The Facebook Generation: Why Gen Y marketers are the real social media experts

You’ve seen them sprouting up everywhere lately: The 20-something Gen Y kids, touting Blackberries, briefcases, and Ray Ban geek glasses. They hang out in trendy, sterile looking offices in the hippest downtown locations, texting friends while they push corporate messages out on Facebook, Twitter, and Ning. These kids are the newest wave of marketing superstars, the Facebook Generation.

While traditional marketing agencies struggle to bring their departments up to speed – “Poking? Tweeting? Ninging??” – Young gun marketers have slipped right past many industry dinosaurs simply by doing what they do best:  Using social media to connect with people and spread the word.

Social media is a relatively new field in online marketing, with the first recognizable social media site launching in 1997. But it wasn’t until 2003-04 that social networking really took off, and at that point Facebook was still in the Harvard incubator. How many marketers can say they’re true experts? Gurus? Evangelists? If one of the main qualifications of expertise is experience and a history with social media, who better than Gen Y to navigate the ever-evolving social media landscape?

Gen Y grew up with social networking sites like SixDegrees (1997), Friendster (2002), and MySpace (2003). We spent many after-school hours messaging friends over AIM, ICQ, and MSN. We poured our hearts out on LiveJournal and Blogger, adding ‘friends’ and writing wordy, often cryptic recaps of our daily lives. We listened to music on MySpace and downloaded songs from Napster – Before Metallica made us pay. We gave Hi5 a try. We connected on Facebook in 2005, when it was only open to students. Today, we still make up the biggest audience of social network users.

The Gen Y marketers who grew up online know their way around social networks. We know the lingo, we know how to use the features. We have big ideas, and a plan. We know how to talk to social media’s biggest audience: Our peers. We’re the newest generation of marketers, and are among the few with a true history in social media.

The Internet is still new, and social networking even newer. Facebook recently celebrated its fifth  birthday; Twitter its third. Both have become immensely popular with individuals, companies, and spammers alike. US Quantcast data for Twitter shows an overwhelming majority of users (43%) are between the ages of 18 and 34, with the second largest group, those 35 to 49, taking a 29% chunk of the pie. Only an estimated 18% of users are in the 50+ range. Can seasoned marketers really keep up with the shifting wants and needs of the Internet’s younger generation?

I’m one of those people for whom Facebook is a verb. As a Gen Y marketer, I plan social media campaigns for my clients. I do my research, I connect, I collaborate, I sell products and services. In 2008, I founded an online marketing firm that focuses on social media and integrated marketing. My inbox shows a clear demand for my kind of services, and I constantly look at the market to see what unique advantages my firm can offer.  While I plan my campaigns, I look at more established companies who are struggling to adapt to social media as a marketing tool. Will they be successful? Only time will tell.

I invite you to share you thoughts on this matter here in an open discussion. And, as always, you can find me on Twitter @JulieTyios.

 

Comments

[elmyrasila]

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I hate to see those people rush out and proclaim their marketing/social media expertise, especially when there's nothing backing it. I once worked for someone who was completely clueless when it came to marketing.

[Julie Tyios]

@Nomiki - Great article! A lot of people have been arguing about the divide. There's no doubt that one generation replaces another, and I find it fascinating how the generation before adapts (hence this article). I agree with you and Andrew Ballenthin that we all have a lot to learn from each other. I have witnessed the tech speak divide time and time again - For many, email is mind-boggling, but that's a primary method of communication for Gen Y.

As the Baby Boomers head into their golden years, it will be interesting to see how things evolve yet again. Baby Boomers should certainly not be overlooked in any way - There's a lot of wisdom there.

Julie

P.S. Kudos to your dad for being so tech-savvy. That's awesome!

[Julie Tyios]

@MysticDiva - Thanks for leaving a comment. It's nice to hear from proficient social media users in Gen X.

I'm surprised your friends aren't using LinkedIn for career advancement. I do, but at the same time, it's hard to get far unless you're a paying member. I work with quite a few start-ups and I always talk about the LinkedIn model. They really got in there are a good time and defined their niche well. It can be an incredibly powerful tool - I've made a lot of really great connections on there - But you have to be diplomatic with how you use it. Spamming is not the answer. Like almost all other social networks, conversation is key.

I agree, Twitter's great - Especially for writers. Thinking in 140 characters can really change your writing style.

It seems like you're a very busy, very plugged-in baby boomer. I'll be in touch to further discuss this with you.

Thanks again!

[mysticdiva1-lifetips.blogspot.com]

Interesting comments. I am a proud baby boomer and I love Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin. I also have 2 blogs and am about to launch another one later this year. About to shut down MySpace because I don't use it anymore. I have friends ages 20 something through the 50s and beyond on these sites. We use these sites for various reasons. None of my friends, even the younger ones, seem to be using Linkedin, for career advancement though they list their career information. I like Linkedin for the writing groups. Helps me hone my craft. I like Twitter for the connections and info about blogging, writing and similar subjects. And of course, I learn to be concise use 140 characters to say whatever I want to say. Facebook for me is the real "social" site because I have friends and family (including my 2 adult children) and former co-workers that I connect with, play games with and discuss pertinent issues with.

I can see how time would be an issue, as Jenmy stated. Happily, I retired a month ago but that does not mean I have time to burn either. Just started a rum cake business, selling to friends in the Manhattan area, working on a book/blog about staying where you live for vacation rather than spending money you may not have to go away, started a group of like minded, entrepreneurial women called Sister Divas, remembering to post regularly to my 2 other blogs and otherwise enjoying life. Couldn't do all of this when I was working full time. And every chance I get, I'm checking Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin.

[Julie Tyios]

@Carol - I totally agree. You can't rush into marketing without some kind of a background. Whether we get it through school, experience, or through our own self-taught methods, you need to know the science behind it to make it work. Wise words.

I hate to see those people rush out and proclaim their marketing/social media expertise, especially when there's nothing backing it. I once worked for someone who was completely clueless when it came to marketing. Yet, he could sell products, no problem. Luck was on his side with a number of factors: market timing, consumer demand, and price. His revenue was in the millions, every year. His philosophy was that marketing is just something you learn as you go along, and if you don't know it, hire someone to do it. Some people just get lucky, I guess. (Oh, and he was younger than me, too!)

[David Locke]

Millennialists are post-gen Y. The Millennialists are the social media experts that you are describing as gen Ys. The Millennalists are inherently social even when they are offlilne.

As for social software, it's been around since the dawn of Web 1.0, so the boomers know it well.

[Julie Tyios]

@Andrew - Sure, I can agree with you about user versus expert, but that's why I referred to Gen Y marketers here, and not just Gen Y. Technically, anyone born between 1970 and the early 90s is Gen Y, so our oldest Gen Y marketers are just about to turn 40. Those were the teenagers in the 80s who played Space Wars, Asteroids, and other Atari games, and also got into the first personal computers. They were around when Al Gore invented the Internet. ARCHIE, anyone?

Naturally, marketing is useless without a proper business application. A lot of people run out into the field these days and offer marketing marketing promises that look good but have nothing behind them that will help a business in the long run. The reality is, marketing should help your business grow.

I work with a lot of start-ups and I always form my marketing plans around their business goals and strategies, after doing in-depth research into the market. Given the economy, I offer to do this in the most cost-effective way possible. Social media has that advantage for a lot of businesses, as the only cost is the manpower behind it. I know many amazingly intelligent people my age who have gone through hoops and now work in the marketing departments of some of the world's largest companies. I find more and more companies are willing to embrace Gen Y marketers (even fresh out of university/college, with zero experience), because of our age. We are the digital kids, and we know how to talk to our peers - Often, our age group is where companies aim their messages.

Sure, you can still refer to some segments of Gen Y as up-and-coming, yet there are others who have already paid their dues and are out there pushing these messages successfully. It'll be interesting to see how it pans out.

[Julie Tyios]

@DKM - Interesting! As someone who works online (the CNN posts), it's neat to see that you aren't so into social media. I've found it's a great way to promote content and spread your message, but it all depends how you use it. Twitter's a really unique social media model because it's redefining communication - With only 140 characters, you have to be really creative to get your message across. Following this trend, Six-Word Memoirs popped up - Have you tried that? http://www.smithmag.net/sixwords/

[Carol Phillips]

Julie:

Great post. I think Gen Y does have a leg up on social media, no question. I work hard at SM (I was on Facebook before my students were) but I will never rival Gen Y's proficiency.

CONVERSELY, many Gen Y'ers lack marketing experience. As a marketing professor I know students are shocked to learn what they DON'T know. Unlike SM, marketing is not something you learn by being a consumer. I strongly suggest Gen Y'ers take time to read deeply on marketing -- traditional and digital - before proclaiming their expertise. Without broader marketing perspective, they will be like the pioneers in the early days TV, saying it will displace radio when actually it was just another way to connect with the customer.

[Nomiki Konst]

I absolutely agree, Julie! I am one of those Gen-Y's...or as I like to say, the Yippie generation.

I recently wrote an article discussing the role of technology as an opening for our generation to take over the ranks from the baby boomers.

Would love to know what you guys think!

http://www.theyippie.com/TheYippie.com_/The_Yippie/Entries/2009/8/22_Lost_In_(Technology)_Translation.html

[Andrew Ballenthin]

Great discussion Julie. I'd suggest drawing a line between being a social media user versus a social media expert. A gardener may know the best way to plan, tend to, nurture and infuse vision into a garden like know one else. However, a first class landscaper understands that a garden is part of a larger picture which all has to work together. Point being, having used the media and known the in's and out's of it don't equip any age with management or business acumen from a strategic application perspective.
I've interviewed Gen Y's and beyond knowing the terminology and what they've done socially several of them didn't know where to start with the business application. By that same token there are plenty of brilliant marketers that don't get it either but they can run highly impactful mainstream campaigns in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
For what it's worth we all have something to learn from each other. The one's that weigh in as experts, regardless of age, are the ones that stand the acid test and are willing to deliver tough measurables without fluff of, "they just don't get it". This is an exciting era of change and few really are business experts in SM but there's lots of room for more to join once they pay their price in results orientation.

[DKM]

Following up on Jenmy's comment, I have a Twitter account that I rarely use - not allowed enough words to do anything other than point to a URL or tell people stuff they don't really want to know (going to the gym...going to work...going to the bathroom...etc). I use it solely as a political platform to link my CNN posts to (when I have time to do them!).

Facebook I use for family only. LinkedIn I use for business only. MySpace I use as little as possible - I'm not really into porn or lying (I can get enough of that from mainstream advertising). I sometimes scout for "new" trends, but mostly not.

So, am I gen y or x? ;D

[Julie Tyios]

Hey Jenmy,

Interesting points. I have also heard a lot of Gen X-ers go on about being social media experts, and I'd love to take a look at the stats for social media use circa 2003. How many of them were on MySpace? LiveJournal? Friendster? A lot of us spent countless hours on those sites after school and throughout university. We know they couldn't possibly have been on Facebook until it opened up to the public. The question is: What qualifies them as experts?

The bigger question is: Can Gen X-ers readily adapt to the digital age that Gen Y grew up in?

The mean age of Facebook users is 21 (average is I think 25), from what I last heard. LinkedIn is the only social networking site that has an average age that reflects Gen X: 40. I signed on to LinkedIn about 4 years ago, but didn't use it much at first. After I left university, it was one of my primary job search tools, and I began to use it more and more as the site evolved. I think it has a very diverse range of users, but almost everything about the site appeals more to those with established careers.

I still Facebook, blog, use MySpace (and iMeem) and I'm madly addicted to Twitter. It's a great tool for me to contact clients and build my network, and I feel that microblogging is just a natural progression of the tens of thousands of hours I spent communicating online.

We're the first generation that's actually fluent in online communication. We grew up surrounded by technology: We used computers in school, we had computers at home, we had cell phones in high school. We talk, we tweet, we text. We had 'online friends.' We used chat rooms and instant messengers. We chose style and attitude according to what was popular online. Can Gen X come into this field and use it like we can? Does our history with social media make it a more intuitive tool for us to use in marketing?

[Jenmy]

That's interesting that you write about this topic Julie. I've been thinking about this for a while now. Beyond Facebook, does Gen Y really get social media? Maybe it's just natural to them and that's why they're the real social media "experts". To be honest, all the hype I hear about social media are from people who are slightly/significantly older than Gen Y. Just sayin'.

I would argue that I have seen my peers become less socially media inclined since they have graduated from university. Who has time when you work your 60+ hour work week at your accounting/investment banking job? Then when you get home, you just want some sort of human interaction with your friends or you want to go to sleep. I've seen more of my friends move away from the social networking sites because frankly, we don't have time for it. You want to ask your friends for a drink? Text them. Call them. Facebook events are for mass events like birthdays and even then who checks it all the time like we used to in university? I planned my last birthday on Facebook and almost had a very close friend of mine miss it because she didn't know about it. I told her "It's on Facebook!". She answered "I don't check that anymore."

Very interesting subject and I think that there are a lot of different aspects of this topic that needs to be explored some more. Great conversation starter Julie!