Marketing to Millennials Requires Authentic Interaction

Here’s an interesting fact: Millennials (a group which consists of people born roughly between 1980 & 2001) are the largest target market in existence. They are bigger than the Baby Boomers, Generation X, and any other generation that you can think of.

So, the Earth is crawling with these people, and marketers (as they are known to do) have taken note.

But marketing to millennials (a generation which, by the way, will be worth $200 billion by 2017) is no simple task, and offers up new and interesting challenges which have changed the way that brands go about communicating with their customer base. In this post, we’ll review what we know about millennials, and how we can go about reaching them in an effective manner.

Millennials’ notoriously short attention spans have given them a bad rap. But there is a lot more substance to this generation than simply being unable to concentrate on a given subject for more than a few seconds at a time. For example, millennials are quite tolerant & sympathetic. You may have noticed this in your Facebook feed, which is often bursting at the seams with news about civic minded projects and uplifting videos. You’ll also notice a large number of stories in which millennials make a point of standing up for marginalized groups. Millennials are very comfortable in using social media as a mechanism to promote their values and beliefs, and are not shy about doing so.

On the other hand, it is true that this is an ADD generation. Millennials demand more interaction. When they don’t get it, they will simply jump to a new piece of content, resulting in a shorter time on site than what is seen from other demographics. Still, this is not necessarily a bad thing. Since they are more digitally savvy, millennials are simply able to bounce around and find what they are looking for in a quick, efficient manner.

So, if you want to reach millennials, the key is to be what they are looking for. How do you accomplish this? Here are some ideas:

• Have your brand stand for something. Millennials love to get behind causes – so give them one! This may be your best opportunity to have your content shared all over the social media landscape. Come up with a cause that your brand can promote, and spread it around. Even though this won’t be a direct advertisement for your company, it will do wonders for your brand recognition.

• Increase engagement in your marketing. Help your audience feel like they are part of your brand, and not just another customer. Millennials want to play an active part in their favorite brands’ marketing campaigns . Let them do it! Ask them for their feedback, opinions, and any other insights that they have to offer.

• Don’t be a cold, faceless conglomerate. Personalize and be personable. Many companies have begun to use their social media to give a sort of behind the scenes look at what goes into their products. This gives millennials a feeling that they are connected to the brand on a personal basis.

At the end of the day, you should stay true to your message. You don’t want to try too hard to be cool. Think about when your parents tried using slang. How well did that go over with you? If you are going to re-brand yourself just for millennials, make sure you do it all the way. A superficial change will not bring you the results you are looking for. The millennials are the future of the economy, so make sure you are targeting them correctly.