We live in an age of anti-privacy. Using platforms like Pinterest, Twitter and Facebook, consumers share every detail of their lives with one another, from their current locations to photos from their most recent night out. This trend toward anti-privacy is driven primarily by younger people. While Generations Y and Z have used the Internet their entire lives and are comfortable with social media, older generations remain uneasy about broadcasting their intimate details.
Though some older folks participate in social media, a large portion of them remain reluctant to share their lives online. Because many business owners are members of these older generations, this hesitance can be problematic for brands promoting social media marketing campaigns. Older business owners are often uncomfortable sharing the details of their business online, which often inhibits their ability to use social media as an effective marketing tool. While we at Promoboxx know that social media marketing is a great opportunity for local retailers, it isn’t instinctive to everyone. This means that when working with brands, we talk to them about the value of information sharing and the changing nature of privacy, in the context of their retailers’ or franchisees’ varying age ranges.
Recently, Ben and I took a trip to Chicago to visit the National Restaurant Association. While we were there, we spoke with the head of sales from a Massachusetts-based manufacturing company that sells food service products to local retailers. We told this retailer, who was around 50 years old, about the Promoboxx platform and the type of sharing and distribution campaigns we initiate. Though he liked the idea behind our platform, he indicated that his company wouldn’t be able to use it. He told us that his company was dedicated to privacy, and that he wasn’t comfortable sharing the names of his distributors, retailers and retail locations in the online world, which could be viewed by his competitors.
Here at Promoboxx, we believe that effective marketing requires an open dialogue between the brand, its retailers and consumers. The more open this conversation is, the stronger the connection will be with consumers. As this connection continues to strengthen, brand awareness will grow as well.
Regardless of the age of a brand’s retailers, it’s important to recognize the power of open communication in furthering the brand’s message and connecting with consumers. In general, owners of local retail stores are trending younger. Some of them are taking over for their retiring baby-boomer parents, while others are opening retail stores after graduating from college. These younger retailer owners and operators will automatically be more open to sharing their activities and utilizing modern marketing platforms, such as social media. However, encouraging older business owners to embrace this mentality as well will help brands get ahead of the curve.
