Generation Y – roughly those aged 13-29 – are among the strongest consumers and influencers. And while social media like Facebook, delicious, and Flickr have garnered media attention, many businesses are still wary of dipping a toe in the social media water.

I argue that we can gauge return on investment (or influence) for Gen Y by looking at their buying power and online behavior and therefore that it is imperative that (most) businesses participate in social media. Plus, I will give you the research to back up these assertions so you can prove it to your boss.

Flashback: Ohio

Growing up in pre-internet Ohio, I spent a good chunk of my allowance and lawn-mowing money on comic books at the local pharmacy. If they were sold out of my usual books, I was SOL until the following month. Scarcity of goods required that I go where they were (and quickly!) or I would miss out.

Fast-Forward: Today

Now, post-internet, these stories sound quaint. Given a bank account, any kid can get any comic book from anywhere in the world. So what does this have to do with social media and Generation Y?: proximity to resources.

Today, consumers expect businesses to come to them. Long gone are the lazy summer bike rides to the pharmacy – today, young people expect to be able to spend their money just about anywhere. And where are they? Online, in general, and on social media, specifically.

Maybe this shift isn’t a surprise to you, but let me prove it with research (easily printable for timid bosses or humbugs).

Gen Y By The Numbers

• Buying Power: “Among 13 to 21 year-olds alone, over $120 billion was spent in 2007…The group’s income is predicted to rise through at least 2017, when it will approach $3.5 trillion.” (The Harris Poll and Javelin Strategy & Research via eMarketer.)
• Influence: “71% have influence over parental decisions about cable, DSL or dish-satellite services…62% have influence over which HDTV set and programming package to buy…70% feel their expectations and demands are far greater than their parents’ for rich media experiences…and on-the-go broadband access.” (Motorola via MarketingVox)
• Online Consumption: “The group is very comfortable shopping online. One-half of consumers under age 24 made an Internet purchase between April 2007 and February 2008.” (Nielsen Online via eMarketer)
• Social: “One statistic that jumps out is that young men and women are very likely to be Joiners, with around 60% participation in social networks, more than twice the level of participation of average adults.” (“Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies, Li and Bernoff, pg. 46)

Simply put, Gen Y are very powerful consumers. Plus, they are more social online than any other group. Facebook isn’t a fad. You cannot bury you head in the sand and wait for a return to the good, ol’ marketing funnel. That model is gone. Long live the new model.

Convincing Your Boss: Relate It To What S/he Knows And Emphasize ROI And Cost

The change is scary for everyone, but come on – this fits into an old-school model your boss will understand. S/he knows to target an audience and speak their language. S/he knows you go to where your consumer hangs out. The key to pitching a social media strategy to an old-school boss is to relate it in an old-school way.

Here’s another leg up on your rivals in the company: with a social media strategy, you will have the ROI to prove success rather than just conjecture. Web metrics and communication being what it is online, it’s likely that you will have more information than you can handle about your progress than less.

Finally, social media is cheap. Like, dirt cheap. I have worked in print publication and direct mail. That world is slower, less precise, and loads more expensive. Plus, if things change between the writing and the printing, you are stuck with useless package filler. Online is better.

The Gist

In other words, to convince your boss to partake in social media, speak his/her language. You do it with consumers all the time. Turn your methods inward and go for it.

Sidenote: If your boss still reacts negatively to social media, this is a useful sign that your company is not acknowledging the passing of time. Get off that sinking ship quickly!

While I have fond memories of biking to the pharmacy pre-internet, they are not memories so fond that I want to go back to them. I understand that while those times were nice, the times ahead are probably going to be nicer. Hopefully your boss will too.

Have you convinced an old-school boss to partake in social media? Feel free to suggest other tactics in the comments section. And if you like what you just read please consider signing up for email updates below.

Weinschenk gave 4 principles of persuasion. I’m sure there are more, but her’s are pretty darn good:

• Reciprocity – In short, ya give what ya get
• Social validation – People want to do what other people are doing
• Authority – People want to do what they’re told
• Attractiveness, similarity, liking, association – kind of speaks for itself

We didn’t spend too much time on emotional engagement, but it was a great exercise to take a step back and look at a website only from the user experience. You take all the marketing bullshit and throw it out the window; just focus on whether Grandma could get what she wants out of the website.

World Usability Day this year was focused on healthcare and for emotional engagement we looked at Johnson and Johnson‘s Access2Wellness.com site. We followed several steps in applying for this program, looking for triggers that move you forward – like current content, advice from knowledgeable sources, and impartial/independent information – or roadblocks that stop you from moving forward – such as unexpected actions, needing to leave the site for content, and jarring interactions. With Weinschenk’s help, we also looked for persuasion triggers and roadblocks like an obvious call to action (trigger) and an interrupted flow of action (roadblock).

In terms of generational effectiveness, we searched for type-2 diabetes information on MSN’s health site from the perspective of a baby boomer as opposed to a “net gen,” which covers tweens and about anyone younger than 25. This was a little more complex because, while we were still searching for triggers and roadblocks, some of the things that boomers like, net gens don’t, and vice versa.

Of course, these are generalities, but as marketers, we swim in generalities everyday. Some examples given:

• Automatic video – boomers hate, net gens like
• Randomness and unpredictability – boomers hate, net gens like
• (Multiple) navigation bars – boomers like, net gens hate
• Website consistency – boomers like, net gens hate

We joked around about the generalities, but in the end, there’s a reason they are generalities. No value judgment included, but it should surprise no one that boomers move more deliberately through websites while net gens bounce around. So as online marketers, it’s our responsibility to know our audience and try to build the most accessible and enjoyable website geared for the target audience while not completely turning off others.