The Online Teen: What Marketers Need to Know

Marketing to teens online may be more challenging than previously thought. These are the findings of a new study from Ipsos Reid - Inter@ctive Teens: The Impact of the Internet on Canada's Next Generation. Contrary to popular belief, teens are not online as much as they are stereotyped to be and the time they do spend on the Internet is focused rather narrowly on particular types of websites and activities. Online teens are also not that much more technologically-savvy than adults, despite the perception that the younger generation's online skill set far surpasses that of adults.

The ability of marketers to reach teens online is more limited than previously believed, with 12 to 17 year olds spending, on average, only 13 hours per week on the Internet (compared to a weekly average of 19 hours for adults). The time spent online by teens is consistent with study findings from 2004. Marketing efforts are up against two important factors. One is the influence of parents on teens' Internet use - over one-half (54%) of online teens surveyed reported that their parents place time limits or curfews on when they can access the Internet. The other is that only a minority of teens (37%) agree that using the Internet is an important part of their day (compared to 51% of adults). If using the Internet is not a priority for many teens, it is all that more difficult to reach them using this medium.

The idea that teens are very technologically advanced in terms of using the Internet is not supported by research findings, which indicate that only slightly more than one-quarter (28%) of online teens consider themselves to be very skilled or expert. Another one-quarter (24%) admit to not being skilled in the use of the Internet, with the remaining teens identifying themselves as fairly skilled. What does this mean for marketing to the teen set? The implication is that few teens are going to appreciate marketing efforts that require them to be more knowledgeable than they actually are in terms of understanding and navigating the Internet.

Not only do those responsible for marketing to teens need to consider the amount of time teens spend online and their level of Internet skill, they must also take a good look at the types of websites teens tend to visit. While adults are going to numerous types of websites for a variety of reasons, teens are focused mainly on websites that allow them to socialize, download music, or play games. Appealing to teens on the Internet requires, at a minimum, the incorporation of at least one of these activities, if not all three. The majority of teens surveyed (88%) have participated in an online social activity (compared to 70% of adults) and more than half (59%) visit online social networks or communities a few times a week to daily. Many teens report that the Internet is important to their social life (61%) and, among those who visit online social networks or communities, half (52%) say it is important to their day-to-day life. As a group, teens tend to be aware of online social networks or communities such as Windows Live Space, YouTube, Facebook, and MySpace. Not only are teens frequent visitors to online social websites, they tend to spend a lot of their Internet time on these sites. For example, teens who are aware of the websites Windows Live Space and YouTube spend a weekly average of 7 hours and 5 hours, respectively, on these sites. The frequency and duration with which teens visit these websites make them attractive locations for advertising directed at teens.

Also of importance to teens on a daily basis is participating in live, online chats and the majority of teens who participate in this online social activity do so on a weekly or daily basis. Teens are heavy users of instant messaging. Three-quarters of teens (74%) have used instant messaging to communicate with friends or family members, making applications such as Windows Live Messenger (formerly called MSN Messenger) indispensable to teens and thus to marketers.

In addition to socializing online, teens are busy downloading music from the Internet, meaning this type of site may be an ideal venue for marketing communications targeted at this group. Nearly two-thirds of teens (64%) have downloaded digital music or MP3 files. In terms of the frequency with which they visit music download websites, over half (54%) of online teens do this often, from a few times a week to daily.

Teens are also gaming online, playing with and against both people they know and complete strangers. Over half have taken part in computer games against other people online (54%) and visit gaming websites a few times a week to daily (54%). In the past, marketing to these teens would have involved advertising in gaming magazines but now such efforts can be made online, where players are going in order to find information about their favourite games.

Research on teens online challenges some of our beliefs about how teens are using the Internet and the role that the Internet plays in their daily lives. This naturally impacts marketing efforts aimed at teens. Marketers need to be aware that teens are not online as much as we might think, they are less Internet savvy than they've been portrayed in popular media, and the relatively little time they spend online is focused on specific types of websites and activities. A deeper understanding of these behaviours will bring about richer and more targeted marketing to this elusive but important group.