DIGITAL MARKETING IN THE DACH REGION - AGE GROUPS AND LINKEDIN STRATEGY
Have you seen the latest statistics on LinkedIn user age groups? It may have come as a big surprise to many of us to see that the Millennial group is the biggest one of them. Almost 60% of all LinkedIn users are aged 25–34.
But before you get carried away by the stats and start reconfiguring your LinkedIn channel communications: consider what that actually means for your business.
If you look at your customer base, is this the primary age group you want to target? And is it the only primary target group? Are 25–34 year-olds the users of your products or are they your buyers? Depending on your business, the answer can vary significantly.
If you sell to C-level management in startups and entrepreneur companies, you will find the newest stats very inspiring. They prove that there are plenty of opportunities for your business to capture a growing share of evolving markets.
And if you sell in a B2B environment involving big corporations, the stats tell you that targeting this age group means that you are targeting the persons that are moving into influential positions. But here comes the tricky part. For your sales-oriented marketing activities, it’s imperative to know who signs off the purchasing order. You may have discovered that B2B business is complex: Currently, most of the users are Millennials, but most of the actual buyers are not. More likely, the buyers are Gen X.
Hence, the question that is really interesting for your LinkedIn marketing is: is the Gen X LinkedIn user group declining? Very likely, it is not. At least not in Germany. Not yet. Because while people born in 1964 are approaching their 60s, they will not leave office before 2031, according to current German pension law. And since corporate careers seldom foresee downward mobility, they will probably stay in influential positions until they retire. Which means that they will, likely, continue to use one of their preferred social media platforms and be accessible for your ideas.
Our advice: stay calm and don’t misinterpret statistics. From the perspective of a marketer, LinkedIn offers unique opportunities to address several age groups. It is and will continue to be a platform where people from various age groups look for information, education, and inspiration. And all of them are aware of the fact that LinkedIn is a business platform and other users may approach them with ideas. Be they proven or new.
Ask your digital marketing agency for more information on your online opportunities in the DACH countries.
