Reaching Millennials
More than ever, brands are trying to target one of the most powerful consumer segments on the market: millennials. Between the ages of 18 – 35, millennials have immense buying power, and there are nearly 100 million of them across North America. This group is one of the most diverse and digitally engaged populations ever, and it’s important for brands to make the correct moves to take advantage of this – and they have been. New research has revealed that brands and advertisers are spending much more to reach this group, as they are generally on the cutting edge and cusp of the newest and most relevant products and services. As today’s main influencers, they shift the generations before then (Generation X) and directly after them (Generation Z), who look to them for guidance and direction on the flow of popular culture.
It’s important for brands to understand that reaching this segment of the population is a bit different than in years past, and for brands whose main consumer is millennials you must be prepared to employ completely new and innovative tactics, strategies and platforms to reach them.
Millennials are not just tech savvy, they’re mavens and gurus; so it will be important for brands to know how to navigate social media and other online spaces beyond just setting up a Facebook page. Having in-house assistance with different forms of online and social media marketing will be imperative to the success of your business, as brands need someone fluent in not online the language of these digital platforms but also specific brand voice.
Having this understanding will help bring a more raw personality to your digital presence, as millennials tend to respond better to engaging, personable and even funny or quirky brand messaging. This of course, will be determined by what type of business your brand is engaged in. This isn’t to say ditch the professionalism, as millennials are still sticklers for good branding as well as great and accessible customer service, but social media accounts may be better served without the often cold disconnectedness of corporate speak & contrived messaging. Millennials respond well to authenticity and transparency more than anything else, so if your brand messaging doesn’t have a zany or snarky persona, you should still fare well as long as you’re honest with your consumer base and still provide engaging content.
It’s also important to have an element of personalization when engaging with your consumer base. More than just included first names in email blasts, consider quick and direct interactions on social media; which in turn makes for great customer service. On average, brands have less than an hour to respond to concerns voiced on social media before a customer loses interest, becomes frustrated or tries another avenue of contact – so try your best to have the ability to respond in a timely fashion. Millennials are constantly on the go and constantly researching their next purchase, usually made online. It’s important to respond quickly as it’s possible to miss out on information, sale and sign up opportunities if you respond a day or two later. For millennials, whose attention spans are much shorter as they move seamlessly between platforms, devices, ideas & more, a few days is simply too long to wait.