As you’re no doubt aware, Millennials—typically defined as the generation born between 1980 and 1997—have been extensively studied as a consumer group. Sure, every generation is examined by marketers to improve marketing results. But a lot of changes came about as Millennials came of age, thanks of course to the rise of the digital age and mobile technology.
These fundamentally altered the ways Millennials think, act, research, shop, and buy as compared to their predecessors. Which means that marketing to Millennials required entirely new approaches. This created a lot of turmoil at first; digital marketing struggled to find itself, and the business world struggled to adapt by letting go of deeply ingrained beliefs and practices that were becoming obsolete and picking up new methods.
These days, the various aspects of digital marketing are well established, though they’re still evolving at a fast pace. But Millennials have surpassed Baby Boomers as the largest generation, accounting for about one-quarter of the US population now, making them the biggest consumer demographic in most industries. So, organizations are now compelled to master the art of marketing to Millennials if they want to profit and grow.
Below are some essential tips for marketing to Millennials to help prevent your brand from being left behind and to help you achieve new levels of success. And getting on board with these strategies now better positions your brand to keep adapting as the digital and mobile worlds continue to evolve.
Fundamentals of Marketing to Millennials
- If you don’t know what inbound marketing is and haven’t fully embraced it, you’re lagging way behind.
- Your brand must have an engaging social media presence that regularly provides the audience with posts of genuine value.
- You also have to have a mobile-friendly website.
- Millennials—and web audiences in general—are very visual; use high-quality images and video on your website, on social media, and with the rest of your marketing and branding collateral.
- Millennials invariably look for social proof that a brand is trustworthy before trying it out for the first time.
- Cultivate positive reviews and ratings on the web and master the art of responding to negative online feedback. Millennials pay close attention to this stuff.
- This age group expects to communicate with brands via texts and social media in addition to email and phone calls. And they expect nearly immediate responses.
- They’re also surprisingly receptive to digital ads when they’re enjoying free platforms like social media sites, video streaming sites, etc.
- Even Millennials appreciate old-school money-saving offers like coupons, discounts, and sales. Leverage this online by using savings as an incentive to follow you on social media, sign up for your newsletter, buy through your e-commerce store, etc.
- The more you personalize, the better.
- And the more compellingly you show that your products or services jibe with their lifestyle, the better.
- Don’t expect easy brand loyalty like previous generations offered. Millennials aren’t such creatures of habit, and repeat business needs to be earned each time with great buying experiences.
- And reward loyalty when you do get it. This age group loves things like loyalty reward programs and incentives for speaking up about brands they use.
- Millennials are eager to buy from companies that demonstrate social and environmental responsibility.
- And, the other side of that coin: They’re quick to avoid or drop businesses that seem purely profit-driven or that are seen as abdicating their corporate responsibility.
- They also respect and remember brands that freely answer their questions and address their concerns with informative blog posts, articles, videos, infographics, and other content.
- Have an authentic brand personality and have opinions.
- Seek help from influencers in your industry. Reach out and connect, because a social media or blog post from the right person can do more than you may realize—and sometimes more than months of marketing budget expenditure.
- Millennials are all about disruptive products and services that eliminate an inconvenience.
- If you’re trying to attract Millennial talent to work for your brand, build a strong, positive company culture and show it off online.
