Marketing to teens is easy if you know what you're doing, but can have disastrous results if you go about things the wrong way. Teenagers are media-savvy and distrustful of advertisers, so if you want to create a marketing campaign for teens, you need to get inside their heads.

Trends for target marketing to teenagers change frequently. As a method becomes more common and mainstream, it loses its effectiveness. Because of this, it's important to stay up to date on the current trends in niche marketing to teens.

Consider the following when you create an advertising campaign for teenagers:

1. Teens are socially conscious and more likely to support a company that supports a good cause. When niche marketing to teens, make sure that your company supports a variety of charitable causes.

2. One of the best ways to market to teens is through entertainment. Movies, music and television can all influence teen behavior. Your product must look cool.

3. Teens are comfortable with technology and social networking programs. Any advertising campaign for teenagers should incorporate these types of media.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Create focus groups and surveys to help with target marketing to teens

The simplest way to learn what teenagers want is to ask them. Most teens are more than willing to share their opinion with you on a variety of topics. You simply need to find ways to get them together and get them talking.

I recommend: Create a focus group to learn the best ways to market to teens. Alloy Media and Marketing has its finger on the pulse of Generation Y. They can help you by creating a focus group or letting you see teen behavior first hand. E-Poll helps design online surveys so that you can ask teenagers about their opinions on various issues.

Attend marketing conferences to network with others to plan a marketing campaign for teenagers

Conferences are a great place to meet others that work in the teen market and to get great ideas from each other. Various lectures will teach you about the current trends in the market.

I recommend: What Teens Want is an excellent marketing conference. The famous Nielson Company sponsors it. The YPulse Youth Marketing Mashup is another great conference that you should attend.

Stay up to date on niche marketing to teenagers with blogs and newsletters

Because trends can change so quickly with the teen market, it's important to learn about trends through media that can update you just as quickly. Look for resources that have daily or weekly news updates.

I recommend: YPulse is one of the most extensive resources for those that market to teens. You can read multiple blog updates daily on a wide range of teen-related marketing news. Trend Central offers another valuable resource.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Try to be yourself when creating an advertising campaign for teens. Companies often miss the mark when they try too hard to be cool by incorporating teen slang or trends. Teens will see through these attempts and lose interest in your product

It used to be that for small businesses, teenagers were a liability. According to popular business mythology, they loved to loiter, were prone to shoplifting and were far more likely to make a ruckus than to make a purchase. Today’s business owners know better. The savviest among them are able to recognize true market potential when they see it, and to disregard stereotypes in order to seize opportunities. They look at teenagers and see not troublemakers, but rather a powerful group of American consumers.

Here are four good reasons to market to teens:

1. There will be approximately 33.5 million teens in the United States by 2010.
2. The Millennial Generation averages $158 billion per year in disposable income.
3. Seventeen percent of teenagers are “influencers” that set trends and whose opinions matter to friends and family.
4. Nearly four in 10 teens have a checking or savings account in their own name.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Study the market

Before launching a marketing campaign for teens, you’ll need to find out how best to reach them, including what media they respond to, what products they’re drawn to and what messages they’ll listen to.

I recommend: If you’re new to teen marketing, consider hiring a consultant or agency to help you navigate the terrain. Alloy Media + Marketing, which operates 360 Youth, Fuse Marketing and Mr. Youth are three agencies that specialize in reaching teen audiences; they can help you organize teen focus groups, research teen tastes and more.

Up your “cool” factor

To be popular among teen consumers, your business must have not only the coolest products, but also the newest ones. Succeed by being the first on your block to adopt and sell the latest technology and toys.

I recommend: Stay on top of trends with subscriptions to trend-spotting publications, such as trendwatching.com’s free Trend Briefing, and by regularly searching for and reading teen-themed blogs, such as VH1’s Best Week Ever blog.

Go to where they are

To successfully peddle your wares among teenagers, you’ve got to market to them in their own space. Consider advertising in teen media, for instance, or marketing inside teen destinations, such as skateboard parks and concert venues.

I recommend: Perhaps the most popular destination for many teenagers is the mall. Consider purchasing advertising within your local shopping center to reach hordes of teenagers who are already out there spending money. Adspace Networks operates an in-mall advertising platform that can connect you directly to those teen shoppers.

Tap into social networks

Teens are incredibly chatty, and enjoy sharing information—including product recommendations—with their friends and family. Take advantage of teens’ natural inclination to talk by starting conversations with them online.

I recommend: The No. 1 teen destination is the Internet. Teens spend tons of time online, often inside social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook and Friendster, several of which now allow companies to create their own profiles with which to market to their teen member base.

Embrace promotions

Discounts, giveaways and contests are magnets for teen consumers. Increase traffic and purchases by young customers when you organize a cool promotion to generate enthusiasm and excitement among the teen demographic.

I recommend: Partner with an agency to help you create and manage your contest. The Marketing Agency and Marketing Resources Incorporated are examples of companies that can help you execute a teen-friendly promotion.

Support a cause

Research has shown that teens appreciate companies and products that support good causes. Tap into teen activism—and give back to your community—by embracing philanthropy.

I recommend: Search Idealist.org to find a cool cause that your company and its teen customers alike can support.

Know the rules

Before reaching out to minors, protect yourself by researching the latest standards and best practices.

I recommend: The Canadian Marketing Association (CMA) makes wise recommendations for marketers worldwide in the “Special Considerations in Marketing to Teenagers” section of its Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Marketing to teens often means marketing to their parents, too. Appeal to both by offering cool products at reasonable prices.
• •  When targeting teens, make customer loyalty your goal. If you make them happy when they’re young, you’ll keep customers coming back well into adulthood.
• •  Speak to teens as if they were adults. They’re smart and respond well to mature messages, but are turned off by companies that talk down to them.
• •  When marketing to Millennials, keep authenticity top of mind; teens can smell phony advertisements at the first hint of insincerity, and are likely to reject businesses that they perceive as fake.
• •  Don’t assume that your teenage customers are identical; the teen market is incredibly diverse, and successful businesses are able to acknowledge differences among peer groups.

It is essential in today's busy marketplace to know the marketing to teens key terms. Since the way to market products, services and entertainment differs depending on what audience you're targeting, it is essential to put these terms into practice to ensure success. Teenagers are some of today's most active consumers, so finding ways to market your products to them will increase name recognition and revenue. Today, many in the entertainment industry are using these techniques on social networking sites to generate the interest of teenage consumers. So take the time to learn the key terms to market products or services to teenagers and watch your business grow.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Tween

Though technically not teenagers, 'tweens' are young people between the ages of eight and 12. Since many tweens are active consumers, reaching this audience is a great way to ensure success, because as these kids age, they will continue to be active consumers.

I recommend: Learn more about marketing to tweens at Alloy Media + Marketing.

Trend spotter

A trend spotter is a person or organization that specializes in learning about upcoming trends so they can be marketed to a specific audience. Since many teenagers buy products based on trends, hiring a trend spotter is a great way to increase revenue.

I recommend: Read about trend spotters and their services at TrendWatching.

Youth Branding

Youth branding is a marketing strategy that uses the media, events and concerts to increase name recognition. This technique builds sales for retail products and entertainment by using advertising and promotion at sporting events, concerts and on social networks and blogs.

I recommend: Use the information at Kid Club Marketing to learn about youth branding.

Social marketing

Social marketing creates interest in social issues and programs to targeted audiences. Since many teenagers are interested in issues such as animal rights, this is a great way to generate interest in a social cause. Social marketing brings these issues to the attention of teenagers to inform them and get them involved to create change.

I recommend: Gather information about social marketing from the Social Marketing Institute.

Viral media marketing

Viral media marketing uses social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Myspace and YouTube to generate interest in things including musicians, products or concerts. This technique uses videos, blogs and advertisements that connect to a teenage audience.

I recommend: Learn about viral media marketing from Blu3Digital.

Buzz marketing

Buzz marketing is a form of viral marketing that uses word-of-mouth to generate interest and excitement in products, entertainment and information. Buzz marketing targets teenagers by using blogs, social sites, advertisements and events to get them talking about products or entertainment so they will feel compelled to purchase them when they are available.

I recommend: Read about buzz marketing at Fuse Marketing.