for e-tailers.
No matter what you’re selling, if you’re looking to break into the teenage ecommerce market, get in touch with us.
