Marketing To Millennials – Tips for 2019

This is a guest post written by Evelyn Lopez.

Every business wants to win over the millennial market, but the hard part is figuring out how to do it. Experts know that traditional television, magazine, and radio advertising platforms no longer reach the youth market. Before you spend time scouring the internet for ideas to help you reach this coveted age group, you might want to continue reading as we’ll uncover useful strategies on how to market towards millennials.

Millennials trust strangers’ opinions

A recent study shows that 73% of millennials say they seek others’ opinions online when purchasing a product. They seek out online reviews, blogs, and websites that seem to offer authentic views about products and services. The reviews resonate with them even more if they seem to come from a person they view as peers. Millennials trust genuine opinions and spot phony advertising a mile away.

Millennials appreciate in-bound marketing campaigns

Instead of responding to pop-up ads on the internet or sleek magazine spreads, millennials seek out information and knowledge from ebooks, whitepapers, and videos. This type of content is called inbound marketing. For example, the cosmetic industry is embracing this type of marketing, by producing YouTube videos on how to use their products. Millennials pin these to their Pinterest boards and share them with their peers. This creates a lot of awareness and exposure around certain products.

Millennials want to interact with a real person from your company, and they don’t want to wait for an answer

These twenty-somethings will reach out to companies through their Twitter or Instagram pages and will expect a quick response. Companies who are quick to interact with their customers on social media report that they experience increased sales. Because of this, companies are hiring more employees as social media experts to interact with potential customers.

Millennials pay attention to key social media influencers

View the top YouTube stars to determine who is speaking to this generation. While some of these influencers have an international following, look for those who are active from your own community. Contact local celebrities who are active on social media and work out a deal to have them use your product or visit your business. For example, if you own a restaurant, reach out to your area’s favorite food bloggers or reviewers and invite them to try your signature dish.

Millennials have a fear of missing out

If millennials see their peers Tweeting or Snapchatting about a specific experience they had at a business, they will want to have that experience too. After all, they don’t want to be the only one out of their friends who hasn’t gone to the new local ax throwing place or who hasn’t eaten ice cream that allows you to breathe like a dragon. Encourage your customers to post about their experiences at your business. Create a backdrop where they can take photos of themselves enjoying your product or service.

Millennials embrace risk-taking

Understanding that millennials love trying new things may help you market to them easier. For example, in the food industry, Millenials are always looking for new and diverse flavors and new experiences in ethnic foods.

Target your specific customer

More than ever before, we are able to target products to not only an age group, but we can target marketing campaigns towards specific people within an age group. Learn who buys your product or service and look for other people like them.

Support a charity

Millennials are willing to spend more money on a product if they know that part of the proceeds will go to help a cause they support. This lesson can be learned from Toms, the shoe company that gives away a pair of their shoes for each shoe that is sold.

Create an app

Millennials use their smartphones for everything. Companies who optimize the mobile phone experience enjoy a younger customer base.

Know how millennials use media

While 85 percent of millennials have smartphones, only 27% of those 65 years and older do.

Millennials are the least likely age group to read magazines or newspapers. They also watch the least amount of television each day and listen to the least amount of radio.

Eighty-nine percent of millennials use social media. Of those who use social media, 82 percent of them interact with their favorite brands or retailers online. Forty-nine percent follow their favorite brands or retailers on social media.

Take the time to think about how your company spends their marketing dollars. If you want to appeal to a younger audience, you may want to think about hiring a social media expert to help increase your appeal.