Millennials are setting trends, either with the adoption of social media, new technology, and even new ideas. They’re the folks born roughly between 1980 and 1995: the so-called “Generation Y.”
The group is also the highest demographic of Internet users that install adblocking software.
In short, advertising campaigns are not very effective at reaching this demographic and even if they do see the ad, it isn’t going to have much effect.
They want social poofs
They respond much better to social media content, conversation, stories, entertainment, and education rather than typical marketing messages and strategies. For example, a brand like Taco Bell employs a social media strategy that involves humour and engaging with people on Twitter and Facebook.
Many millennials will look at blogs and reviews before buying into a product, and
Engagement, therefore, is key.
Typically most companies will develop a product and hope that their design works in their target market. 42 per cent of millennials, according to the Forbes study, say they’re interested in helping a company tailor a product to their desires. Getting the customer involved in shaping a service will attract this demographic.
Not only are you creating a product that they will want to purchase, customers will see the effect their suggestions had on the final product.
Support a cause
Another method of attracting millennials attention is giving back to society.
Millennials, during their formative years in high school and college were bombarded with stories of corporate greed, record profits, financial meltdowns, and billion-dollar businesses. Forbes says 75 per cent of them said it’s important for a company to give back to society in some way, usually through supporting local communities. This isn’t a simple charitable donation: a bit of community involvement and participation in events can go a long way.
Go where the millennials are
For modern-day marketers hanging out where the Millennials hang out is crucial if you want to reach them. Considering that 85% of them have bought something after seeing it on social media, it’s essential to know just which social platforms they are hanging out in.
According to Social Media Today, Millennials’ top five social hangouts are:
- YouTube (64%)
- Facebook (51%)
- Instagram (45%)
- SnapChat (42%)
- Twitter (28%)
The survey also found that video ads are the most effective for the younger portion of Millennials.
To see positive results in your marketing campaigns it is crucial to know your audience and learn how to appeal to them. Each generation comes with its own uniqueness, preferences, and priorities. The Millennial generation is tech-savvy, too smart to be pandered to, socially conscious, and not interested in the established norm. If you want to successfully market to Millennials, you have to work hard to capture their attention, be authentic, and give them the information that they are interested in.
So if you have a product or service that is targeting millennials keep these suggestions in mind. What worked 10 years ago might not be the best marketing strategy when your targeted clients are the GenerationY folks. Be open to new strategies and mould your marketing tactics according to what works today.