Video matters: Millennial users are 2.7x more likely to prefer to engage there than by reading a book or other resource.
Approximately 70 percent of Millennials turn to YouTube videos for guidance on DIY projects or to learn more about an activity they’re interested in, according to new research from Think With Google — in fact, they’re 2.7x more likely to prefer to do so by watching a YouTube video compared to reading a book or other resource.
The fact that Millennials turn to the internet over libraries is far from surprising. But TWG’s post suggests that marketers in the DIY or home space — think Hobby Lobby, Home Depot, Lowe’s, and others — may not be paying enough attention to how the older segment of the Millennial demographic engages with YouTube content and also video ads when it comes to taking on new projects and deciding what to purchase locally.
And it isn’t just DIYers who are increasingly drawn to YouTube videos: As we wrote earlier this year, a reported 86 percent of all Millennial dads watch YouTube videos for guidance on parenting topics from cooking a meal to finding a new minivan. Additionally, 82 percent of Millennial dads watch content on the platform that doesn’t have to do with parenting at all, tuning in to general or pop culture news videos that help them “to connect with their children.”
The takeaway for marketers here is two-fold: First, it isn’t just teens that are consuming video content in increasing numbers — older Millennials are too, and that’s true across gender lines. As Facebook’s Irene Chen said in a panel discussion at MediaPost’s Marketing Automotive conference earlier this month, “Video is not a nice-to-have — it is a must-have. Consumers are increasingly consuming video content, especially on mobile.”
In other words, embracing video ads — and being active on platforms like YouTube — matters. Marketers, and particularly those in the DIY or home verticals, will likely do well to invest more in this space.
Additionally, perhaps this is evidence that Millennials aren’t quite as entitled as the stereotype suggests: “Sure, technology may mean that millennials haven’t mastered the same skills their parents did — like balancing a checkbook — but it’s not out of laziness,” Google’s Matt Anderson concluded in the TWG report. “Millennials are using technology to self-start and learn in different ways.”
