What’s happened to “pester power” in the modern day? How do teenagers hint about gifts to parents or show them the brands they admire? Wishlists on Amazon may be one way, while Pinterest boards, which showcase users’ particular interests and hobbies, another. We could also look at someone’s Instagram feed to discern their taste and style. But what about Twitter? Do parents and teens look through each other’s feeds? Does one party show the other their likes and dislikes? We at iProspect UK commissioned a study to find out.
ResearchBods, an independent research firm, undertook a UK study with a group of just over 1,000 people. The sample included 506 young adults aged between 14- and 21-years-old, and 505 parents of kids in that particular age range. All were active Twitter users (in this case, defined as using the site once a month or more) who claimed to have an interest in sportswear – a specific topic chosen for the report. I’ll refer to the kids as “teens” from here for simplicity.
The research revealed that teens are indeed using Twitter to point out things they like, often directly to their parents. More interesting, parents seem to be responding. Here are some of the key findings:
- 43% of the parents surveyed said their children had mentioned sportswear-related Twitter content to them
- 33% were shown Twitter content from sportswear brands by their children
- 44% said they were likely to follow a sportswear brand on Twitter if their teen recommended it
The report also found that parents seemed happy for this exposure to inform their purchases, both on and offline:
- 48% of the parents surveyed said they had made a purchase online after clicking on a link in a Tweet
- 59% said they had bought a sportswear-related item at a physical store because of content they saw on Twitter
For brands and retailers, this is useful information indeed. But we wondered what type of content would help a brand convert a parent from online browser to in-store or online buyer. The study had something to say about this as well, revealing the kind of content that both parents and teens said they liked.
While everyone surveyed said they loved a bargain – special offers and promotions were welcomed by 80% of all respondents – in general, parents want more factual info about products while teens are more interested in the style in which content is delivered. The study found:
- Reviews were read more by parents (66%)
- Teens wanted competitions (73%), motivational tweets (54%) and celebrity endorsements (43%)
- “Insider information” was welcomed by 50% of both groups
Lessons for marketers
While this study was focused on sportswear, it suggests two key lessons for marketers that are useful regardless of which sector you work in.
- Teens are important taste-makers: Their parents are absolutely drawn to the brands they rate. It’s a popular assumption that teens avoid their parents online in social media situations, but this didn’t seem to be the case at all on Twitter. Parents were shown content by their teens, welcomed it and, in turn, became aware of those brands too.
- The youth market is highly influential in guiding parental purchases: It appears parents really rate their children’s input. While they may then do their own factual research (for example, reading product reviews) parents seem quite open to being guided by their teen’s judgment. This second-hand exposure has significant impact on future purchases; the figures from our study were surprisingly high and true for both on and offline.
Knowing that content will be shared between teens and parents should be seen as a positive thing; parents learn more about what their children like and can see how brands may play a part in bringing them closer together around shared experiences. But from a brand perspective, the need to have personalised messages tailored to specific audiences is more pertinent than ever. Brands who appear relevant to those they are talking to (teens or their parents) are the ones who will ultimately see greater engagement and sales.
Matt Adams is managing director of iProspect UK
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