Millennials and Corporate Videos: The Greatest Love of All
You must have noticed by now that corporate video production has become a go-to marketing strategy of nearly every company out there, big or small. But how much do you know about the largest group of corporate video consumers: the almighty millennials? It’s not at all surprising that companies love videos: from product promotion and brand building to employee recruitment and management training, there’s nothing a well-made corporate video can’t do. But what is it about corporate videos that appeals so much to young adults in the workplace?
First off, let’s talk numbers. Did you know that Baby Boomers are no longer the largest living age group in America? The post war babies have been officially surpassed by millennials – the generation born roughly between mid 1980s and early 2000s. According to a recent report from the United States Census Bureau, millennials are now officially the largest living generation in the United States. There are now 75.4 million millennials living in the U.S., compared to 74.9 million Baby Boomers.
With a millennial (read consumer) population that big, it’s no wonder companies everywhere are falling over themselves to cater to the tastes of the young adults. So much so that marketers are now spending a whopping 500% more targeting millennials than all other age groups combined! And what’s the best way to appeal to young adults in the workforce or on their way to enter it? You guessed it: corporate video!
Lazy, entitled, self-indulgent, narcissistic, work-shy . . . these are just some of the many stereotypes about the millennial generation in the workplace. Like all stereotypes, these are both true and false. Sure, some millennials are some of those things some of the time, but a great many of them are no different than employees from any other age group. They want what all workers want: to do what they love, leave a positive mark on the company, and climb up the career ladder toward long-term financial security. There’s one thing though that sets young adults apart from other generations in the workplace: millennials LOVE videos. And that love is so strong that millennials are actually the biggest group of video consumers in America!
For Baby Boomers, live television was once the Holy Grail of marketing, but millennials are like so over TV. Did you know that YouTube now reaches more young adults than all cable networks in the U.S. combined? Millennials don’t watch TV, they watch videos. Short, shareable videos. And it’s all thanks to smart devices attached to every millennial like a fifth limb. For companies, this means it’s never been easier to reach the millennial consumer base. 60% of millennials say they’d rather watch a corporate video than read a newsletter, while 7 out of 10 millennials watch a company video before making an online purchase.
Whether you choose to call them technology-dependent or tech-savvy, the fact is that millennials love using their fancy gadgets to watch videos on the daily. And you know that when a millennial loves something, a millennial needs to tell the whole world about it! One of the biggest advantages of corporate videos over more traditional marketing methods is their shareability, and millennials are your greatest allies when it comes to spreading the word. Not convinced? How about if we told you that millennials are 112% more likely to share videos than any other age group?
Besides shareability, it’s the short format of corporate videos that is right up millennials’ alley. In this topsy-turvy age of technology, we’re all starting to suffer from shortening attention spans. While attention spans of pretty much every age group are dwindling faster than ever, this is especially true of millennials. No reason to despair though! For company marketers looking to use videos to reach millennial consumers, this is actually great news. What better way to capture the attention of a scatterbrained millennial than with a short, engaging video?
While millennials certainly prefer their videos short, they also want their corporate video content personalized and unique. Millennials simply love videos that make them feel like they’re contributing to the larger story. Don’t expect to move your millennial audience to action with generic content: all you’ll get them to do is roll their eyes and smirk as they move on to the next piece of content being offered to them at every corner of the virtual world. Personalized corporate videos have higher engagement rates and millennials are more likely to take action if they feel that video content speaks directly to them.
Let’s put it this way: if you’re buying a house, it’s all about “location, location, location”, but when you’re marketing to millennials, it’s “personalization, personalization, personalization.” Whether it’s a staff recruitment video or a training video for new employees, corporate videos for millennials need to be original, fun, and engaging.
Take for example these three animated videos about higher education targeting young adults. Given that getting a higher education that leads to better employability is the biggest concern of millennials everywhere, these videos resonate with the young population by addressing their problems directly and offering practical solutions. These animated corporate videos are equally informative and fun to watch — a perfect combination for appealing to the hearts and minds of the terminally distracted millennials.
Now that millennials are officially the biggest generation in America, it’s worth repeating that they also represent the largest base of video enthusiasts among all other age groups. Millennials actually spend 48% more time watching videos than any other generation group in the United States. This is why companies that invest in a video production strategy developed with the millennial audiences in mind always reap the benefits in the long run.
The bottom line is this: corporate video production has found its most devoted consumers among the growing millennial generation. The short format of corporate videos appeals to millennials who want their information right here and right now. Corporate videos also allow you to tailor the content to your millennial audience in ways that traditional marketing strategies simply couldn’t. Ask any millennial and they’ll tell you: the age of traditional corporate newsletter is long gone. Today, it’s all about short and engaging video content.
There’s no denying it: millennials are simply obsessed with all things video! Why do you think corporate videos appeal so much to the young adults? Leave us your thoughts in the comment section below!
If you’d like to learn more about explainer videos, go ahead and download our ebook!