If you are responsible to create marketing strategies for your company, it MUST have a focused gameplan for the millennials. But for that, you need to observe, understand and analyze the millennial generation at the smartphone level. If you know what I mean! 😛
For instance, a trait that is developed in the millennials mostly since the advent of Instagram, their buying habits are majorly influenced by influencers and prefer integrated buying experiences. You see, you need to have such close observations if you want to reach them straight up. Their shopping habits are also majorly influenced by online networks.
But this isn’t a tedious job? It certainly is. Here I am, with 7 stunning ways to market to the millennial generation that will transform them into your loyal customers:
Move on from the traditional advertisements
Remember the old, interruptive style of advertising, on your television screens, interrupting what you are watching and forcing content which you do not want to see on you. No one wants that anymore, especially millennials. Plus, the culture of watching television is bygone. People have shifted to mediums like Netflix, YouTube, and Amazon. Not only for the rich content they provide but also because ‘who wants the long breaks of advertisements’? Publish ads or content that your audience chooses to watch, instead of just forcing it on them. Some smart brands are already ahead in this. Here’s a stunning advertisement by CMI (Content Marketing Institute), instead of just saying content is important – they shot a video that said the same (without making it look like an advertisement). Here is the link.
Pairing with meaningful and important causes
Your product or service might not directly support a social cause, but you can level up your marketing plan, by getting into partnerships with a charity or an NGO. Plus, if you can give back to society in any manner at all, what better? This step would have a positive impact on your sales, and the stats show that 90% of millennials like to switch to a brand that supports a cause. Millennials nowadays want their brands to have a voice that delivers an important message. The ‘unhate’ campaign by UCB or United Colours of Benetton featuring world leaders of the same sex kisising each other, won Cannes Ad Festival award
The power with which this picture portrays the tolerance towards the gay community is immense!
Post user-generated content
The millennial generation is exposed to unlimited content on a daily basis. They can exactly say when you are trying to ‘fake it’ and when it is as authentic as the sky! So, when you give them something that resonates authenticity, nothing like it. User-generated content is the best technique to drive trust among your users, and it boasts a 4.5% higher conversion rate! Not to forget,  inexpensive and can make you the most popular gossip overnight. For Instance, Way fair, the online furniture store runs a campaign on Instagram with the hashtag #WayFairAtHome which lets users post pictures showcasing the product from WayFair.
Take the services of micro-influencers
In the beginning, we told you that influencers have a great impact on millennials. Their impact is way larger, bigger and better than TV commercials. For some, the influential power is even more than that of celebrities. But then why am I talking about micro-influencers? Because it is not always the size of the influencer’s following, but how genuinely, they are using your product and conveying its importance. This conveys authenticity, which earlier spoken, is very important to impress the millennial generation. The luxury Swedish watchmaker, Daniel Wellington partnered with an account called Scuba and Shadows that focuses on pets and asked their owners to represent the watches!
Fear of Missing out: USE IT
If you are targeting millennials, you just CAN’T miss out on the 24 hours stories on Snapchat and Instagram? There are a couple of reasons that make this feature of Instagram so popular amidst the youth and an invaluable marketing stage. First, you do not need to put in hours and hours of hard work. You can post regular day-to-day updates with instant thinking. But majorly, the reason is, since they disappear within 24 hours, the millennials develop a FOMO or a fear of missing out on important deals, attractive discounts, sneak peeks, etc which makes it irresistible for them to keep a tap on it.
 Keep it short and simple
The time is gone when people preferred to watch commercial advertisements. Millennials like to read rather than watch. But here is the thing, their time is precious, so the golden rule is to simplify your message and keep it short and simple. Be direct, like structure the important points in bullets, no needless storytelling, and no platitude.
Consider Interactive Content
Digital marketing agencies are spending millions of dollars to make their content interactive to target millennials. People in this demographic crave for such content. But why? It gives a sense of personalization, of course, is very appealing, is unique and on its own. What do you want more? And definitely, no one can question its authenticity. Here’s an example by MotorOil seeking suggestions for a logo change
Marketing is my favorite part of a business, because of one simple thing. There are no defined rules. It is about the proven techniques but more about your creativity. You never know when a little twist by you can transform into a proven technique employed by the others!
