MMC 5427
Social Media & Non-Profits: How Can We Get Millennials to Give?
With the rise of social media, social causes and charities seem to be more prominent and important than every before. It seems like every time I scroll though my newsfeed, I am learning about a new Go Fund Me campaign for a family or a fundraiser to raise money for Angels Among Us Pet Rescue. As a millennial, I am very interested in these causes; I often learn about them because my friends have shared them. Could it be that that there are there more charities that exist now than what existed before? Or do we see these posts so often because millennials are more charitable than other generations? Perhaps there is just a different way that millennials choose to go about donating. If social media is a main pillar of communication and community for millennials, it would make sense that they would choose to learn about causes and donate through social media. Research also shows that in 2014, people between the ages of 16 and 24 gave the second highest amount to charity. We can thank social media and the Ice Bucket Challenge for that (Targeting Millennials).
Since 1971, charitable donations have consistently made up anywhere between 1.7% and 2.3% of America’s Gross Domestic Product (American Press Institute). Although it seems like we are being more charitable, we’re really not. Perhaps the perception that we are becoming more charitable is based on what we are exposed to more charitable efforts on social media? Are we sharing these fund-raising posts but not really donating any money to them? If this is indeed the case, I believe that the percentage of donations will soon increase, as millennials gain more spending power and make up a larger percentage of the market and as marketers for these charitable orgianizations are understanding how to use social media to reach out to the millennial audience.
Who are these millennials and what do they care about? The term millennial refers to individuals that were born between 1980 and 2000. According to Millennial Marketing, this demographic group represents 25% of the U.S. Population and accounts for 21% of consumer discretionary purchases. While some older generations often may consider this group to be self-centered, lazy, and disrespectful, common positive demographic traits for this group includes being open minded, supportive of others, and receptive to new and different ideas. This group of individuals also purchases products differently than other generations; they truly put their money where their mouth is. In fact, over 50% of millennials are more willing to make a purchase from a company if that company supports a cause that they cared about (ex: animal and homeless shelter donations). What does that mean for brands? Brands that support more than just making profits are more appealing to millennials. The Millennial Marketing study also states that 37% of millennials are willing to purchase products and services that support causes that they believe in, even if that means paying more money. This group also grew up with technology and are social media savvy. They have smart phones and keep up with the latest news on channels like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Periscope, and SnapChat. What does this mean for marketers and advertisers? How does this affect the marketing techniques for brands, especially those that include millennials in their target demographic? Does this have an overall effect on charitable donations? Some brands are really taking notice and are adjusting their brand strategies and marketing techniques accordingly.
The fast food brand, Wendy’s creates their marketing strategy with millennials in mind. Have you noticed that in the majority of their television ads, they feature millennials? They also have one of the most dynamic and engaging social media presences out of all of the fast food giants. The brand is fun and people want to engage. One of their recent integrated marketing campaigns, #ShareforAdoption, takes a product that they sell (soft drinks) and allows customers to take action on social media in order to raise money for a charity- The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. Every time a customer takes a photo with the Wendy’s cup and shares it on social media using #ShareforAdoption, Wendy’s donates $5 to the charity. Why would you not want to do that?! It literally only takes ten seconds to raise $5 for a charity. As a millennial, I couldn’t imagine not taking a few seconds to help support this cause and share it with my friends in hopes that they support the cause as well.
During an interview, I asked a 20-year old college student, Sierra Nolan, how she felt about the promotion- “I think it’s great that Wendy’s is donating money for adoption. I actually don’t eat at Wendy’s too often, but because I saw on Instagram what Wendy’s was doing, I actually stopped by there for lunch one day last week with a few of my friends. We needed to eat lunch anyways, so why not help give to charity when I do.” Her comments resembled what studies have been saying about millennials and how they choose to purchase products. If you look on social media, there are thousands and thousands of posts from Wendy’s customers responding to this promotion. The brand as a whole is being shared on social media and is being discussed within social circles, including on college campuses. This is a great example of how the forward thinking by Wendy’s marketing team has increased the digital footprint and popularity of the brand among millennials.
Another brand that really appeals to the charitable side of millennials is Toms. Since it’s initiation, Toms shoes has pledged to give a pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair of shoes that they sell. This “one for one” philosophy has made the brand successful and a well-known brand among millennials. Toms also created “A Day Without Shoes” which occurs May 21st every year. On this day, people are encouraged to go barefoot for the day to realize how difficult life would be if you couldn’t afford to wear shoes. Also during this day, many Toms retailers offer a big promotion to help promote these shoes. Hashtags #oneforone and #adaywithoutshoes will be trending on social media, as millennials are sharing photos of them participating in this social cause. Wearing Toms is the cool thing to do because it supports a bigger cause. The shoes are really expensive, in my opinion, for what they are (canvas and a flat sole), but that doesn’t stop millions of millennials from wearing them. Toms also has a collegeate product line, allowing you to purchase shoes in your school colors. I have purchased at last three pairs myself. Because of this success, Toms has branched out to include sunglasses, jewelry, and small accessories. They also support other “one for one” businesses on their website and social media pages.
In addition to large, multi-million dollar brands like Wendy’s and Toms, smaller start-up organizations are better understanding millennials and are taking the qualities they value into consideration when creating a company and the associated marketing message. The video below discusses a start-up brand, Karma-52. This online-based company sells products to benefit charity. For each product sold, $7.52 is donated to the specific charity of the week. These products include t-shirts, hats, jackets, and pet clothes. Wearing apparel that supports causes seems more important today than wearing top name brands. Brands like Karma-52 build their entire business model around millennials.
Other companies are choosing to run sales promotions where the company donates to a charity for every purchase of a participating product. Is giving to charity more important than receiving a discount off the product or a free item with purchase? One thing is for sure, marketers are going to have to shift their marketing strategy and perhaps their business model in order to stay relevant and accommodate the needs and qualifications of the millennial buyer. This includes being up to date on all the newest technology and social media platforms. You have to be where you customers are. Because of social media, they are able to dictate when, where, and how they hear from your brand.
What do all of these brands have in common? Are these products cheap? No. Are these products made with top quality materials? Maybe not. The key is that these brands are appealing to the millennial generation and making it easy for these individuals to feel that they are making a contribution to society. These brands are being successful in the marketplace because they are understanding their customer base. We know that charity is important to millennials. So is social media communication and a sense of community. These brands have realized this and capitalized on these realities to promote their brand and increase their business. I feel that more and more brands will follow suit in the weeks and months to come.
For more information and additional resources, please visit the following sites:
- http://www.americanpressinstitute.org/publications/reports/survey-research/millennials-social-media/
- https://philanthropy.com/article/The-Stubborn-2-Giving-Rate/154691
- http://www.cnbc.com/id/100689671
- http://www.grizzard.com/targeting-millennials/
- http://www.millennialmarketing.com/who-are-millennials/
Why are Other Brands More Popular than Yours on Social Media?
Why are some social media pages really successful while others are just mediocre? According to Newswhip, stories that were posted on PlayBuzz’s Facebook page were shared over 10 million times and posts that were made on BBC’s Twitter page were tweeted over 4.5 million times. Looking at these stats, there is a clear separation between the top pages on Facebook and Twitter and the pages that follow. What makes PlayBuzz and BBC’s posts so popular and shareable? What are they doing that sets them apart from other popular social media pages?
(Source: PlayBuzz Facebook Page)
PlayBuzz is an entertainment website. Literally, they whole objective of their Facebook page is to entertain people (it even says so in their title). Their page is full of mind-less quizzes that help you take your mind off of work and reality. Cause after all, you really want to know what kind of pet you would be if you were an animal. These quizzes are fun and engaging. People that take them want to share their results and because of this, end up sharing PlayBuzz’s post. It’s really the snowball effect on social media and people wanting a break from reality that makes PlayBuzz the most shareable page on Facebook. In addition to these sharable mind-less quizzes, there are a few feel-good stories that are sprinkled in that pulls at our heartstrings (think babies and puppies) that we read, love, and want to share with our friends. Facebook is designed for sharing stories and PlayBuzz really has a knack for creating shareable pieces of content.
(Source: BBC Twitter Page)
Twitter, however, is more of a news-sharing site than an entertainment site. The BBC’s Twitter page is full of both breaking and general news stories, with posts being made an average of ten to twelve times per day (many of these are retweets). One thing that sets the BBC’s twitter page apart from other top news organizations on Twitter is the huge variety of content that is posted on the pages. Unlike other news sites, the BBC seems to focus on a much larger demographic set than some of its competitors. You see everything from vines of whales jumping out of the water to pop culture photos and stories to breaking news to weather reports. The BBC also leverages associated channels such as @BBCweather, @BBCsport, and @BBCiPlayer to tweet and retweet. This way, they are reaching a larger audience. In my opinion, the large amount of sister Twitter pages that the BBC has greatly contributes to their ability to reach and engage with a large audience.
How can we take what the market leaders are doing and put these into practice for our brands? We can start by identifying what our audience likes to do when they are not at work. Even though the social media accounts that you manage may be very product and business related, we can’t forget that the people that we do business with still want to be entertained. They don’t want products to constantly be pushed at them. They want to have a little fun, read an interesting story and see some great photos. If we can make them related to our brand, even better! The point of social media is to be social and entertaining. If a brand can do that for its customers, they will be more successful on social media in the long run. Don’t forget that it’s ok to have posts that are not directly related to your brand. If your target audience is interested in those types of posts, it will serve your brand well.
Extra, Extra! Tweet All About It!
It’s safe to say that social media has drastically changed the field of journalism and how we communicate on a day-to-day basis. We no longer have to wait for the evening news or for the newspaper deliveryman to toss a paper on our doorstep. As individuals, the rise of social media means big changes in the way that we receive and interact with our news. We can choose what we want to engage with and when we want to engage. Try and think about the rise and evolution of social media from a journalists or newscasters perspective. There really wasn’t many changes made to the news industry for a few decades prior to the social media explosion. If print is still making money, why would journalists care about social media? After all, if they are still making money doing what they have been doing for decades, does it really matter if they engage with social or not? While not engaging with their audiences on social media may not mean imminent death to many of these individuals, there are some great benefits to using social media that will help these professionals gain a leg up on the competition.
How or why should you use social media as a foreign news correspondent?
- Allows you to connect with other news correspondents globally
- Allows for quicker transfer of information
- Position yourself as a thought leader for your country on a global scale
- Interact with citizen journalists and be among the first to break global news in your country
How or why should you use social media as a local beat editor?
- Allows you to know what your local audience is doing (watching trending hashtags)- what is important to them at this moment?
- Ask your audience what they want to hear! Conduct polls and get the pulse of your audience
- Build your brand on social media and encourage more listeners to your station- tease them on social media with upcoming segments
- Allow your audience to be engaged with your brand- you need to create brand advocates!
How or why should you use social media as a cameraman at a TV news station?
- Build a following and share behind the scenes photos from your news station- we know that people love behind the scenes footage
- Create a personality for your self as the cameraman and talk about upcoming features that you have shot
- Document pieces of your work and build your online brand on social media
Social media is constantly growing and changing. Some may not like change, but it is here. You have to build yourself as a brand and engage with your audience. It’s no longer about how great of a story you have- it’s about who sees that story and how they choose to engage with it!
Journalists & Social Media: Embrace the Responsibility like Russ Spencer!
First, I want to start this post out by stating that I am first and foremost a marketer. While I do dabble in content marketing, I am by no means a journalist. SO as I am writing this post, I feel that because I am a marketer, I am looking at the content through more of a marketing lens than from a journalistic standpoint. With that being said, there is a lot of marketing involved in journalism and vice versa. Social media has allowed journalists to have more direct contact with the audiences they are trying to reach and these audiences have more options regarding how and when they want to receive these news stories. Journalists now have to take social media into account in order to be relevant, as the audience may not be tuning into the 6 o’clock news cast on their televisions anymore.
One example of a journalists who I feel really embraces this responsibility is Russ Spencer of Fox5 News Atlanta. According to his Facebook profile, Russ began his career in journalism in 1983 after he graduated from Princeton University. In 1995, he started in career with Fox5 in Atlanta and has been here ever since. When I was growing up, I remember my Dad watching Fox5 every night and seeing Russ Spencer. I honestly never remember watching the news without him being there! To me, he has always been the face of Fox5. In the past 20 years that Russ has been at Fox5, there have been a lot of changes occur in journalism, including the one that I feel is most important- the rise and evolution of social media.
Russ is my favorite journalist to follow on social media because I feel like he appropriately and effectively uses social media to enhance his journalism. For example, he will use Facebook and Twitter to start a conversation about a news story that he will be talking about on the TV broadcast. During the broadcast, he will even mention what some of his followers on social media have been saying about the subject. I feel like this adds to the story and gives a broader perspective regarding the opinions of the views. When I comment on his stories, he is really good about responding and I feel that he genuinely listens to my perspective. This has created a more engaging and interactive form of journalism in my opinion.
I also feel that social media has helped make journalists more relatable. Although a majority of Russ’s articles are about news stories and hot topics, there are also several posts that are more personal. These posts, which include photos of his daughter Ella and his family help me relate to him. I feel like by showing this human element, I am able to trust him more and be more interested in the stories that he has to share. I follow many other journalists and have found that I am less interested in the ones who don’t show their personal side like Russ does. Good job, Russ!
The Storytelling Arc & Social Media: Dogs Discarded Like Garbage?
What was your favorite story as a child? Was it one of princesses and dragons or animals that lived extraordinary lives? As a child, I loved listening to Disney fairytales and pretending that I, too, was a princess. While the majority of my reading is now done online instead of from my fairytale books, authors are still using basically the same techniques to tell news stories on social media. Although the characters and situations may be different, the story telling technique is still pretty much the same.
As I was scrolling through my Facebook feed yesterday, I came across an article titled “Once-Prized Tibetan Mastiffs Are Discarded as Fad Ends in China”. As an animal lover, I was compelled to read this article that was published by The New York Times. To me, the title was alarming. How can you “discard” a dog like they are a piece of garbage?
The first thing that The New York Times did right when creating this article was creating a title that was eye-catching. Aside from the article, a video was also created that further engaged the audience. Because the video was on top of the page and I watched the video first, I was more compelled to read the article. The second thing they did right was creating a post that was short and engaging. Following the traditional storytelling arc, the author started out the post by sharing the history of mastiff breeding in China. The introduction was followed by the problem, which was that no one wanted to purchase these dogs from breeders anymore. Because the dogs cost on average $40 per day to feed, breeders were going out of business and wanted to get rid of the dogs any way that they could. The climax followed and stated the issues that the Chinese were having with consumerism. The author stated that the breed was such a fad that people would even have plastic surgery performed on their dogs to make them more appealing for breeders. This fad only lasted a few years and the dogs were then unwanted and unpopular, even after people spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on their dogs.
While there is no clear resolution, the story concluded by describing how volunteer groups are trying to save many of these dogs from being packed onto meat trucks and slaughtered. While I do understand that there are many cultural differences between Americans and the Chinese, it is still hard for me to fathom sending my dog to be slaughtered and used for meat, regardless if my dog was a popular breed or not. Apparently many other Americans agreed, as this was one of the top ten most engaging stories on social media last week.
Watch Out Pinterest, I’ve Found a New Favorite Site!
As an example of crowdsourcing, this week we were introduced to a website called Kickstarter. This site is dedicated to matching product inventors with product backers. Based on statistics given on the site, 5.7 million people have backed a Kickstarter project. The projects range from documentaries, to articles of clothing, to hand made stationary. Because I love crafts and new ideas, I found this site to be amazing!
One of the coolest features that I noticed about the site was the ability to see projects that are searching for funding locally. When I searched for Carrollton, GA, one of the projects searching for funding was a band that I have watched a few times. Homegrown band is a local country/Christian band that plays really awesome music. They were looking to receive $5,000 worth of funding in order to record a new album. If I would have known about this project before the goal had been reached, I would have pledged the $15 necessary to receive a signed hard copy of the album once it was recorded. I think it is awesome that Homegrown received the necessary funds in less than one month using Kickstarter.
A few other projects that peaked my interest were Sole Socks, Zombabiez, and the Bottle Cutter. I actually purchased the Bottle Cutter for myself. Although the Bottle Cutter is made in London, they will ship it to me for free. I have been really looking for something like this in order to turn liquor bottles into glasses and candles. I was so excited to find that a product like this is actually being made! Cutting bottles is very hard to do, so hopefully this will make it easier! Apparently, more people than just me were looking for a product similar to this. The project owner’s goal was to raise 6,000 Euros. With eleven days left, they have already exceeded their goal by 62,000 Euros! I can’t wait to receive this product.
I think Kickstarter is a phenomenal site for entrepreneurs, inventors, and artists to share their creativity in order to gain funding for their project. I think it’s also a good way for these individuals to get a feel for their market. If the project doesn’t receive much backing, a lot of people are not interested. All of the really good ideas that I came across had already exceeded their goal. I can’t wait to find more new products on here. Maybe one day, I’ll have a great idea that I can help raise funds for on Kickstarter!
Check Out These Pretty Cool Projects:
Sole Socks
Bottle Cutter
ZomBabiez
Google Myself? Sure, why not?!
When I was in college applying for jobs, I often googled myself to see what information potential employers could pick up about me. I know what would show up for Whitney Agan (my maiden name). This was the first time I have actually googled my married name. Although a few posts seemed like they were coming out of the blue, the majority of them seemed on point.
The top search results included the following (in order):
• My LinkedIn Account
• My Pinterest Account
• Spokeo (out of 15 Whitney Amerson results, I wasn’t mentioned)
• Death Record for Whitney Amerson (obviously not me)
• My Facebook Account
• SEO Blog Post (for this class!)
• My Grandfather’s Obituary
• Wedding Registry (when I was still Whitney Agan)
The majority of images on the Google image search came from my Pinterest account, my wedding photographer’s blog, and this blog. My dog even showed up as one of the images! I wasn’t surprised to find my social media accounts on there. I didn’t see my Twitter page in the search results though. One search result was Spokeo. I had never heard of this website before; it appears to be a name database. On the page, it found 15 Whitney Amersons around the country. The vast majority of them being in Florida, which just happens to be where all of my husband’s family lives. I, however, was not listed as one of them.
My grandfather’s obituary also showed up in the search results. That was actually the first time that my name was ever written as Whitney Amerson, being that he passed away two weeks after I got married. It was sad to see. The photo from his obituary also showed up as one of the images.
I didn’t find anything crazy. When I was Whitney Agan, there was apparently another Whitney Agan who was in and out of jail for selling drugs fairly regularly. That was pretty exciting, being that we were around the same age. The only mentions of Whitney Amerson other than the various name bank results was a death certificate for a Whitney Amerson. Obviously, not me!
My name isn’t very common. In some ways, I’m really glad about that. In other ways, not so much. If Whitney Amerson makes the news, it’s more than likely me. That could be good or bad! I’m going to keep searching for my name every now and then. You never know when something crazy might pop up!
Take 20% Off Any Item? Thank you, Ulta!
I love discounts, coupons, and free stuff. As far as retail stores are concerned, most of them have apps. These apps often feature special promo codes or announce sales exclusive to app users. I have apps for most of the stores that I frequently shop at. I found it pretty difficult to choose a new app to download for this project. I literally have an app for every one of my favorite stores. Recently, we got a new store in my area, Ulta. I decided to download the app this weekend before visiting the store at the mall. Boy, am I glad that I did!
According to their website, Ulta is the largest beauty retailer that provides one-stop shopping for prestige, mass and salon products and salon services in the United States. They sell everything from the top make-up brands to hair products. How have I never shopped at this store before?
Like most retail apps, the Ulta app was free. The first thing that I noticed about the app was the clean look and feel. Although the app seemed to have a lot going on, it was easy to navigate, which is very important for me. If the app is easy to navigate, I will most likely use it more.
In the center of the page was a Mobile Offers section. I thought it was smart for Ulta to place this in the middle of the page. A lot of people look for discounts and this one was easy to find! In the middle of the page, Ulta also added a My Accounts section for card members and a Weekly Ads section. I would think that these sections are why a lot of users go to the app in the first place.
The app also gave users the ability to shop for products and purchase them from their phones. I could see where this could be convenient. I did not like the store locator section. It only gave me the closest store to me instead of showing me more location options. The locator section would be better if it operated similarly to Starbuck’s locator. I felt like the product category hierarchy was designed really well. It was easy to use, but the colors were very plain. I expected to see more color and design work from a store that sold women’s beauty products.
There was also a Scan feature on the app. I tried scanning the barcode off of a product that I purchased there, but it didn’t do anything. I thought this may be a price checker or maybe you could scan the product in store to get more information, however, the reason for the Scan option is not clear to me.
After using this app at Ulta this past weekend, I think the app will make the cut and stay on my iPhone. Although the app has a few flaws, it did save me 20% off one item at the store this past weekend. Now, instead of purchasing shampoo at Target, I can purchase it at Ulta cheaper. Thanks to the coupon features, Ulta may have just gained a repeat customer.
Misadventures in Second Life
This week’s assignment was to create a Second Life account and interact on the site. Prior to this assignment, I have never been on Second Life. Based on what I’ve heard in the lectures and read as part of this week’s readings, I had envisioned that Second Life would be more of a professional virtual reality space where meetings could be conducted and education seminars could be performed. The experience that I received from interacting with Second Life was anything but professional.
When creating my avatar, I chose to depict my immersed self and be seen as a vampire. Obviously, if I was creating the avatar for professional reasons, a vampire wouldn’t have been my first choice. Once my avatar was created, I chose to teleport to Duke’s Country Club. The area was Dukes of Hazard themed. Several avatars were dancing in front of the stage. I found out fairly quickly that dancing in Second Life wasn’t really my thing. Once I even figured out how to move, I was dancing like an awkward middle school boy. Yikes. This is where I had my first conversation with a Second Life native. The conversation was very generic, until he asked me to send him a picture of myself. I promptly left that conversation. Although I really enjoyed the country music, there were only a few people in there to chat with. I then decided to transport to a completely different destination, Ajax and Katie’s Romance Garden. Based on the pictures, it looked like a very pretty place to go. Well, wrong choice.
One of the first things that I noticed about this destination was the low quality graphics. Perhaps the graphics were poor because my computer is not well suited for graphics. I was able to walk into a bush and see the 3D plane (my avatar was being cut in half by the bush). Strange. In addition to the poor graphics was even poorer conversation. I was disturbed at the types of conversation that was occurring at this destination. There were virtually (pun intended) no restrictions or warnings that I was entering that type of chat room. What if I was a 13 year old girl and just happened to end up there on accident? It was very disturbing. In addition to the chat, avatars were groping each other everywhere I looked. Instead of conversing with the perverted avatars in the Romance Garden, I decided to fly around and view the scenery.
I know that there are educational and business reasons to use Second Life. Perhaps because I was not there to enter a meeting or educational seminar, I missed out on those types of experiences. I might just have had a bad experience based on the destinations that I stumbled upon. Either way, I found it interesting that Second Life even has ads on their webpage talking about privacy and showing two avatars kissing. Would you really let your children on this website? I don’t have children, but if I did, this website would be blocked at my house.
Survey Says… Need More People!
Last week I conducted a survey to better understand the impact of digital advertising on today’s society. I was looking for insight on the following topics:
- How demographics (age, income, education) play a role, if any
- The credibility of digital ads, as perceived by the consumer
- How digital ads affect consumer buying habits, if any
- Digital browsing habits of consumers
- Digital advertising’s role in determining ROI
In a six day span, I only received 19 responses. Due to a low number of survey responses, it is important to keep in mind that these results may have a high margin of error. Georgia’s Snowpocolypse could have something to do with the low number of surveys. Perhaps I would have received more participation if the survey was about Georgia DOT, Governor Perdue, Douglas County School System’s stranded school buses, or snow. Lord knows it had something to do with everything and everyone in my area going crazy for the past week! I guess 20 hours sitting in traffic and sleeping in your car on the interstate will do that to you though…
Basic Survey Participant Demographics:
- Gender: 15 Females (79%) and 4 Males (21%)
- Age Range: 21-29 (52%), 30-39 (16%), 40-49 (27%), 50-59 (5%)
- Education Level: Some High School (5%), High School Diploma (10%), Some College (26%), Bachelor’s Degree (42%), Graduate Degree or Above (16%)
- Income Level: Under $15,000 (5%), $15,000 to $34,999 (21%), $35,000 to $54,000 (16%), $55,000 to $74,999 (32%), $75,000 to $100,000 (16%), Above $100,000 (10%)
As you can see, the majority of participants are between the ages of 21 and 29, with a Bachelor’s degree and an average household income between $15,000 and $75,000. Looking back, I should have asked more specific demographic questions, including household size. It is very hard to determine if income plays a role in digital media impact when I don’t know if the reported income was just for the individual or for a family.
According to the survey, the only two forms of advertisements that participants completely trust are company websites and T.V. commercials. Interestingly enough, some participants also completely distrusted T.V. commercials. When it came to digital advertising, the majority of participants either trusted or had neutral connotations towards the ad. Overall, the most trusted form of digital advertising was a company website. I noticed, however, that I accidently included company website in both the “types of advertisement” and “types of digital advertisement” questions. At least the answers were consistent.
73% of participants trust company websites the most. I find this interesting because a company website is just one big advertisement for the company. There are actually greater legal guidelines and rules for digital advertising than there are for websites. It appears that perception is what actually matters most. 69% of participants stated that they pay more attention to digital ads than print ads and every participant accessed a digital medium (social media, websites, YouTube, search engines, and emails) at least 5 times a week. 95% of participants have purchased a product after seeing a digital advertisement, 32% of this group have purchased a product more than 5 times.
When asked if digital advertising affected their buying habits, one participant commented “Yes. Digital ads expose me to new and exciting products. They also have the power to change my perception of the business or product”. One participant noted that he/she found out about the UF degree program through a Facebook ad. I, also, found out about the UF degree program through a social media ad. A well placed social media ad can be very effective.
Overall, the survey results suggest that digital advertising is more trusted and effective than traditional forms of advertising for this specific demographic. I think my survey would return greater results if I had included more specific media usage questions along with questions aimed at determining the reason behind the effectiveness of specific digital ads. I would also like to have a larger pool of participants and more time to gather information.
How do you think I could have improved my study? I would love to hear your feedback and experiences!
The Social Potter 
