In his recent MarketingProfs article, “The Brand-Content Preferences of Different Age Groups,” Ayaz Nanji examines HubSpot survey data and concludes that every age segment has different content preferences. Seems we all consider videos “the most memorable type of brand content.” But other channels have more divided loyalties.
The MarketingProfs and HubSpot articles point out age differences in preference for “long-form” versus “short-form” formats. Long-form content (articles, research reports, and ebooks) are more popular with older segments. Short-form content (Social posts, games, infographics, podcasts and blogs) are all more popular with younger segments. But remember, correlation does not equal causation. Therefore it would be unwise to develop content-delivery plans around one variable such as age.
To be effective, your company’s personas should be constructed from diverse data sources. But even then, it may be necessary to satisfy content needs across generations and job titles. For example, decision-makers (perhaps older) may ask influencers (perhaps younger) to do initial due diligence. Or for a substantial technology purchase, a company may form a buying committee with five or more members. Each may have different information and channel preferences – and require personalized web content, SEM Ads, landing page content, nurturing emails, event content, etc.
- Profile #1: Decision-Maker/Sponsor – seeking proof of thought leadership and value
- Profile #2: Initiator/Champion – seeking solutions to pain points
- Profile #3: Influencers/Researchers – seeking comparisons and proof points
- Profile #4: Ratifiers/Approvers – seeking technical and security data
- Profile #5: Operations/Users – seeking training and support materials
Effective personas blend information about roles, motivations, pain points, information needs, channel preferences and more – glued together with historical data and experience. And even if personas are robust and effective today, they may need tweaking tomorrow.
The take-away: Consider all data (in whatever format you prefer), but think about your buyer personas holistically. Build your persona journeys based on multi-factor analysis and consider the information needs of buying groups. Then create and deliver your content across the ages.
Leading With Content 