How important is it to include Millennials in your marketing efforts? Let’s put it this way, if you’re missing this audience, you’re losing money.
Millennials can get a bad rap for being lazy, entitled and demanding, but let’s face it, they’re also ambitious, proficient with technology and well-educated. And, because of the number of Millennials out there, they’re also highly influential.
The Millennial population is projected to spend $1.4 trillion shopping each year by 2020
What you need to know about Millennials:
- The age range of Millennials is between 18-36 years old, making up the bulk of the workforce.
- They’re the first to grow up with today’s technology.
- Over 40% are parents.
- They’re a values-driven consumer that appeals to brands that stand for something.
- They’re loyal to employers due to the new era of work/life balance and flexibility.
- Social media is an integral part of Millennial’s daily activity.
- 94% use coupons and have a preference for digital formats.
- 40% refer to reviews and testimonials before they buy, and the number is higher when purchasing online.
- 63% complete transactions on their smartphones.
- 60% stay loyal to brands they purchase.
- 83% find online content useful in making purchasing decisions.
Now that we have some insight into the minds and activities of the Millennial generation, the next question is…
How do you market to Millennials?
1. Divide your marketing into multiple platforms
Millennials are always connected and masters at multi-tasking. They’ll binge watch TV, work and check their social media all at the same time. Because Millennials are synced across all their devices, dividing your marketing resources and creating strategic campaigns that hit numerous platforms at once, will get you the most engagement and bang for your buck.
2. Tap into the Millennial’s interests
Brands that hard-sell are not appealing to Millennials. Millennials value authenticity and are attracted to multi-dimensional brands that engage in a cause, as well as products that will enhance their experience.
3. Personalize your targeting
Millennials are highly engaged and will share opinions on a brand, product or service before they decide to purchase. Using social media ad targeting is a powerful approach to get the conversation going and strengthening the brand-consumer relationship.
4. Make sure you’re mobile
This can’t be stressed enough. Although this has been a must-have for your business for quite some time, there are still websites out there that are not mobile-friendly. Millennials are hard-wired to seek information whether it’s through search engines like Google, or asking “Siri” and “Alexa.” When they look for information it needs to be easily viewed or they’ll go elsewhere to find it. Not only should your website be optimized for mobile, but so should ALL your digital content including emails, newsletters, infographics, images, etc.
5. Use Millennials’ influence to your benefit
Millennials care about what other people think and are highly influenced by other’s opinions. Present your brand as credible and trusted by posting testimonials on your website. Request online reviews from happy customers. Show that you care by engaging on social media and responding to feedback whether it’s positive or negative.
The bottom line is don’t neglect Millennials. We need to respect their intelligence and inspire them. They’ll expect more, question more and seek out a better way to live. They’re loyal, tech-savvy, communicators and have great influence on each other. Therefore, it’s necessary that we influence them in the way we position and promote our brands.
We’re here to help…
Marketing to Millennials is not an easy task, there are many layers. We understand that as a Westchester County, NY small business owner you may not have the time to put together a plan to market to this highly important audience. That’s where Exceller Marketing comes in, we can help you clearly identify what makes your brand appeal to Millennials, help you target and engage them and ultimately use their purchasing power on your products and services. Please feel free to contact us today for a FREE consultation.
One huge takeaway from all of this is that Millennials are highly reliant on digital, which means having a good mobile-friendly, responsive website is crucial. For more information on what goes into a great website, visit our blog on the “5 Must-Haves for Best Website Design.”
Best regards, until next time!
Kathy Argyros
Founder and Chief Consultant
Exceller Marketing, Inc.
914-450-9149
kathy@excellermarketing.com
excellermarketing.com
Exceller Marketing is a boutique-style, full-service web design and digital marketing agency in Westchester County, NY. We empower small businesses and entrepreneurs with outstanding web design and expert digital marketing services that keep our clients ahead of their competition.
Sources: Business to Community, Forbes, Lexington Law
Photo: VC Voices
