Simply hearing the word “Millennial” is enough to give some marketing managers anxiety. No generation has had more words devoted to it, and no generation has confounded marketers more. Everyone knows how lucrative a market Millennials are – it’s not just their size, it’s their loyalty and their willingness to recommend a business to others that really have marketers salivating. But how can you reach this group? How can you seamlessly target Millennials without coming across as trying too hard?
Tell Your Story
Millennials don’t just buy products – they buy stories. In other words, there’s more to their decision making process than simply getting the cheapest item. They want to know about the companies they patronize. They want to know how businesses were founded, who started them and how the experiences of those individuals shaped the products they’re now considering.
Millennials also want to learn what’s important to the businesses they support. Ethics and causes are an important part of the package. It’s become trendy for companies to make regular donations for every product they sell, and a big reason for that is it helps to influence Millennials. If someone can feel good about the purchase they’re making, it makes them that much more of a brand advocate. Nowhere is that more true than with Millennials.
Provide an Experience
It’s not enough to provide a good product. Today’s consumer wants an unforgettable experience to go along with the product. Think of a restaurant – if the food is good, but the space is cramped and uncomfortable, nobody’s going to want to go there.
Millennials love a great customer experience. That’s why concepts like in-store pickup work so well with Millennials. It’s not that they hate shopping in stores – they just want to do it on their terms. The customer experience can turn a good product into a great one; a great product into a must-have.
Be Yourself
The days of one-way communication between business and consumer is long gone. Millennials crave the interaction between themselves and their favorite brands. That’s why social media is such a powerful marketing platform. It eliminates the gaps that used to exist, and it affords brands the opportunity to pull back the curtain and show off their more human side.
Social media also gives businesses a valuable opportunity – to acknowledge their mistakes and make them right, for the whole world to see. There’s nothing a Millennial dislikes more than a company that doesn’t take responsibility for their missteps. That’s why social media is so crucial as a customer service tool.
The numbers show that a business that responds to social media complaints has a good chance at actually improving a customer’s perception of that brand. Give Millennials a reason to believe that they’ll get the same courtesy and respect from you, and they’ll be more likely to support your business.
Use Influencers
It can be very hard for a startup brand to break through, especially in a world where ad blockers and DVRs mute so much of the marketing conversation. Influencers can help your brand to reach the Millennial audience you covet.
Similar to conventional celebrity endorsements, influencers pair products with big names. The difference, though, is that influencer-based marketing on Instagram comes across less like a typical ad and more like a heartfelt recommendation from an established voice. This is vital because Millennials are better trained than any other generation to avoid conventional advertising. Influencer marketing is just different enough – and effective enough – to speak to this segment of the market.
Maximize Video
Everyone knows that video is the flavor of the month when it comes to content. But take a moment to understand why video is so valuable, and why it works so well for Millennials.
Look at the videos in your Twitter and Instagram feeds. They’re short enough to be quickly consumed, but they tell a story and say a lot in a short period of time. Most importantly, they often have captions so that people browsing at work or in school can get the message without turning the sound on.
It’s no secret that the world is pivoting to video, and it’s not necessarily because a flashy graphical presentation is the best way to sell something. It’s because video lets marketers combine several marketing mediums into one.
Videos include images, compelling copy, powerful storytelling and stirring music, all in one concise package. The end result is the exact marketing message you want to send in an easily digestible format, geared towards an audience that loves this type of content.
Despite all of the hype and conjecture from media pundits, Millennials aren’t that much different from every other type of consumer. They want to associate themselves with brands that speak to them, and they want to have fun while buying and consuming their favorite products. If you focus on these key areas, you’ll find yourself well-equipped to appeal to this highly coveted group. If you have any questions about how you can better present your business to Millennials, contact us today.
