According to Pew Research Center, millennials are now the largest generation in the American workforce. Needless to say, they are a very desirable demographic for many companies. Find the key to winning them over, and you will likely find tremendous sales success.
However, as many a marketer will attest, that is easier said than done. While every generation has its unique characteristics and identity (although, admittedly they suffer the limitations all generalizations do), millennials have a mix of traits that makes them a particular challenge to pin down. Again, according to the experts at Pew, millennials are “relatively unattached to organized politics and religion, linked by social media, burdened by debt, distrustful of people, in no rush to marry.” And yet they are still “optimistic about the future.”
Especially difficult for marketers is that “distrustful” part, as it seems to extend to companies as well. That said, this group can be reached. You just have to know how. And, of course, content marketing—with its focus on creating trust and building relationships—can be crucial to your millennial marketing strategy.
Here’s How to Get Millennials to Engage
If millennials are in your target market, here are nine proven tactics you should consider:
- Focus on the experience. Millennials tend to be not so much interested in your product as the experience it will produce.
- Make your marketing visual. Perhaps more than most generations, this group would rather “view” than read.
- Appeal to their values. Millennials prefer to align themselves with companies that have a social conscience. Keep in mind that even if your product isn’t particularly notable for “doing good” in the world, your company can still support causes that are.
- Be authentic and transparent. When it comes to detecting BS, no generation is more adept than this one. One whiff of artifice or deceit and you can kiss their business goodbye. And because they have strong social bonds, they’re going to share their experience with others who will likely look for other options as well.
- Leverage FOMO. Because experiences are so important to millennials, fear of missing out is a powerful driver for them. You can use this emotion to get their attention.
- Focus on in-person connections. Millennials like to look you in the eye before they open their wallet. Attending trade shows, hosting focus groups, and other activities where you are in the same room with them can help build relationships that lead to sales.
- Reply promptly. This generation definitely does its homework before making a purchase, and they believe you should be able to answer their questions quickly. If you make them wait, you can bet they’ll use that time to research other providers.
- Make your content shareable. Word-of-mouth is very important to millennials. Every type of content you provide to them should be optimized for easy sharing.
- Achieve and then publish positive reviews. Here again, this generation puts tremendous stock in what their peers think of a product or service. A page of positive reviews from real people on your website will go a long way.
Helping You Find Success with Any Generation
While we help our clients achieve their goals in marketing to millennials, we certainly are not a one-trick pony! For more than two decades, we’ve provided expert guidance on how to reach target audiences in every generation and across a wide range of industries. When you’re ready to grow your sales and capture more market share, we can help you get a content marketing strategy in place and implement a marketing automation system if appropriate. Contact us today to get the conversation started.
