How to Market Millennials? 5 Super Hints Right Here!

Who is the Millennial generation?

The world’s first truly digital generation has now officially taken over the baby boomers in size. With over 75 million of them now settling down with careers, homes and children, millennials are now coming into their prime spending age. Accenture estimates that those aged between 18-34 now spend over $600 billion a year worldwide – so if we aren’t paying attention to this demographic we better had start.

However, 40% of retail leaders have already said that gaining the loyalty of millennials has become their greatest challenge. In order for us to tap into this huge consumer market we must first understand how Millennials behave. Here are our top 5 tips to helping your business be millennial friendly…

How to Market to Millennials?

Here are 5 super hints that will aid you to market to the millennial generation. Let’s take a look:

1. Millennials crave authentic content

Millennials have grown more accustomed to digital marketing than any other generation. They’ve grown up seeing the digital world develop and so it is no wonder that generic, mass marketed campaigns just aren’t as effective as they once used to be. On average, millennials spend 25 hours of their week scouring websites, blogs and social media so only specific authentic content really catches their eye.

With so much online sharing, liking, tweeting, commenting, posting and snapping to impart their opinions in the online community it’s become really difficult to stand out in such a crowded online space. What type of content resonates with this group? The trick is authenticity…

Millennials need to feel like the content they’re seeing is truly authentic and is being pushed out not just to generate a sale but to actually engage and help them with that they are searching for. So don’t be fake! User-generated content has influence on 84% of millennials’ spending decisions so be real with them and you’ll see the rewards.

2. They want to be engaged

Millennials do not want to be spoon-fed generalised information; they want to feel connected and involved when it comes to their purchases. It’s becoming more and more the case that consumers want to actively engage with brands and traditional marketing does not encourage this. The times of newspapers ads, radio spots and direct mail campaigns are going out the window and inbound marketing is leading the way.

Engaging with customers doesn’t come easier than setting up your social media stall and posting content they want to see. If you do this, you’ll soon find handfuls of millennials commenting, liking and sharing your content which will vastly spread awareness of your brand.

3. Inbound over outbound marketing 

Inbound marketing is shaping the success of many businesses nowadays because it’s what millennials not only want to see but actually respond to. Things like e-books, blog posts, videos and general how-to information on the cover doesn’t seem like marketing, but it is, and it gets results! Consumers want the answers to their problems. If you can provide the answers then you’re perfectly positioned for a follow-up sale. The key here is to ADD VALUE, up-front, for free!

When you offer guidance through inbound marketing it elevates this feeling of trust, which we’ve touched upon in previous blogs. This trust is pivotal to the success of any business growing into the digital age. If you can start consistently pushing out online guides, video tutorials or any other form of informative and helpful marketing material, consumers will soon start engaging with it and will trust your brand because of it. PUSH CONTENT OUT! FOR FREE, TODAY! START.

4. Get personal

A campaign that is made personal to the receiver is always more likely to generate interest that will lead to a sale. Personalised content is never considered ‘pushy’ and it helps build strong brand-consumer relationships which cement long-lasting customers. People, and millennials in particular, appreciate and realise when a brand has tailor made their campaigns with their interests (not their wallets) in mind. It’s not an easy task, but an honest, transparent and personal campaign always wins. Your truth has to be clear! If consumers do not know your wider purpose for being in business, they will never trust you…

5. Shape your experience

Millennials have grown up with all sorts of advertising going on around them, it’s natural to them. They see so many different products/services every day that it’s no longer the product features or the price they remember – it’s the customer experience! They like everybody else, remember how they are made to feel.  Millennials crave the experience of shopping itself over the actual purchase of the product nowadays and any experience, which is made unique, or ‘memorable’ is one that will get them coming back. Otherwise, they will simply head online for their next purchase.

Marketing to millennials goes past the traditional marketing schemes we’ve seen work so effectively over the previous few decades but despite the challenge ahead, successfully tapping into their lifestyle reaps amazing benefits. Hopefully we’ve given you a good idea on how to start building a community of millennials.