Instagram businesses have become quite the profitable ventures, capturing audiences in all age groups and promoting more accessible ways to get products in the hands of consumers. As a content creator and confectionary entrepreneur, I have had to learn about my audience and how it prefers to consume information and content in order to grow and profit from my business.
An easy way to get insight about my audience was to study their behavior as it pertains to their age demographic. I’m not one to typically segment my audience in this way, but when it comes to social media, generations consume it so distinctly that having knowledge of this can be a game-changer when it comes to reception of one’s message.
Boomers Get the Word Out
The Baby Boomer generation, born between 1946 and 1964 encompasses many of my generation’s (Gen Y) grandparent figures. While many of them are not as prevalent on social media, those that are use traditional methods of marketing, like WOMM (word of mouth marketing) to share information that they like. In my personal experiences, many of my referral customers, who are typically younger relatives or acquaintances of the Boomers, have come at the recommendation of an individual in this range. A great way to attract Boomers, though they may not be your primary target audience, is to share your Instagram content on a social media account like Facebook, where that generation tends to consume most of its content.
Gen-X Has Cash to Spare
While the Boomers hold more generation wealth, Gen-Xers have been getting closer to their earning prime and have children that are a part of their consumer profile. In my case, I benefit most from Gen-Xers because they tend to purchase cakes and other sweets from me to celebrate their children’s birthdays and milestones. Targeting Gen Xers on Instagram is as easy as posting content relevant to their cause. They consume technology rather easily, but not avidly. Captivating product images are the way to get them to reach out about purchasing a product.
Gen-Y are you doing this to me?
Gen-Y, or Millennials, while they are still trying to finish college, work their way up the corporate ladder, or start a family, are easy to target for me as I resonate with this generational group, which means they understand my language. Millennials grew up with emerging technology and catch up together to all the social media trends, making them competitive consumers of digital content. While they are not in the wealthiest category of consumers, millennials will spend what they have to spend in order to keep up with the trend and maintain the appearance that all is well because, well, Boomers can be judgmental.
Gen-Z Your Way Out
Finally, we have Gen-Z, the master manipulators of all things social media and the ones who create and shape the media trends we strive to compete with. Gen-Z cannot afford our products, but Gen-Z is instrumental in ensuring your social media business has booming traffic and a growing audience. By analyzing what Gen-Zers are doing on social media and adapting to those trends, we are susceptible to our posts and products gaining virality, which can introduce a whole new audience to your brand and in turn, result in more sales.
“This generation is tiny, but mighty – and one right move to gain their approval, can mean the approval of the masses.”
It’s obvious that there are generational differences in content consumption that lead to product exposure and eventual sales. The most important thing to keep in mind is to find ways to leverage all these differences so as to not exclude anyone when getting your message out into the social world. When audiences feel like you are talking directly to them, the chances of your Instagram business being successful are unlimited.