Ask any marketer with a growing young audience and they’ll want to know how to target millennials. Why? These 22-35-year-olds are taking over traditional markets.
The old techniques aren’t working. They don’t click sidebar ads or watch TV commercials. They use services that get around annoyances like that (Netflix).
So, marketers have to get a lot more creative. It takes more work than ever to create ads that work and honestly, it can be exhausting.
To take one thing off your to-do list, we’ve created this list of tips for how target millennials. Check out our suggestions below.
Create Videos
Even in the midst of the new Facebook announcements and policies, videos get a lot of engagement. The trick with creating marketing videos is content.
You want to create an ad that has content, not just selling your product. When you’re sitting down to make a video, think about titles you see from Buzz-feed or other millennial sites.
You want to sandwich your product in with watchable and desirable content/
Scentbird is a perfume subscription service that does this very well. Essentially they create content that features their product while delivering other helpful tips.
One of their video ads is titled “These beauty hacks are amazing” and their product is one of the hacks. Is it a little clickbaity? Yes, but it seems to work.
The Scentbird company is only two years old and is expanding to other fragrance markets.
Even if people don’t watch your video all the way through to your product drop, Facebook’s got your back. You can re-target people who clicked the video as a way how to target millennials.
Content is Key
We touched on this when we talked about videos, but millennials are content-hungry. They consume pieces of online material like that childhood game Hungry Hungry Hippo.
To keep up with them and stay relevant, you have to be constantly creating. That’s why you see Buzzfeed popping up on your news so often – they never stop.
This seems like a lot. Targeting millennial feels overwhelming, you can’t constantly be creating content, can you?
Actually, you can. One five minute video with five tips can turn into five pieces of content, one for each tip.
A photoshoot with one product can turn into three Instagram pictures. A different shot of the same product can completely change the look.
When you’re targeting millennials, constantly ask yourself – how can I get the most content out of this one thing? Post some now and save some for later.
That way you have a vault of marketing material for lazy or super-busy days.
Make Their Lives Easier
When you need to create content and are at a dead end, show millennials how you can make their lives easier. They are all about convenience.
There’s a reason that life-hack articles did and still do so well – millennials are overwhelmed and they’re always looking for help.
What about your product serves the get-it-fast or easy mindset? Show them why they need you (or your product).
Be Communicative
Ask any millennial off the street if they read online reviews and the answer will be yes. Since they’re always plugged into technology, they’re quick to give reviews, and those reviews can impact your business.
If you get a flurry of bad reviews, you can salvage the situation somewhat by responding. Address the problem in the review, apologize, and address how you’re going to take action.
This creates a level of trust in your brand and tells consumers you care about your customers.
Don’t stay negative though, people love to be featured. If you get a great review or see a customer photo – show it off!
Most of the time if they tag you or post it on your page, it’s fine to repost it but we recommend asking just in case.
Think About User Experience
Targeting millennials can be difficult since they’re used to high-functioning user-friendly design. If your website doesn’t load within a few seconds (at most), they’ll leave your site and go to a competitor.
The same goes for popups and other features on your site. It’s great to have a chatbot or a sign-up link in the corner, but don’t take over their screen.
Having your screen black out for a 20% off offer is nice if you’re shopping, but not in the middle of reading an article.
When you’re designing tools like these, try to strike a balance between helpful and intrusive.
Be Human
Young people distrust large organizations and why shouldn’t they? They grew up with things like the 2008 bank buyouts and searing political scandals.
Previously-suffering brands have found success by bringing people to the front lines. If you use Facebook, Snapchat, Or Instagram live – show people behind the scenes looks.
Show them that you’re an organization, a group of people, not just a brand. They’ll trust you more and it’s an easy way to create content.
Give them a Choice
If people feel like they have a voice in something, they’ll engage more. It makes the experience personal.
This doesn’t have to be as extreme as the “Do Us a Flavor” Lays campaign, though that’s a great example. You can post a picture of a product in two colors and ask which they prefer.
Giving them this feeling of ownership increases brand loyalty and visibility.
Customer Service
A bad customer service experience can turn into a marketing nightmare.
What does that mean? Think about how quickly the wrong response from a company (or a funny one) goes viral. Wendy’s twitter is a great example.
Your customer service team or strategy should respond to each customer as if the entire world will see your response.
It’ll keep your team accountable and prevent a PR nightmare.
How to Target Millennials
Millennials aren’t as complex or hateful towards companies as some articles make them seem. They have different expectations than previous generations and honestly, we love that they hold companies more accountable.
The answer to how to target millennials? Create helpful, engaging, honest content and you should have no problem breaking into their market.