We now live in a digitally connected world where we as find it increasingly difficult to switch off. In fact a recent survey found 53% of Brits feel ‘upset’ and 40% feel ‘lonely’ when deprived of the internet.
But some of us are more connected than others, recent research from Experian identifies the four types of most digitally connected and ‘always on’ consumers. These are:
The Social Butterfly – A young female aged 18-24 who spends most of her spare time socialising with friends. She uses technology for social networking, sharing and social shopping.
Social butterflies have the highest levels of connectivity. They favour portable devices, being 70% more likely to use a tablet device and almost five times more likely to access social networks via their mobile device. In addition they are three and a half times as likely to check their emails and almost four times more likely to consume news on their mobiles compared to the average consumer.
Social networking is important for them to stay constantly connected to their friends. However social networks also act as their main source of retail information. They are three and a half times more likely to purchase something seen on a social network and four times more likely to buy something recommended by their friends on their social networks. They are also twice as more likely to purchase products they see advertised on their mobile phone.
Social Butterflies are twice as likely to post a review online and three times more likely than the national average to talk about a purchase on a social network.
Key points for marketers
- Have a solid mobile strategy in place that takes into account tablets as well as smartphones
- Make sure your email marketing is mobile friendly
- Have a solid and active social media strategy in place and create social advocates
- Encourage reviews but also be prepared for negative reviews as well as positive
The Working Professional is a career focused individual (usually aged 35-44), accessing content on the move for work. Their main use of technology is to stay connected, keep informed and get work done.
Working professionals are highly connected across various portable devices, however they are most connected to the internet from their work computer.
Whilst work computers are mainly used for communication including email and messaging, they are also used to download music, stream music and reading news – a reflection of their long work hours.
Mobile phones are central to a working professional. It keeps them connected on the go and assists with their work activities. They are keen readers of news on their mobile, being four times more likely to read news on their mobile than the average. They are also three times more likely to send an email from their mobile than the average.
However working professional are not the biggest fans of social media or mobile advertising. They are 80% less likely to want adverts on their mobile and 50% less likely to purchase products advertised via social media.
32% say they would be interested in services that let them use their phone to make purchases in a store; they’re more than twice to be interested in this than the average consumer.
Key points for marketers
- Email will be key to reaching the working professional, make sure it renders across mobile and tablets devices
- Retailers should offer mobile checkout options
- As keen readers of news, it would be wise to make sure Digital PR is a part of your marketing mix.
The Gamer – young single male aged 18-24 with a love of games, particularly on consoles and mobile phones.
They are more likely to play games on 7 out of 8 game-enabled devices. They even play games at least once a week to their work computer.
Their traditional media use is below average across the board, being less likely to watch TV and read a newspaper or magazine than the average.
Although they are 90% more likely to purchase a product advertised on their mobile, Gamers are generally not receptive to receiving ads on their mobile. Only 9.7% of Gamers would opt into receiving ads on their mobile phones, a percentage that rises to 21% if an incentive is attached.
Gamers are more likely to be influenced by their friends and celebrities.
Key points for marketers
- Include elements of gamification in your marketing campaigns
- Consider creating a game for your marketing campaign
- Use celebrity endorsements where possible
The Everything Tech is aged 18-34 and has to be the first to try new things from the newest bar to the newest gadget. The digital tablet is the preferred choice of device.
Digital tablets are very important to this type of consumer so they are able to access content on the go. There favourite type of content is video, whether it is catching up on the latest TV programmes, streaming films or accessing live content.
Everything Tech’s are most likely to be influenced by their mobile. They are 10 times more likely to be interested in receiving ads on their device. 60% of Everything Tech consumers purchase a product they see advertised on their device, with 64% willing to accept adverts on their device if they were to receive something of value in exchange.
However their brand loyalty is low, they would easily switch their mobile network provider if offered the latest handset with another.
Everything Tech consumers are nearly six times more likely to trust the product information they get from social networks over other sources. Ads and recommendations within social networks are very influential with this group – they are six times more likely to purchase products they see advertised through these channels, and are over three times more likely to purchase products that their friends have recommended.
Key points for marketers
- Market your new products to these consumer types as soon as possible
- Include mobile adverting in your marketing campaign and make sure the experience is seamless from click to purchase
- Encourage reviews and recommendations on social networks
- Advertise on social networks such as Facebook
Brands need to evolve their marketing strategies to cater to the different needs of these emerging ‘always on’ consumers. Whilst all these types of consumers have one thing in common, being always connected, they are distinctively different in the channels they use. Brands need to be able to deliver consistent and co-ordinated customer experience regardless of the channel.
