• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, December 12, 2012

According to a recent study by Scarborough, Millennials, Americans age 18 to 29, are 53% more likely than all U.S. adults to feel that social media sites are very important for finding information about news and current events. The study provides marketers and advertisers with a tool to better navigate the digital generation by examining that 43% of Millennials identifed as a race or ethnicity other than white.

Media engagement by younger people has evolved significantly over the past ten years. By examining the news consumption trends of American adults age 21-34* over the last decade, marketers, advertisers and media agencies can see the clear transition from traditional news media toward more digital media.

Millennials are the first generation to internalize the concept of “glocalism.” Understanding that, due to technology, Millennials feel hyper-connected both to their local neighborhoods as well as to the world at large is essential to crafting outreach plans that resonate with their sensibilities. For Millennials, who they are and where they live are intrinsically linked.

Targeting Millennials where they live ensures that your message is being heard.

Millennials are more likely than any other generation to have diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds; 43% of Millennials identify as a race or ethnicity other than white as compared with 38% of Generation X and 26% of Baby Boomers.

AOL debuted chat rooms in the mid-1990s when the oldest Millennials were just 10 years old. They are the first generation to be raised with constant access to digital networking. Today, Millennials spend just over 82 minutes a day on social networking activities, 32 minutes longer per day than the average adult. It is an ingrained part of their lives that has become even more prevalent with the continued advancements in wireless technology.

Partially due to their lifelong ease of access to information, Millennials are the first American generation to expect news and current events to come to them. Though Millennials will thoroughly investigate stories that interest them, they expect news outlets to first reach out to them. When asked how they found out about recent major news events, Millennial responded identically – social media.

By leading with recognizable brand instead of putting emphasis on platform, marketers can reach Millennial audiences in a way that resonates most with the ways in which they already consume news. Millennials are 53% more likely than all U.S. adults to feel that social networking websites are very important for finding information about news or other current events

Millennials are nearly twice as likely as all U.S. adults to watch or download TV programs online and more than half of them subscribe to cable. Millennials are 18% more likely than all U.S. adults to have used VOD in the past 30 days. When advertising to this consumer through television, make digital media a part of your marketing mix, suggests the report.

A glossary of Millennial terms:

• OMG – “Oh my gosh!” Used by Millennials to express disbelief.
• Do it Up – To do something with purpose. To be serious or motivated.
• Just Sayin’ – A phrase stating their own opinion, not a fact.
• Drop a Pin – To meet at a location not familiar to the group, they will place a digital pin in a Google map and text said map to the group of friends.
• Totes – An abbreviation of the word “totally.”
• Crazy – As a modifier, “crazy” means “very” or “many.”
• Hit Me Up –Use to mean “contact me.”
• Moves Like Jagger – Cool
• Not Feelin’ It – Disinterest or disapproval.
• Word. – Means “the truth was spoken.”
• Say What? – “Please explain it to me.”

For additional information from Scarborough, please visit here.