Getting the message out to millennials

Gwendolyn Tan will speak about how Mashable has captured so many users.

Speaker from Mashable to tell conference how digital-first strategy is key to appealing to younger generation.

Getting the message across to the millennial generation is all about going mobile first and using social media, says a business development expert.

Gwendolyn Tan will speak about how global media company Mashable has captured 45 million unique users and 25 million social followers at the Ad:tech NZ conference tomorrow.

In its second year in New Zealand, the global conference is an event designed for smart marketers and business operators.

Tan has come from home country Singapore to talk about media without borders for the digital generation.

A technology entrepreneur by background, Tan was hired by Mashable seven months ago to begin its expansion into Asia.

"I know Asia. I've done a lot of business there. There are so many business cultures."

So far she has landed a partnership deal with a major media conglomerate in Thailand which has allowed Mashable to reach a new audience through translating content into the local language.

Much of Mashable's content is US-focused, whether that is pop-culture - such as a story about Katy Perry - or consumer technology stories about the latest Apple tech.

But its key focus is reaching the millennial generation.

"We target millennials and people who think like millennials."

Tan said the key to millennials was taking a digital-first strategy with a focus on mobile.

"Our phones follow us everywhere we go."

Tan said some 20 per cent of millennials used their phones in the bathroom and some even made calls from there.

"We understand that mobile is the first device - we have to be very mobile first."

Tan said it was also about connecting through social media, whether that is Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat or Instagram.

Tan said millennials used social media to consume both serious and light-hearted news and distribute stories.

Mashable also focused on tailoring its content the different platforms.

That typically means breaking news will go onto Twitter and more light-hearted content is fed through Facebook.

The company has a dedicated person for each platform.

Tan said it was all about hooking the audience with the right message as well as using images and video.

"We want to inform but also inspire them and entertain."

Tan said getting the message right for a certain market was about understanding the culture whether that was a generation or a country.

For her organisation that means content must be international so it can travel further without people being put off by localised terminology or references.

"If it is way too local it's not good."

For businesses looking to expand into other countries Tan said 80 per cent could be replicated, only a small part needed to be localised.

Spending time in a market and getting to know local business customs was vital for business leaders.

"They need to know is business done in a way that is more relationship or transactional. Get a sense of people."

She said winning the digital generation was not difficult but it was also not easy.

The challenge with millennials was that they were always changing their minds and moving on to something new.

"So it's how do we keep them engaged and build a brand people want to come back to."

At Mashable the company has invested a lot of money and time investing in in-house technology.

One of the technologies it has developed is called Velocity and can be used to predict whether a story will go viral before it goes viral.

Velocity crawls the web looking at what stories people are sharing socially online and how fast they are being shared.

It can build a report with a global focus or zero in on particular markets.

"To evolve we have to be technology focused."

• Ad:tech nz is being held at AUT business school on Tuesday November 17. www.ad-tech.co.nz