“One great way to appeal to millennials is to articulate your vision and your mission to elicit an emotional response to your brand or message. Millennials want to be a part of something bigger than themselves, so your marketing strategy should clearly show why you do what you do and why they should be a part of the cause as a consumer.”
Andrew Thomas, SkyBell Technologies, Inc.
Stumbling upon this brilliant quote regarding marketing to millennials inspired us to dive into what marketers should consider when trying to reach the millennial market base. It’s a hot topic in today’s advertising world and as business owners, it’s important to know the best methods for targeting millennials. What is a millennial? A millennial is anyone born between 1980 and the early 2000’s. This group now makes up a quarter of the overall U.S. population! Even though they may not have the buying power just yet as that of prior generations, they will and SOON! It’s important to earn their loyalty now, so that when it comes time for purchase decisions, your name comes to mind.
It goes without saying that millennials are all about three things. Any guesses? The answer is what we like to call the “Three S’s” of Millennials: smartphones, social media and sharing. Engagement is of the utmost importance with any brands or companies that are trying to reach this market. Take some time and do your research and you’ll find what motivates and resonates with millennials so that you can craft your content accordingly. Thanks to social media and digital advertising, you can continuously engage this generation, gaining brand awareness and loyalty.
One thing that sets millennials apart from other markets is the tendency to share everything with friends in real time. Millennials grew up with social media. They’ve never known a world without the internet or social media. Apps like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter allow for brands to do just that; be in constant communication with this target market. A positive tweet about an experience with a company, can inspire other Twitter followers to give your product or service a try. Research indicates that social media users actually trust the opinions of their friends more often than not. That’s powerful, right? Think of social media as the centerpiece of today’s marketing strategy.
A Nielsen report from October 2015 found that US millennials spend nearly $200 billion per year. And much of that spending happens online. What does this mean for you as a business owner? It’s important to add more ways for consumers to shop your brand, product or service options online. These young consumers primarily shop via mobile devices, but still account for a sizable amount of desktop or laptop purchases. By increasing your E-commerce efforts, companies can cash in on the revenue from tech-savvy millennials. And after the purchase has been completed, encourage the consume to share with their social media following!
You may even consider hiring millennials to bring them into the company conversation. Who knows how to reach this group of young consumers, than an actual millennial with first hand experience in this type of communication? Whether it’s a full-time social media management position or a fresh perspective on any position within your company, hiring millennials can bring a large ROI down the road!
Millennial marketing doesn’t have to difficult. When it comes to today’s marketing, your content needs to be relevant, engaging and focused on building a community as you share your products and services. The payoff for for millennials may be further down the road, but focus on building that audience and loyalty to your brand as soon as possible. Otherwise, you may be ignored by the millennial market becoming part of a noisy, connected world in 2016.
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