4 Tips for Marketing to Millennials You Can’t Live Without
Every brand, local or global, wants to charm the millennials as they are the most lucrative market segment out there. Here are 4 tips that will help you deploy successful marketing campaigns for millennials.
With a current population of around 79 million, millennials have already overtaken the baby boomers by nearly 4 million to become the largest generation in the U.S. This generation is also rapidly moving into its prime spending years.
However, getting their attention and loyalty in what seems to be over-cluttered digital space isn't exactly a walk in the park. When it comes to online habits, millennials are remarkably different than Gen-Xers and baby boomers. As they have grown up with ever-evolving technology, they are less likely to respond to the traditional marketing tactics.
Here are 4 tips that will help you deploy successful marketing campaigns for millennials.
1. Upgrade from Mobile-Friendly to Mobile-Centric
Though virtually all generations use mobiles phones, they are not as fond of this piece of technology as the millennials. It is the lifeline of millennials. Nearly 25% millennials spend more than 5 hours on their smartphone each day, while more than 50% spend at least 3 hours, compared to a quarter of Baby Boomers. They frequently use mobile phones for shopping, chatting, using social media, and finding information online.
Besides making your website mobile friendly, adapting to mobile payment solutions can also go a long way. For small business owners, creating their own mobile app can be prohibitively expensive. But, you can still leverage one of the social media apps for your marketing strategies. You can think of using specific features such as Facebook Live or Instagram Stories to up your marketing game.
"When it comes to millennials, if you don't exist on mobile, you don't exist at all. It's no surprise you need to upgrade your marketing tactics from mobile-friendly to mobile-centric," claims Caitlyn Mathers, an inbound marketing and SEO specialist at Fusion SEO.
2. Say No to Hard Selling
Unlike their predecessors, millennials are not interested in what you are selling. So, there is no scope for direct sales tactics. However, they do like the brands that give them an opportunity to be a part of the experience. One of the easiest ways to achieve this is to promote your product or service through user-generated content or influencer marketing.
According to a recent study, the purchasing decision of nearly 54% millennials is influenced by user-generated content. Authenticity is the reason why most millennials trust such content. They also prefer to make a purchase based on recommendations from friends and peers online. When it comes to product recommendations, nearly 49% of Twitter users (mainly comprising of millennials) rely on influencers, while 56% sought guidance from their friends. That's why, when you are selling a product or service, you need to think about helping, empowering or collaborating with the millennials.
3. Be Your Authentic Self
When your marketing is authentic, your business is more relatable to millennials. It may sound surprising, but the generation that seems to spend hours online is more concerned about the human face of a brand having an authentic and honest self. They want to know your brand, what it stands for, and its core value system before they can trust you. Remember, millennials have grown up in the age of digital and social media where transparency is the key. So, if you talk about being an industry expert or leader, you have to look the part.
The easiest way to show off your brand's human side is to communicate with millennials in their language. You need to reply to their comments, messages, and photo posts. When it comes to advertisements, try to tell them about your vision, beliefs, and even the people behind your brand or product. Make sure to be as authentic and honest as possible.
4. Leverage social media with micro-videos
Millennials spend most of their online time on social media apps such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. According to Pew Research Center, about 9 out of 10 Facebook users and 6 out of 10 Instagram users are between 18-29 years old. That's why your marketing strategy must include creating relevant content for various social media channels.
One of the most effective ways to engage millennials on social media is creating and sharing videos. However, in response to the outrageous amount of online content, millennials are forced to make several micro-decisions every second. That's why millennials have an extremely short attention span, about 5 to 6 seconds in length, according to a new study.
As a result, you need to create and share short but engaging videos called micro-videos streaming for 15 seconds or less. It became popular on Vine at first, but the craze is now on virtually every social media channel, particularly Twitter, and Instagram. Fortunately, creating micro-content is relatively cheaper and quicker. Hence, it is a viable marketing tactic for small businesses as well.
Conclusion
An increasing number of marketers have started soliciting millennials, as this generation born and bred in the digital age enters its prime spending years. Though a successful millennial campaign can open exciting sales possibilities for your business, drawing their attention to your brand is a challenge. Marketing to millennials is a somewhat new concept. Hopefully, these 4 tips will help you create a successful marketing strategy for millennials.
(Image Courtsey)