Millennials. They make the news a lot – and for a good reason. This generation, born between 1981-1996, will become the largest living generation in America by the end of this year.
They already make up the most significant percentage of workers. That also means they’re one of the largest groups of consumers. So, any marketer would want to attract this large population to their website and services.
But because millennials grow up with the Internet for most – if not all – of their lives, they’re usually better informed and tech-savvy, making traditional marketing methods less effective. Here are our best inbound marketing practices for targeting millennials.
Have a Good Social Media Presence
For many millennials, the internet and social media have been a mainstay in their lives for many years. So they’re familiar with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other platforms and have been vigorously using it to stay connected with family and friends.
If you want to connect with them as a marketer, reach them where they are. Use these platforms to build up your brand, share your other content, build trust, and drive engagement. Millennials like transparency and authenticity more than different generations – so be sure to interact with your customers across your channels and present your brand truthfully.
Incorporate FOMO into Your Content
FOMO is the fear of missing out – a phrase coined in 2004 that millennials rallied behind. According to Eventbrite, 69% of millennials have experienced FOMO when they couldn’t attend something others could.
This feeling is something marketers can capitalize on – particularly ones who work for companies that host live events. Hype up the experience on social media or through email campaigns. If you don’t host any in-person events, you can still utilize the notion of FOMO to your advantage. Twitter chats are increasingly popular, and are an event you can promote as “unmissable.” Likewise, B2C marketers can advertise sales as “can’t miss,” also latching on to millennials anxiety over FOMO.
Allowing Online Reviews
What once was real word-of-mouth now exists in the form of online reviews. And millennials devour them. HubSpot reports 81% of millennials surveyed seek out reviews and opinions before purchasing a product or going to a restaurant or bar. So, if you don’t already have a native review system or page on Yelp, make sure you do. Be sure to monitor it because many consumers – millennials included – know when brands respond or don’t respond to online reviews.
Mobile Friendly Websites and Designs
Currently, 98% of millennials own a smartphone. They actively use their mobile devices to research services and consumers goods online, with Google reporting that 66% believe the information found on their phone is just as thorough as found on a desktop computer.
And of those millennials using their phone to do research? Almost 15% of them make online purchases multiple times per week. If a millennial comes across your site or email campaign through their phone and it’s not optimized for that device, they’re more likely not to trust your brand.
SMS Marketing
Because it’s known millennials heavily use their smartphones, grabbing them up to 45 times a day, utilizing SMS, or short message service, in your inbound marketing strategy is a useful tactic to target millennials.
SMS can be used to educate your audience on a service or product, invite them to a webinar or demo, offer them exclusive coupons or deals, or answer any questions they may have regarding a product. The USC Annenberg Center for Digital Future revealed that 51% of millennials would share their location via smartphone with companies to receive coupons to nearby businesses. That’s a clear sign millennials are open to SMS strategies.
Influencer Marketing
Millennials more so than any other generation are interested in making experiences and telling stories. That’s why many of them relate to influencer marketing – or are influencer marketers themselves. An influencer marketer is someone who has a large following on online, particularly on Instagram and Twitter, who regularly talks about a specific subject – being sure to work with brands that relate to it.
It should come as no surprise that many influencer marketers are young, and most people who follow them online are also young, which is why it’s a great idea to utilize influencer marketing to attract millennials to your brand. You’re showing them you value their opinion and the opinion of their followers while tapping into their already well-engaged audience. Millennials also love to collaborate and love seeing brands that do so, so it can be an easy win if you have the capacity. If you want to dip your toes into the pool of collaboration or influencer marketer, you can create it through user-generated content. This is any content your followers create on your behalf. It can help build trust and set you up for further success, as well.
It’s evident millennials are highly engaged with the digital world. If you’re not already considering how to manipulate their digital prowess in your inbound marketing strategies, you should. Remembering their personality traits and what they respond to best will help make creating your campaigns easier. If you want an in-depth consultation on how best to reach millennials, contact us by following the link below.
