7 Ways You Can Market To Millennials, Online

By Laurie Wood

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As the largest living generation, Millennials are a demographic every brand wants to attract, but it’s keeping that demographic interested in your brand which is the tricky part. Marketing to age groups does not fit a one size fits all approach. Baby boomers are less mobile and prefer printed out articles and TV advertisements,  Generation X is the merging group utilising traditional means of advertisement while also incorporating laptops and mobile. Finally, we have millennials; a largely internet-based demographic who prefer to scroll down their phone or tablet than watch TV these days.

Did you know around 80% of millennials want brands to entertain them? Not much pressure then…So, without further ado, keep those millennials interested with these 7 useful tips.


1) SPEAK THEIR LANGUAGE
Sure, they don’t actually have their own language, but especially on social media language is more laid back and often coincided with a relevant emoji to show how that user is feeling. When chatting to millennials, or anyone on social media for that matter don't
be scared to use an informal approach. Instead of ‘Hello, thanks for your message’, try ‘Hey! Glad to hear from you :) ). You want to approach a conversation as if you’re talking to a friend. Which moves us nicely to the next point. 


2) START CONVERSATION AND BE ENGAGING
You’ve heard of the 80/20 rule, right? 80% of your content should be tailored to your target demographic and 20% self-promotion. Well, that 80% can include content which reflects your brand image, which if it’s humorous would increase your chances of engagement. Boohoo is a prime example on how to do this correctly. They often tweet reaction memes and start conversation topics around any trending TV programmes that aren’t linked to clothes, but it works and it targets their chosen demographic. Oh, and remember to be engaging. If a customer responds then don’t be shy to reflect banter back!

 

3) VISUAL STORYTELLING
Visual content has been proven to be more effective in providing information over text and our brains can read visuals 60,000x faster than text! With this in mind, your content marketing needs to be top notch and colour branded to charm any millennial. 


4) DESIGNATED CHOSEN PLATFORM
Similar to advertising to specific demographics, you need to choose the right social platform for your business. Think about what you want to achieve using social and what’s your main goal other than to make money in the long run. Ideally, you want to build trust and retain customers. However, this will only work in your favour if you’re utilising the platform correctly and it’s the most practical for your strategy. A study revealed that 73% of Instagram’s audience is millennials, makes sense to open up shop on their, right? Stop! Think about what you sell. Instagram is an image-based social platform – Your content has to be physically appealing in order to stop a millennial from scrolling past. Are you a photographer? Restauranter? Or even just a fashion fanatic? Then Instagram is your starting point. Or is your business perhaps focused on giving advice and facts? Maybe best to stick with Facebook which provides extra written room and call to action buttons. 


5) QUICK RESPONSE RATE
With a cornucopia of news and information in such a small device (mobile in case you haven’t guessed), millennials need answers fast. 64% of consumers expect a response from Twitter within 1 hour and 85% expect a response on Facebook within 6 hours! The pressure is on to keep up but ensuring you have clear opening times stated and at least one person monitoring comments and queries 24/7, there’s no reason why you can’t act fast.


6) APPEAL TO THEIR VALUES
Millennials’ purchasing habits tend to prioritize memorable experiences and social identity. They want to align themselves with organisations doing good in the world and use their purchasing power to support companies that have similar values. Does your brand promote ‘going green’? Do you have your own charity or sponsor any? Showcase these aspects of the company and be proud to support the community. Millennials will appreciate this and will more likely buy from you. 


7) SHARE USER GENERATED CONTENT
Did you know 93% of consumers find UGC to be helpful when making a purchasing decision? And 85% of consumers surveyed found visual UGC more influential than brand photos or videos! Millennials want to see real-life reviews and images of a product and they also want to share their experiences using a product offering you free organic awareness. What’s not to love? Make a customer feel valued and increase your customer retention by sharing or reposting that UGC.


 
Want to know more on how you can utilise social media as a seller tool? Follow me here for daily updates: LauriewoodUKSocialLite @TMPworldwideUK.

 

 

 

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