Marketing strategies for millennials
Thinking of using marketing strategies for millennials? It is a good choice taking into account that in the coming years this population will take approximately 75% of the world’s population.
As this decade progresses, they become the largest consumer force, and their purchasing power increases.
But … How does this population work? What characteristics make it up? How can I get this community interested in my product or service?
Millennials are young adults facing competition and today’s world of work. Or as the psychologist, Jeffrey Arnett explains in the magazine the world “emerging adults”.
Personality traits and characteristics that define millennials
To create marketing for millennials it is important to know their traits, what defines them, and what needs they have. We mention some below:
Egocentric
Millennials have the ability to show themselves to the world sure of themselves and their decisions. For this generation, it is almost impossible for the other to visualize him as vulnerable, at a disadvantage or feeling entirely open with his most negative emotions.
So there are also narcissistic traits embedded in this generation. A self that in some cases prevents them from empathically connecting with the other.
Insecurity and tendency to low self-esteem
While we mentioned that they are self-centered, this may be tied to Alfred Adler’s theory and complexes. The more superiority is shown in the environment, the more internal problems occur.
Although we cannot label everyone with this trait, it is one that predominates. And it is that this generation when being immersed in so much competition where the most important thing is to be better every day usually has insecurities regarding their qualities and how they can leave their mark on the world.
Few consolidated social skills
Millennials are immersed in social media and the internet because they grew up with it. But many times it is based on a monologue where he is the same with his ideals, resisting external criticism. In some cases, most of these young adults struggle to develop the following social skills:
- Give and receive compliments.
- Have continuous conversations with the other or start a conversation.
- Defend their social, political and humanistic ideologies without running over the other. Lack of empathy.
Anxiety
If we understand anxiety as that bodily alert where the body tells us that we may be exposed to a threat, millennials undoubtedly feel continually exposed.
This produces anxiety, as they feel observed, judged, and monitored. Being self-centered, narcissistic, and individualistic takes its toll on them with small doses of anxiety.
Spontaneous and risky
By living from immediacy, from continuous reinforcement, and multitasking. Millennials take risks when making decisions. They are also capable of devising disruptive solutions that make them stand out from their environment. Great ability to generate trends and what to talk about.
Travelers
It is very difficult for this audience to remain static. So you will hardly be tied to a city, country, or even job. They like to consume experiences, new cultures, and lifestyles.
They are in charge of buying experiences that they can remember in the future. The characteristic that greatly favors the tourism sector.
Marketing strategies for millennials
Once you identify the traits and characteristics that make up the personality of millennials, you will be able to acquire the role of detective and see how these young adults are handled through digital media.
We mention some effective strategies that help you connect with this audience:
Define your buyer persona well
We have mentioned in countless articles that describing your buyer persona is the key factor for success. If you don’t know your audience, how do you provide a solution to their needs? Millennials function differently from a typical target audience.
Since although it is necessary to define: Gender, region, age, and professionalism, this generation operates in a different way. They are moved more by their social ideologies, lifestyle, and philosophical thoughts.
So the best way to segment this target audience is as follows:
- By social groups or tribes: Hipsters, alternatives, week, gamers, families among others.
- Ideologies or lifestyles: Spiritual healing, style of dress, healthy life, exercises, veganism, caring for the environment.
Once you have segmented your target audience or millennial buyer, you are ready for the following strategy.
Connect with them through content
These young adults are massively fleeing the paid advertising that continually appears on their mobile devices in whatever search they do. They like to take control of the content they consume, at what time they want to consume it, and in what way: Reading, infographics, videos, reels, among others.
How should you create this content to capture the genuine attention of this community?
Baby boomers are those users who are responsible for consuming content such as: What is a product for, what is its usefulness, benefits and advantages. Millennials want to know what contribution your product or service has in the world and what is the reason for your business.
By generating content with this intention in the blog section of your company and massively in the different social networks, rest assured that you will capture the genuine attention of these users. For this reason, you must have a clear intention of what your business represents and find the right words to convey it to these followers.
Websites adapted to mobile devices
This generation is Internet users, they grew up with the internet and the breadth of knowledge through digitization. So it spends all day connected to them, in fact, the magazine the week indicates that spend nearly 13 hours per week using mobile devices.
If the design of your website is not adapting to mobile devices, it is difficult not to mention impossible that you can capture the attention of these users. Or that they can even find you on the internet.
So your web design and the face of your business must have the following characteristics to attract this target audience:
- Fast and intuitive. This consumer is smart enough and requires your page’s web design to be smart enough. In addition to this, you would be loyalty to a customer committed to your brand who will later become your advocate.
- Congruence in graphic identity and messages: From head to toe, all the content of your business must have a relationship between the color palette that you have chosen represents your company: menu, infographics, videos and even email.
Presence on social media
The new SEO of this generation is social networks. As we mentioned, he spends most of his hours a day glued to his mobile device and with it, making life and sharing with his own community: thoughts, lifestyle, way of working among others.
In order to leave your mark on social networks, you must plan a different content strategy adapted to each social network. What works on Tik Tok for example, is not the same on Facebook. A Community Manager will be the best ally for you and the recruitment of millennials.
Only in this way will you be able to execute a marketing strategy for millennials that works correctly on each platform. For example, on Instagram live’s do not stop causing a sensation, this tool works well for entrepreneurs who want to share their knowledge with other professionals and hear opinions from the public.
This generation likes to add value and they do it through collaborations. They have evaluated through the statistics that creating reels in TikTok is a potential strategy of reach and visibility. Besides that, they are fun and functional.
Avoid invasive paid advertising
This community avoids paid advertising at all costs, it knows how to detect it in time and pass it easily. Although not everything is bad news, there are ways to use paid advertising with this target audience and that is captured in a positive way:
- Instagram stories: While the user is continuously watching the stories of his followers, this will appear in a random way. It will grab their attention for a few minutes, make sure it’s potential.
- Ads on Facebook: As these ads are often spontaneous, that is, they are randomly targeted, the user does not feel directly attacked. So it can look like when you arrive at a “no-compromise” store.
- Post on Instagram: This user already has knowledge that if he does a search for a product, it will appear in a surprising way on his social networks. So paid advertising on Instagram works for this community too.
Collaboration between companies and colleagues
This generation goes through great job instability because they do not stay in a space where they are not considered useful enough or that this job really combines with their values as a person.
This has made the millennials train and performs various jobs until they find the exact point where they belong. Once it does, it wants to add value to each task it develops.
Very different from the baby boomer who has spent long years of his life doing a job that is probably not to his liking but pays the bills. Millennials do not work exclusively to meet basic needs.
So they like to create jobs with companies where they are considered important, they are taken into account in decision making and as a key and final point, they are reinforced by said work. This can be done as part of the company or simply as a freelancer collaboration.
Just as we mentioned in the social media statement, these young adults love collaborations between colleagues in the same niche. Ideally, have a representative or ambassador for your personal brand.
Influencers hand in hand with millennials
Each of them wants to be a positive influence on their environment, they strive every day to be. In this same vein, they also have people whom they admire and consider role models.
Influencers become a potential tool for your business and this target audience. They are ideal for transmitting value through:
- Storytelling: They use elements such as brand emotions and personality to give value to the use of the product or service. With this, the first click or contact with this emerging adult is given.
- Reviews: They use a product in their day-to-day life and begin to talk about the positive change that has occurred in their day after using it. Through publications, continuous stories illustrate this potential customer about the product or service.
- They create a strengthened community: By generating valuable content, explaining how a product or service has significantly changed their life, users are loyal to your brand. In moments of controversy, they will be the first to defend your company tooth and nail.
Don’t you think they are compelling reasons to do business with an influencer? It is important to consider that this professional goes hand in hand with your values as a brand. So if your community can help you in this investigative work, you will make the best decision.
Ratings are important
Although it seems a trait of baby boomer millennials before buying for example, on Amazon they take a look at the reviews. These reviews allow them to confirm whether it is a quality product or not.
Even when you have a good, intuitive, fast web design that allows the user step by step to reduce anxiety levels and make sure they are making the best decision. Valuations are like the icing on the cake.
Encourage your buyers to leave positive feedback. It is almost a complex task because those who are satisfied will hardly stop spontaneously to leave a review on your website.
You can use the following strategies:
- Daily challenges where the final goal is the free acquisition of your product or service. In these daily challenges challenge your loyal customers to leave reviews in exchange for something significant.
- Register your business in Google My Business. Through Google Maps it will automatically prompt the user to comment on how the experience has been after the purchase.
Employing word of mouth marketing
If your primary strategy on social media has been a success, this success will speak for itself. This community will begin to share your content among friends, family, and colleagues recommending your product or service.
What better recommendation than a close one? This person will access your service without putting too many buts on the matter.
For this reason, using the ideal content in each of the different social networks will take you to the top.
Use immediacy
If this contemporary adult is doing a search, it is because he needs to acquire this product or service quickly. (Or at least before you consider you should change your mind).
For organic search, retargeting, or word of mouth marketing, it ends up on your profile and sends a message and you don’t reply quickly. What happens? Look elsewhere, as simple as that.
They are also not comfortable with automated messages from artificial intelligence. This community seeks to feel like a protagonist, so you must make it feel extremely special.
To promote immediacy, take the following actions:
- Hire a Community manager who is available 24 hours a day to respond to personalized messages.
- Leave your WhatsApp Business link on your social networks. Create a pre-inbox message and then proceed to reply quickly.
- Build intuitive chatbots with engaging conversations for millennials. Even if you can communicate like them you will create a closeness with this user.