Millennials make up 25% percent of consumers, that’s about 1.3 trillion dollars.
Here is an in-depth look at how to win their hearts, get their attention, and spend their hard earned cash on you!
When it comes to the marketplace these days, millennials have a lot of leverage. Some would say that the millennial generation (those born between 1981-early 2000s) is the most “lucrative” market in the U.S. economy. When a generation represents one in four people in America and holds more than $1 trillion in overall buying power every year, the influence is palpable.
That influence has swayed companies into making unprecedented efforts to reach this generation, unlike similar generations in the past. Why? This generation is socially engaged, and as such, will only trust and be loyal to those with which it has a connection.
It’s not just a customer or even a client. Companies have to take that relationship to a new level. Traditional ads are wholly inadequate to move millennials – they look for genuine and impactful content to connect with a brand.
But don’t stress, lest you think you have to tear down your old marketing models and build from scratch. The following five tactics will help you easily transition your traditional marketing collateral into targeted and effective messages that will reach this skeptical but impressionable demographic.
Get Social
Millennials are the most aligned with social media. They connect and explore the world through social media, so it is important for companies to have optimized content to reach millennials. Millennials use social channels to connect, get answers, get inspired, and learn something new.
This means that to meet these millennials where they are in social, the goal for your business is to be the first thing they see when they log in. With about 55 percent of millennials using only their mobile devices to access social channels, having effective messaging that is mobile-compliant and social-compliant will give you a leg up on your competition.
Being tech-savvy from the womb, millennials take in social media at rates that blow our minds. So the key to success is to have content that will make these consumers pause for more than a couple seconds. This means it has to grab and hold their attention. At the same time, you should consider how your brand looks on all the channels you use, and create content that is consistent with that platform. Millennials can spot ill-fitting content a mile away.
You don’t want to stand out that way. Whether it’s a recognition wall, chat, or any other engagement tool, having a platform that can make your engagement seamless is important. You have the ability to sell millennials without them even knowing they’re being sold because you are establishing a relationship with them.
Related: The Science of Engagement
Be Genuine
Being so digital and social, millennials despise traditional advertising and can easily note disingenuous marketing. This means you have to approach this demo with a different tack – like authenticity. Millennials eat up authentic content like ice cream and if you can frame it as something you can give with virtually no return, they are more likely to take a step towards purchasing your product or service.
This is not selling – this is a courtship. You generate interest, hang out and get to know the person, then if you feel like it’s a good fit, you ask them for a date. This approach can generate long-lasting loyalty for your brand, meaning that not only will they buy repeatedly, but they will also spread the word through their social connections.
Having a seamless platform to enhance and expand these social connections and engagement can be a vital advantage for your brand. There is a platform that allows this to happen and it can help your brand be the champion of social engagement.
Fabulous and Frugal
If there is one thing to take away from millennials, it’s that they stand by their brands and won’t go cheap just for whatever reason. However, they will always seek out a good deal or discount. Frugal by habit, millennials would much rather spend money on an experience than on just some product. Because of this, they will search high and low for deals whenever they can.
In fact, nearly two-thirds of millennials say they follow a brand on Facebook solely for the discounts or coupons they give out.
On Snapchat and Instagram, millennials will willingly give out their location publicly if it means they get a discount of some kind.
Promotions and deals within your social media strategy is a great way to develop long-term loyalty with this market.
Inbound Marketing is a Courtship
As mentioned before, millennials would much rather have a relationship with a brand, than being sold into a one-time or occasional transaction. They need attention and compassion, and they appreciate a brand that presents value and empathy for them even if they don’t buy. This is where engagement is so important, as was covered in a recent blog post.
In addition, millennials are 44 percent more likely to have trust in experts, which means that developing or curating customized content, social media channels, and SEO can set yourself up to be perceived as an expert in your field and market. That, in turn, will lead to high loyalty.
“This is where business reputation is made or broken,” said Skylab CEO Dean Grey, an expert in social and engagement marketing.
“Without this kind of engagement with your community, your business will struggle to survive even with great Yelp ratings. Relationships are what push sales, not the selling as we’ve always known it.” Skylab CEO, Dean Grey
Take Bob’s Red Mill as an example. Bob’s provides quality products, but its social-media channels are also full of valuable information such as recipes, holiday decorating ideas, and even some tips to live and eat healthily.
Similar to Bob’s, Success Partners have developed a strong engagement and community health through their vibrant social presence. Working through a single platform, Success Partners can customize its engagement to customers on all types of mobile devices. The platform is created by Skylab Apps, headed by CEO Dean Grey.
“Having a mobile platform is a great way to motivate, incentivize, and educate customers or distributors. It is a great tool to make the activities of building a business fun.” Success Partners, Tony Chaplin
Be Quick, Serve Well
Millennials are even faster than the microwave culture. With the speed of social media and instant messaging, the idea of instant gratification is expected as part of life. But not only do you have to be quick to reach millennials, but you have to be persistent and serve them well. Any hint of a bad experience and you will lose a millennial forever.
Customer service is vital to this discerning market, and it will be more loyal if it knows a brand with a face or a name. Social media can be the best way to have a human connection between brands and consumers. Connecting with a brand is best achieved through social media, according to nearly two-thirds of millennials. Don’t ignore or neglect your social-media channels and respond in a timely and compassionate manner to secure and maintain that loyalty. Be willing and prepared to overdeliver.
In Closing
Because millennials are a different generation of consumers, new marketing tactics are needed to reach this demographic and draw a consumer closer to a brand. This desire to connect is inherent in this market. This has disrupted the marketing world, making relationship-building and experience-generating more important than simple selling.
Marketing now is about relationships that generate loyalty, not just quality of the product or service. You’re now an experience, not just a brand. Become an aware, engaged and compassionate brand to this vital market with one customizable platform – Skylab Apps, which knows the millennial expectation. Learn more, and follow on various social media channels: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn