Effective Tips for Marketing to Millennials

Millennials are unlike any other generation, which is why marketing to millennials leaves some brands feeling stumped and unsure about how to develop their brand strategies. But millennials are one of the most important groups of buyers today, estimated to have nearly $1.3 trillion in buying power in Q1 of 2014.

Brands that don’t develop a strong marketing strategy for a group with this much buying power can find themselves losing out on a huge profit margin.

Before Marketing to Millennials, You Have to Know Who They Are

Before rushing to develop a marketing strategy, brands should ask themselves: Who are millennials?

Millennials consist of those aged 18-34 and make up one of the largest population segments in the U.S., according to Nielsen. They love technology and are constantly engaged online. But perhaps most importantly, millennials are not like generations before them, meaning that traditional forms of marketing won’t resonate as much as they have with other audiences.

To effectively reach a millennial audience, brands need to tailor their marketing strategy to meet the specific intricacies of millennial audience members.

3 Tips for Marketing to Millennials

To achieve meaningful results when reaching out to millennial audience segments, companies should consider three tips for marketing to millennials:

Marketing to Millennials with Walker Sands

At Walker Sands, we know how important millennials are to the success of today’s brands. That’s why we work with you to tailor a unique marketing strategy that captures the attention of one of the most powerful buying segments.

Through our carefully calculated approach, we’ll help your brand gain favor with millennial audiences. To learn more about how Walker Sands can help your brand with marketing to millennials, contact us today.

1. Go Mobile. It’s no secret that we live on our smart phones. This is especially true of millennials. Nielsen research showed that 85 percent of millennials are smartphone owners –information that works in favor of any brand that leverages mobile marketing.

   To get the most of mobile marketing, the first thing brands should do is make sure that their websites are mobile optimized and user friendly. Millennials expect and appreciate convenience, and are more likely to exit a mobile website that isn’t easy to navigate. Once brands have an optimized website, then they can incorporate a creative strategy that will appeal to millennials – like native advertising in popular mobile apps.

2. Stay Relevant and Engaging. Since they’ve grown up in the digital age with unlimited access to information, millennials are constantly focused on real-world issues that are happening right now. If brands can position their products or services as relevant solutions to current issues, they stand a better chance of winning the millennial vote.

   Additionally, it’s important to remain constantly engaged. When brands engage millennials online through platforms like social media, they create brand ambassadors who will continue to spread positive sentiments. This is helpful because most millennials feel that recommendations on products from friends are more valuable than online reviews from strangers.

3. Sell an Experience, not a Product. Millennials care less about a product itself and more about the experience. A survey from Harris Poll revealed that 78 percent of millennials prefer to spend their money on experiences rather than material things.

   The best way to capture – and keep – millennial attention is to intertwine exciting, unique experiences into the overall brand strategy. Events like branded parties and product sneak-peeks give millennials the feel that they’re experiencing something ahead of everyone else.