Josh Dhaliwal

The poll looked at differences between Twitter users and the wider population. Photograph: Sarah Lee

Britain's 5.5 million Twitter users are younger than average members of the public, slightly more likely to vote Labour, and distinctly more liberal, according to a survey published today.

They are also more likely to live in London, less likely to live in the north of England, and marginally more likely to belong to a lower social class.

The YouGov poll may help to explain why libertarian campaigns appear to flourish on Twitter.

Users of the social networking site recently rallied to support the Guardian when lawyers representing Trafigura tried to stop the paper reporting a parliamentary question, and hounded the Daily Mail writer Jan Moir for her allegedly homophobic remarks about the death of Stephen Gately.

But the findings, which are published in the latest issue of Prospect magazine, do not depict Twitter users as inherently leftwing. They are more likely than average members of the public to think that there is nothing wrong with executives earning multimillion pound salaries and large bonuses.

YouGov surveyed 2,024 adults, of whom more than 200 use Twitter, and compared the views and characteristics of the Twitterati with those of the sample as a whole. The biggest difference emerged when respondents were asked about civil liberties. The proposition that protecting civil liberties is more important than giving the police more anti-terrorist powers was backed by just 33% of the public, but by 43% of Twitter users.

Some 56% of all respondents agreed with the claim that ordinary white men are often the biggest victims of discrimination. But only 45% of Twitter users accepted this.

Twitter users are younger than average adults (46% are under 35, compared with 29% of all respondents) and more likely to live in London (18%, compared with 13%). They are also slightly less likely to vote Conservative (38%, compared with 41%) and slightly more likely to belong to a lower social class (48%, compared with 45%).

YouGov discovered one other key difference. Most users find Twitter either "very worthwhile" or "mildly useful". But 39% of all respondents said that it "dumbs down" the way people communicate and 76% of them said they had no interest in using it themselves.

November 16, 2009 - 3:34PM

AAP

The number of young people in NSW who own a mobile phone has surged since 2001, with the technology contributing to debt problems for teenagers, a survey shows.

The Confident and Connected: NSW Youth Consumer survey, launched on Monday as part of Fair Trading Week - reveals the spending and lifestyle habits of more than 1,200 young people aged 12 to 20.

The survey showed nearly 90 per cent of young people own a mobile phone and have unrestricted internet access, while most debts come from mobile phone bills.

Fair Trading Minister Virginia Judge said technology had given young people a greater access to information, but it also created risks.

"The downside is that people can take advantage of young consumers," said Ms Judge.

"It is important they learn how to recognise and avoid dodgy deals so they don't end up out of pocket."

The survey showed 75 per cent of young people have purchased goods online that turned out to be faulty, while three out of five have been sent emails asking for personal information.

The number of young people owning mobiles phones jumped from 56 per cent in 2001 to 87 per cent in 2009, the survey showed.

Quantum Market Research, which conducted the online survey, says that while young people might be targeted by scams, they are becoming very good at spotting them.

"They are very adaptable and pick up on scams from personal experience and asking parents and friends for advice," said Quantum senior project consultant Nick Dawes.

Research also showed young people were earning more, spending more and choosing to live at home longer.

"They are more experienced, more savvy, and more independent," said Mr Dawes.

"Most young people have two parents working, so they are also seeking closer connections with them and rely on them for help," said Mr Dawes.

The state government has launched a new consumer guide, Smart Consumer Survival Tips, for extra advice on ways to save cash, whether its shopping, buying a car, or renting a house.

© 2009 AAP
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You are here: Home / youth marketing insights / News / They don’t care what you know unless they know that you care

They don’t care what you know unless they know that you care

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If you want to engage youth you have to show them you care. Here’s the difference between “say” and “do”. Anybody can donate 1% of their profits to a social cause. Anybody can sponsor a good social program. So everybody is.

Showing you care means going the extra mile. Boost Mobile & Orange could have so easily sponsored the RockCorps event but they decided that to be exceptional meant getting their hands dirty and getting involved.

It’s the basis of human relationships as highlighted by Stephen Covey in the “7 Habits of Highly Effective People“; Seek first to understand then be understood. How often is it both people and brands that commence a meeting, phone call or dialogue by first telling you their story.

As it says in the UK RockCorps campaign “Give Get Given”.

This is as relevant to a project resonating with young people volunteering to add value back to their community as it is youth marketing in general.

You’ll only get given permission to start a dialogue if you give first.

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Posted by Graham Brown on Saturday, November 14, 2009 at 7:12 pm 
Filed under News · Tagged with attention, churn, dialogue, gating, give first, loyalty, patience, relevance, service

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You are here: Home / youth marketing insights / News / The Speed of Trust

The Speed of Trust

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As Stephen MR Covey (son of the Covey you know) said “Trust is the one thing that touches everything.”

If you think about it, trust is so often relegated to the domains of PR or CSR. It’s never seen as critical to the development of the bottom line.

But, if you consider that “communication is a function of trust not technique” as pointed out by Covey senior, then you’ll also need to consider that the effectiveness of all your corporate dialogue with youth is a function of the level of trust.

For example - compare the fortunes of a largely trusted vs untrusted brand. In this instance compare the PR fortunes of Apple vs Microsoft. One only has to hint at the possibilities of future products to generate significant column inches. The other is treated as the pariah of the blogging world. One is forgiven and generally overlooked when it comes to proprietary standards, the other faced lengthy legal challenges.

And the same applies with young customers. Trusted brands find their products more accepted with better coverage, lower return rates and a lesser need for customer education - they educate each other. Low trust brands find it difficult to launch new products and see interest after the initial spike waning quickly.

So what drives trust?

Walk the Walk. Trusted brands do rather than say. Boost Mobile and Virgin don’t simply donate whimsical elements of their profits to causes they actively commit their marketing teams to engaging youth in the movement.

Authenticity. There’s a great post here by Ged Carrol that explains the lengths to which brands will go to reaffirm their authenticity with youth. Authenticity is exactly that; the degree to which this brand can be trusted. Is it a fly-by-night or has it been producing jeans for the last 20 years like Evisu? When presented with a plethora of options, youth will also trust the authentic brands because authenticity implies reliability, value and a product that has been filtered through countless customer testimonials to stand the test of time.

Consistency. The old business school professor’s saw “Can you make a better burger than McDonald’s?” holds true here. Of course you can, but McDonald’s is the most successful retailer in the world where your burgers have to make do with an annual outing in your kitchen. McDonald’s is a trusted brand because it’s consistent; McDonald’s in Jakarta serves up more or less the same fare with a few local variants as it does in Johannesburg. It’s an amazing feat considering that McDonald’s is run by teenagers.

The same very much applies to your brand messages, as explored tentatively in this post on “Holistic Marketing“. Youth trust consistent brands - brands that stay true to their word. Does Tiger Woods really drive a Buick? Probably not… Do youth really believe that Britney drinks Pepsi when media snap her slurping a Coke in public? The inconsistency smacks of distrust - youth don’t trust the brand because they don’t believe what the marketers are saying.

Red Bull is an unpopular brand. Let’s face it, there are more people that dislike Red Bull than like it. But that’s the beauty of the brand marketing - they’re not marketing to you - they’re marketing to them. They’re focusing on the 10% vs the 90%.

Keeping it real. As the man Ali’ G says. It’s not just a snapline from the movie but a theme that has pervaded youth culture for 2 generations. Punks, new wave bands and indie rockers would cringe at media criticism levelled at theme for “selling out”. Hip hop artists would labor at length to demonstrate how they were “keeping it real” and even hippies back in the 60s and 70s would be acute to the peer pressure of avoiding the sell-out. It’s a theme that pervades youth movements today; when grass-roots brands The Hundreds announced growth plans, the community media let them know what they thought.

Posted by Graham Brown on Thursday, November 12, 2009 at 6:57 pm 
Filed under News · Tagged with authenticity, churn, loyalty, trust

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You are here: Home / mobileyouth tour / 2010 mobileYouth Tour Dates - 15 cities added

2010 mobileYouth Tour Dates - 15 cities added

Just released! Following our successful 2009 tour, we’re putting together a tentative tour itinerary to share mobileYouth updates on trends and youth marketing insights for 2010. Here are the initial dates. If you want mobileYouth to speak/present at your conference/company or seminar then contact us here in first instance and let’s get talking. As you can see, time is going to be limited to 2 engagements per city so contact us early.

 

Feb Week 1

• Turkey

Feb Week 2

• Bahrain (1 space left)
• Dubai (fully booked)
• Delhi/Mumbai (1 space left)
• Kuala Lumpur (1 space left)

Feb Week 3

• Jakarta
• Singapore (1 space left)
• Hong Kong
• Taipei
• Shanghai

Feb Week 4

• Tokyo (fully booked)

Mar Week 1

• Seattle (1 space left)
• San Francisco
• New York
• Toronto

Use Twitter to contact Josh or Graham directly.

The Government has thrown its weight behind a rap song as part of a marketing campaign that aims to encourage hard-to-reach groups to take part in the 2011 national census.

It is hoping the track Invisible, by east London grime artist Ghetts, will encourage young members of the black community to take part in the next census. Ghetts has been working with the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on lyrics that communicate the importance of filling out the form, which will help benchmark the country’s population.

You are here: Home / youth marketing insights / News / Something you didn’t know about Starbucks

Something you didn’t know about Starbucks

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