Youth Beat: Five Ways to Stay in Touch with Today’s Youth

I am still revved up from last week’s Youth Marketing Mega Event in Newport Beach, California. This incredible conference had some of the best speakers I have ever seen or heard. From authors to practitioners, the presentations were inspirational, informative and rejuvenating. While held in the US, the information is useful to anyone targeting youth around the world. (We also got to see a new boy band perform, V-Factory Music – the next big thing?)

No doubt I will be buzzing about this event in the weeks and months to come but today, I thought I would share a few nuggets to help those of you who sadly missed the event (and right now, put a note in your Outlook to attend this conference next spring – it’s absolutely worth it). So here goes, my top five ways you can “stay in touch” with today’s youth!

1. Participate!
This is more than just getting a Facebook account (and get one already, what are you waiting for!?). Get a few social networking accounts – my favorites – Facebook, Plaxo, Flickr and YouTube. And then, start using them. Don’t use them for business – use them for communicating with people you care about. That’s what your kids are doing and it’s fun! Post some photos. Shoot a video (and I challenge you to add music!). Comment on other’s profiles, videos or photos and then see what happens. You might even have fun. (For a complete list of sites in your geography, see this!) FRESH LINK: this cool graphic just in from SXSW on Zuckerberg's talk about Facebook!

2. Follow the trends.
TrendCentral publishes a “daily trend” they will send right to your email. While the author admits these may not be lasting trends, but they are small windows into the social changes that are happening rapidly and are typically driven by the youth market. You can decide if they are worth pursuing but at a minimum, reading the daily update will make you more interesting at cocktail parties and might give you a few ideas on that new product you are working on.

3. Get in their head.
Anastasia Goodstein has built a career around networking. Her blog, YPulse, is served daily (again to your email if you like) and contains links to what’s new for youth. From what young people are doing and thinking to breaking research and controversy, the YPulse newsletter has it all letting you pick and choose the topics that interest you. This is US focused but she does include stories that have global relevance.

4. Stop talking on your mobile phone.
Well, you don’t really have to stop talking, but you do need to use your phone differently. Teens are using their phones to text, browse, play, watch and listen (to music!). It’s time you try it. Text your teen. Download a game or some music. Surf the net (to visit your social networking site – see number one above). Today’s youth use their phones as a personal communication device to help them stay in touch with the things they care about. Immediate gratification is essential for them including knowing “what’s new” the moment it happens. FRESH LINK from NYTimes on texting!)

5. Play.
If you can, buy a Wii. If you can’t, get online and play a game – World of Warcraft is incredibly popular. Drop into Second Life. Buy a Webkinz. Today’s youth have friends from all over the world – many of them made while playing a game. You meet someone online and then you end up adding them to Facebook. Even tweens make friends on Webkinz or Club Penguin. It really is a small world and gaming is helping shrink the planet.

Do you have other great ideas? I want to hear about them. This is an exciting time for anyone in marketing or product development. Staying in touch will only make our ideas better. And if you go to Facebook – “poke me!”