Targetting the younger income

Are your products and services aimed at a younger demographic? If so, you need to spek da lngwij!

As mobile phones become the must-have item we all own, including 4 year olds it seems, the English language is suffering.

Good spelling and grammar appear to be going out of the window as youngsters (and adults) attempt to cram their messages into 160 characters. This is having an impact not just in SMS speak, but is spreading into the real world and online.

In the real world we see it most commonly as a grammatical error in the overuse of the grocer's apostrophe eg potatoe's, taxi's etc. However, more and more often, it is the general misspelling of words. Not just commonly misspelt words, like accommodation but even potatos. If you offer acomodation, accomodation, or even acomodashun, you won't pick up search traffic from those who choose to type that into Google if your website only includes the correct spelling in its keywords.

And the sad thing is that, as our 8 year olds turn into young, well-heeled spenders, (who can't spell), looking to spend a weekend away with their partner, they are unlikely to fall across your hotel, guest house, B&B or campsite if you haven't realised that they will be spelling one of your key search terms wrongly when they look for you. Some of the problem is solved by search engines, such as Google, offering a spell check service and pointing them in the right direction. However, other search facilities, link directories etc don't.

Additionally, aside from misspelling keywords and phrases, there is the need to communicate effectively with your target audience. You need to write in a style that hits all the right buttons. Obviously, depending on your products and services, this needs to be approached in different ways, especially if you also target an older demographic who may not wish to read product information or articles in ... ahem, let's call it a 'contemporary style'!

For instance, let's take I want one of those.com (IWOOT) and consider the writing style. It's relaxed (or chillaxed as my kids would say), passionate, youthful, and appealing. It triggers the "I want one of those" emotions perfectly.

They achieve this by understanding their audience, and getting into their shoes.

As part of our Information Architecture process, we ask our clients to consider 5 different potential customers. Who they are, where they might work, what they wear to work, and start to think how to market to that person, or that demographic. You don't necessarily need to consider what they had for breakfast, or which brands they buy, but it does all help.

And then you need to write for those people, or that person. Speak their language.

For marketing to the younger generation, it is probably a good idea to get hold of a young person, tell them what you are trying to sell to them, and get them to describe it. It is quite amazing how differently this type of focus group activity can make you describe your product or services. Young people can usually be bribed with sweets or paid minimal amounts of money for this activity, and school holidays, when parents will do almost anything to entertain their children, are a good time for a recruitment drive if your target demographic is the under 18s!