They say that millennials don’t use LinkedIn.
Who says that? Everybody competing against LinkedIn, that’s who.
But I think it’s probably true. Millennials don’t use LinkedIn because they just don’t have time in their lives to look at failed professional dreams, sad profile photos, and mediocre work histories. I don’t have time for that, either. The best part of LinkedIn is getting off LinkedIn and getting back to my pathetic career.
But if millennials don’t use LinkedIn to look for jobs or talk about their careers, what do they use?
1. A parent’s password for Netflix and HBO Go. Nobody under 32 pays for media, so you might as well go to where the kids are. Find a way to reach your target audience on premiere media sites. Yes, I know these are sites that are being hijacked by young adults who can’t pay for those media sites. I know. It’s very confusing.
2. Food. I don’t eat fast food, but I do eat at quick service restaurants and fast casual dining establishments. Those spots are sick with young adults. If everybody is at Moe’s or Pret or Applebees, why are you avoiding a captive audience?
3. Publications. While most people don’t read, young adults consume media beyond Snapchat. I see this when I travel the world. I peer over shoulders and see people under 32 reading comic books, funny articles, life tips, and all sorts of random crap. While the internet seems built for video, the human brain craves a conversation with itself. Words matter. Hire writers who give a damn and write useful content for your audience.
4. Podcasts. I cannot flippin’ believe how many young adults in my life listen to podcasts. They don’t call them podcasts, though. They might say “radio” or “I heard this on the Soundcloud,” but it’s a form of a podcast. What’s your podcast strategy to attract and retain this generation of workers?
If millennials don’t use LinkedIn to talk about work or look for jobs, they have to use something. Why not your stuff? Why not your site? Why not have that conversation with you?
I get so confused when people talk about Millennials these days. At 31 I’m in the old range, and I just introduced my parents to Netflix using *my* account, haha.
I hear you. Much of this is nonsense. Or not. Whatever.
But it is funny to think that generations mean something to people. Enough to create a robust discussion online that lasts forever.
Here are a couple articles which back up this claim. Interesting read.
www.pewinternet.org/2015/01/09/social-media-update-2014/
www.pewinternet.org/2015/08/19/mobile-messaging-and-social-media-2015/2015-08-19_social-media-update_10/
www.surveypractice.org/index.php/SurveyPractice/article/view/217/html_1
These three links show that even before factoring in nonresponse rates the Millennials have a much lower user count than others, this conclusion becomes even more likely when you factor in that nonresponse rates are lowest for Millennials, while they are highest for the older demographic.
Despite being statistically less likely to respond to the survey on user demographics, older users were more prevalent upon conducting the survey.
www.census.gov/population/age/data/2012comp.html
I also checked and confirmed these numbers with an age demographic of the United States, as well as globally. There is no sizeable gap in percentage demographic between generations that would skew data in favor of one age group or another.
Thank you for the interesting article, Laurie!
Love it. Thanks for looking up this data and also for reading my blog.
No problem! Just disappointed a bit in my own generation!
Research. Just do the research on your target audience and find out where they are. HR LOVES to make assumptions.
I like how you’re making assumptions about HR. (JUST KIDDING.) But you are totally right. We have labels ready for everything — before we even know what we’re considering.