Here’s the Scoop: Why You Should Join the Conversation
Today’s teenage girls can prove elusive in terms of what they want out of life, let alone for dinner (as you know, if you are currently raising one!). With the launch of Euro RSCG Worldwide PR’s Sisterhood site, we’re hoping to remove some of the clutter and propel teen marketing forward, decoding what drives today’s teen girls to make decisions when it comes to purchasing goods and services.
And the teen-girl demographic is a purchasing power force to be reckoned with. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that the average teen has $2,634 of annual income from allowance, part-time work and gifts, in addition to the $5,496 of parental money an average teen spends each year. All of that amounts to more than $216.3 billion in yearly purchasing power for teen girls and boys combined.
Factor in teen girls’ complicated and misunderstood relationship with social media and their credentials as the first fully wired generation, and you’ve got a lot of questions that need to be answered when it comes to marketing to today’s teens.
At ERWW PR, we’ve found that strategic messaging is more important than ever in this crowded and decidedly social landscape. Though it seems like today’s teen is constantly engaged in some form of social media endeavor, the truth is they are doing so in a purposeful and targeted way.
According to Nielsen, teens spend an average of 11 hours and 32 minutes per month online, well below the U.S. adult average of 29 hours and 15 minutes. Teens tend to burst in and out of connectivity, so it’s important to note that when they go online, they know what they’re looking for—unlike most of us, who aimlessly search the Web for hours on end. In a recent white paper we crafted (downloadable on this site), we found that today’s girls are going online for friendship and for a space to conduct their social relationships.
And today’s teenage girls are proud of their individual style, in a world gone brand me. They look to role models rather than their school’s mean girls to decide what’s cool.
In terms of online shopping patterns, teen girl shoppers know what they want, and know how to find it. They’re hunters in skinny jeans and Converse sneakers, seeking out what they want and at the right price. And these would-be hunters are more than willing to share a good deal with their friends, but won’t necessarily broadcast the information for the world to see. It’s a private circle of trust that girls today create—not an endless network of people involved in their everyday lives and thoughts. In fact, they like to go positively analog when it comes to sharing information about great deals: via word of mouth, no Internet connection required.
Most striking is that teen girls, like most folks these days, want to talk about the brands that are important to them. They even want to talk with the brand as they talk about the brand with each other. We call this a trialogue—and knowing how to enter into such a conversation is greatly affected by texting (teens’ social media du jour). As a marketer, you need to know how to talk to these girls and become part of their inner circle.
We carefully chose the name for this site as a reaction to how we saw teen girls relating to each other, as teen girls tend to pick a select few rather than a crowd to engage in conversations about things that matter to them. It’s all about the power of closeness, and the aforementioned circle of trust. If you want to reach today’s young women, it’s important to gain their trust and be one of the sources they regularly look to for inspiration, purchases and information. They love honesty, too, and in this age of full disclosure, it’s no small task to gain their trust and connect with them in a credible way. Their inner circle is their whole world—their protection from the barrage of marketing messages and life pressures coming their way.
Think of The Sisterhood as an insider’s take on all things teen—from blog posts to product reviews to photo updates of street style from around the world. The Sisterhood is a place for girls to express themselves, talk to the brands they care about and have said brands get in on today’s version of the three-way call. We’re empowering teens to have a voice on this site, this network. And we’re extending an invitation to marketers to have the opportunity for an open dialogue—we’d love to have marketers join The Sisterhood. Won’t you join us?
