Participatory Marketing and Gen Y

Pete Prestipino — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 14:54:00 GMT

The Participatory Marketing Network (PMN) released results of a new study showing that only 22 percent of Generation Y consumers are using Twitter. When asked about social network usage, however, 99 percent of this same group reports having an active profile on at least one social networking site.

“Twitter dominates the news, but clearly we’re only touching the surface of its potential as a marketing vehicle,” said Michael Della Penna, co-founder and executive chairman “This is a classic ‘glass half full’ scenario for Twitter, because it’s clear that Gen Y has an appetite for social networking, but still hasn’t fully embraced micro-blogging. There is a tremendous opportunity now for marketers to develop strategies to get this important group active on Twitter too.”

Key findings from the study include:

- Twitter has yet to catch on with Gen Y (Only 22 percent of this group say they use Twitter - 85% follow friends, 54% follow celebrities, 29% follow family, 29% follow companies)
- Online social networks are hot for Gen Y (99% have a profile on a social networking site, 89% have downloaded an application to their profile page)
- Mobile social networking is heating up for Gen Y (38% have an iPhone or iPod Touch)

'Net Features : participatory marketing network

Participatory Marketing and Gen Y