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<\/p>\nEffective marketing requires you to know your target audience, and while marketers have their opinions on what works and what doesn\u2019t, few topics have gotten more buzz than the discussion around how to market to each generation.<\/p>\n
At the top of the buyer wish list are millennials, the generation of consumers born between 1981 and 1996. This is the group of adults who, as kids, experienced the fast growth of the digital age and fondly remember the birth of streaming movies, high-speed internet, and everyone getting their first mobile phone.<\/p>\n
How did this technological boom affect these shoppers now? What experiences and values are they hoping to buy with their hard-earned dollars? Let\u2019s take a look at one of the most coveted shopper personas today \u2014 the millennial \u2014 to see how you can more effectively anticipate their needs with your product or service.<\/p>\n
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You can probably assume that marketing to this generation of consumers has a lot of similarities to marketing to every other generation. On some level, you would be correct. They have a need to be met, and many of the marketing truths you’ve come to know will work on this group.<\/p>\n
However, you would also be wise to understand the unique traits of millennials regarding how they buy things.<\/p>\n
When looking at\u00a0consumer spending by generation<\/a>, millennials exhibit these specific shopping behaviors:<\/p>\n They’re also geared heavily toward entertainment spending. This generation has no problem putting part of their income toward experiences they can enjoy and remember later, such as concerts and movies.<\/p>\n Then you have the sheer numbers of this group. They have recently\u00a0overtaken the baby boomers<\/a>\u00a0as the largest living generation. If done correctly, marketing to millennials \u2014 and more specifically, marketing well \u2014 can boost your business in ways you haven\u2019t imagined.<\/p>\n While there are no hard and fast rules to abide by, trends exist. Here’s what we know about how this generation wants to be marketed to and what they are hoping to get when they buy your product or service.<\/p>\n While millennials are just like everyone else when it comes to watching their pennies, they don\u2019t always consider price as the most important factor in choosing between brands. A\u00a0higher percentage of this generation<\/a>\u00a0(91 percent) will be loyal to a brand that supports a cause than the larger population (85 percent).<\/p>\n Not only is this generation driving brands to be thoughtful about what they say online, but they also want brands to be vocal when it matters. The term \u201cbrand activism\u201d is usually associated with millennials, who know they have a choice in where to spend their money, and they actively seek out brands that have stated their position on some of the hot-button topics of today.<\/p>\n While it\u2019s not always a good idea to have an opinion on matters outside your brand\u2019s scope or expertise, simply knowing that today\u2019s shopper seeks out like-mindedness in brands can help you develop a message that resonates. If you haven\u2019t crafted a brand values statement lately, consider how doing so may be part of a larger marketing strategy<\/a> to tell millennials who you are and what you stand for. They are expecting it.<\/p>\n Another differentiator between millennials and their counterparts is how they see shopping as part of an overreaching set of goals. They want products and services that support their values, and values often drive their decisions in career, family, and passion pursuits. How can your product help them not only solve the problem of today but also support them in a\u00a0lifelong customer journey<\/a>?<\/p>\n While it may seem that a cup of coffee or an athletic sock can\u2019t do more than meet an immediate need, brands are proving otherwise. Take\u00a0Bombas socks<\/a>, for example, which has captivated marketers with their “buy one, donate one” charity model.<\/p>\n Yes, they make buyers feel good and meet that “values” requirement with this action. They also make a comfortable sock with colors, sizes, and styles for more than just your average athlete. They moved from a basic sock into gripper socks for little kids and underwear for women, all with a focus on comfort and durability without forgetting that “buy one, give one” model. Their online content is increasingly targeted to highlight the life journey.<\/p>\n They\u2019ve embraced the fact that millennial advertising isn\u2019t about getting consumers to the sales finish line. It\u2019s about coming alongside for their entire product lifecycle.<\/p>\n Have you seen the news about the job market lately? It seems obsessed with what millennials are doing in the workplace. Are they coming back from remote work? Do they want benefits or high pay? How can companies possibly attract great talent in times of low unemployment?<\/p>\n The workforce is in flux, and part of it is due to the millennials\u2019 insistence on working for more than money. They want (as discussed above) employers to\u00a0reflect their values. They want to live out their values. They also want to change their minds as their values change.<\/p>\n Product marketing to this group needs to reflect a respect for their evolution as a person, one that’s sure to change what they value as they meet new milestones. What a millennial wanted pre-COVID may not be what they want now. The health goals or financial advice they worked toward before kids will certainly not be what they need once their first baby arrives.<\/p>\n While this is true for all generations, millennials are unapologetic in telling us this, and they expect content to mirror where they are at in their lives. Blog content<\/a>, for example, should acknowledge how millennials grow and change over time, rather than assume people are basically the same from birth to end of life.<\/p>\n The best places to reach this group are where they already hang out \u2014 but where is that? Currently, social media channels change from year to year. However, according to the\u00a0University of Southern California<\/a>, millennials still actively engage with brands more on social than other generations, including following them and using social to research a product before they buy.<\/p>\n So where, exactly, are they hanging out?<\/p>\n According to HubSpot data<\/a>, YouTube is the most preferred social media network (68%) by millennials<\/strong>. Whether it’s short- or long-form videos<\/a>, developing a strong presence on YouTube<\/a> can help you reach this generation and improve your ROI.<\/p>\n In fact, marketers report that YouTube delivers the highest return on investment<\/a>.<\/p>\n Don’t count Facebook out in your millennial marketing strategy. This platform is still the second-most preferred social media network by millennials (62%). If Gen X and\/or boomers are in your demographic, this platform could be a triple threat for your brand.<\/p>\n No millennial marketing trend list would be complete without Instagram, a more aesthetically focused way to communicate with the world. Millennials on this platform use it to share photos, videos, and other visually pleasing content, and they expect the same from brands who frequent the channel. And HubSpot says it’s millennials’ third-favorite platform.<\/p>\n With the recent Reels offering, an alternative to TikTok, brands can capitalize on meme-worthy trends and video fads without some of the uncertainties that plague the Chinese-owned TikTok.<\/p>\n TikTok is highly influencer-driven. Books, movies, and food have found their way into the limelight when the right TikTok star naturally embraces the brand. TikTok “houses,” where groups of influencers live and work together is a new trend that demonstrates just how few boundaries there are between marketing and life.<\/p>\n Just over 44 percent of the\u00a078.7 billion users<\/a>\u00a0fall in the 20 to 40 age group, with women more likely to use the platform than men.<\/p>\n This innovative platform allows for disappearing messages and videos to be sent between users, and brands have to work a bit harder to make their mark here.<\/p>\n Still, with\u00a034 percent of social media users<\/a>\u00a0claiming to use or like Snapchat, it’s impossible to ignore as a possible avenue for brands geared toward younger users.<\/p>\n Long-running X has gone through many changes over the years, with it earning a reputation as a quick way to send off a hot take or comment on current events. Does this make it an ideal opportunity for brands? Twitter’s own research suggests that activism may be the future for brands on this channel, with 8 in 10 people<\/a>\u00a0looking to brands to affect change.<\/p>\n Given what we know about how millennials feel regarding the alignment of values in a new product or service, this could be the way for change-driven brands to get their word out..<\/p>\n Blogs and long-form content hosted on your own sites still offer multiple benefits and are a better fit for brands uncomfortable giving brand voice over to another.<\/p>\n Perks include:<\/p>\n There\u2019s more good news when it comes to blogs. Millennials are not as likely to respond to direct advertising as other groups. Nearly 50% of surveyed millennials<\/a> trust influencers more than regular advertisments. They also like to research. Your blog posts, white papers, and other long-form content pieces can help them answer questions they have while building authority and creating a reputation for being there for them when they need it most.<\/p>\n That’s far more likely to get them to associate your brand with a solution for their lives, and as we discovered earlier, they buy for the journey. While they may not hit “purchase” today, they will think of your brand the next time they need a problem solved.<\/p>\n However, no matter what platform you use, authenticity matters. Millennials are quick to reject brands that creep into their social environments with anything less than a genuine approach.<\/p>\n Ready to get started? Here are some possibilities for reaching this audience in an organic way.<\/p>\n You don’t have to guess what’s troubling today’s millennials. You only have to look at the news or hop on X to see they’re concerned about the cost of starting a family, affordable housing, quality health care, education, and finding work-life balance (among other issues). Does your product meet any one of these? If it doesn\u2019t, could it be authentically framed as doing so?<\/p>\n\n
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<\/p>\nHow to market to millennials<\/h2>\n
1. Choose values over value<\/h3>\n
2. The journey is the goal<\/h3>\n
3. They reserve the right to change their mind<\/h3>\n
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<\/p>\nBest marketing channels to reach millennials<\/h2>\n
YouTube<\/h3>\n
Facebook<\/h3>\n
Instagram<\/h3>\n
TikTok<\/h3>\n
Snapchat<\/h3>\n
X<\/h3>\n
Blogs<\/h3>\n
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<\/p>\nActionable ideas for marketing to millennials<\/h2>\n
Solve a problem with a guide or ebook<\/h3>\n
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