Millennials are one of the most lucrative but evasive populations to advertise and market towards. It’s no secret that millennials shop. They make up an enormous portion of the market’s spending power and with many of them opting to have kids at later ages we’re seeing more and more expendable incomes with millennials. The trick is how we get their attention. Millennials don’t typically respond to traditional forms of advertising like mailers, magazines, and print ads. With younger generations, companies need to meet their desired audiences where they’re at, and for most millennials that translates to online social spaces. There are many ways to take advantage of technology to market to millennials, and each have their own benefits and drawbacks. To learn more, keep reading for six tips and tricks for how to market to millennials.
Digital Billboards
Billboards are a classic, timeless staple when it comes to advertising. Wichita billboards have been a lifesaver for local businesses, and are still an effective form of advertising in many cases. The trick here is presenting something that will attract millennials’ attention. Digital billboards are much more flashy and eye-grabbing and more likely to grab the attention of generations geared more towards a digital experience. Billboards work, but the same ones that grabbed the boomer generation may not have the same effect on younger ones.
Design for Mobile Platforming
In that same vein, it’s important that businesses looking to market to millennials make sure that they optimize their websites and ad campaigns for mobile devices. Most people these days don’t watch broadcast TV, don’t read magazines, and don’t read the newspaper. All of the content people consume nowadays is on mobile phones or tablets and rare cases, personal computers. Optimize marketing efforts for social media platforms and to be viewed on mobile devices rather than print media or commercials.
Think About Social Demographics
When it comes to reaching a certain audience, many businesses shoot themselves in the foot by focusing on age. Age can be a big determining factor as to what kinds of campaigns are more attractive, but more influential than that is the social circles that people move within. Millennials have a varying number of interests and habits, but one thing they have in common is meeting on mutual platforms like Instagram or TikTok with the latter becoming more trendy as time goes on.
Focus on More Personal Forms of Outreach
Email blasts, coupons, and physical advertisements have been effective in the past, but today’s generations find these kinds of advertisements to be impersonal and boring. Try reaching people on a more personal level by being a bit more thoughtful with your newsletters or publications. A big way that some companies do this is by sharing posts from users that feature their product. This is a great way to create community engagement and make your younger buyers feel more a part of your business.
Millennials Respond to Authenticity
Authenticity is key when it comes to younger generations. Millennials are generally distrusting of corporate entities and aren’t likely to respond to a business making claims that seem too good to be true. Instead, try coming from a place of honesty when it comes to promoting your business, products, or services. Millennials will respond much more to a company that is transparent about its labor practices, marketing campaigns, and means of production. Your target audience in this case should feel that they can see the company for what it is.
Convenience
Another thing to consider when marketing to millennials is the element of convenience. Millennials are less than likely to make an effort to seek out places they might see advertisements, so you have to make it extremely easy for them to see and engage with your content. A few clicks is all it should take for a millennial shopper to click on a link and be on a page where they can buy products or learn more about your business. In reality, you’ve got only a few seconds to grab their attention and only a few more after to help them get where you want them to go. Convenience is key when targeting younger generations.
Conclusion
Millennial shoppers make up a big portion of the market at this stage. While they still haven’t achieved their full buying power, they are getting very close to that being the case and in general are willing to spend money with companies that they trust and have honest, transparent business practices. To get their attention, meet them in the social circles that they spend most of their time in and focus on social media engagement over anything else. Traditional form of marketing can work, but on a much smaller scale than previous generations.
