The Art of Marketing to Millennials

Ah, the millennials.  

That largest generational group in the United States. Those wacky digital natives. 

And it’s precisely that digital nativity that has rendered them a new breed of technical literati. This makes them a unique group when it comes to effective marketing efforts. Why?

In the simplest of terms:

Social Media Is the Millennial’s Lifeblood 

Therefore, it is the heartbeat of marketing to them. BUT, it’s not enough to be present. You can’t simply slap something onto Facebook or Instagram and call it a day. Millennials have different needs. They only want to associate a brand that’s as confident and rooted in its values as they are. 

So how do you go about marketing to millennials? Start with these five basic mindsets:

1. Exchange Outbound for Inbound Marketing

In other words, ditch the old-school magazine ads, direct mail campaigns and radio spots. Millennials see these as impersonal, devoid of substance and all about the bottom line. With a deep sigh and gallant roll of the eyes, they simply dismiss them. If they even notice them at all.

What they will notice is a company or business that’s dedicated to improving the lives of their customers. And how does one convey this? By more than simply listing products and services.   

Millennials want informative content. They want blog posts, videos, how-to information, even e-books and white papers. THAT’S substance.

Which brings us to mindset #2.

2. Content Is Key 

But not just any content. 

Forget about trying to grab their attention with viral videos of

bathing rodents or frat parties gone wrong (i.e. most of them). They’re not 3-year-olds. They want authentic content. Trustworthy content. Blog posts and videos that speak to them. They also favor relevant and authentic opinions from real users. 

Millennials’ buying behaviors and attitudes are largely inspired by people they know in person or online. Not hugely different from the “keeping up with the Joneses” mentality that has driven the baby boomers and Gen Xers. 

But where millennials differ is in their being inspired by strangers who share their interests on social networks. They carry these “influencers” with them on their smartphones everywhere they go.

In fact, over 80% of millennials say user-generated content has at least some influence on what they buy, while over 70% say it’s important to read the opinions of others before making a purchase. 

So take the necessary time to spruce up your content. After all, it’s what they’re going to be tweeting, snapping, sharing, liking, pinning, forwarding, commenting on or whatever new social media verb was birthed an hour ago. 

3. Speak The Language of Millennials

While creating content, remember that millennials are very much about solving problems - problems created by those generations before them. 

Do the research. See what’s making millennials tick. Or whatever the digital version of “ticking” is. But be cautious about getting too political or too opinionated. You want to draw them in and spark their interest - not scare them away with scary rants.

4. Invest in Multiple Platforms

Multitasking is a way of life for millennials.  

They’re scrolling and opening tabs and switching from one window to the next. They’re also switching between devices  - going from tablets to phones to smart TVs and then back again. 

With millennials being synced across so many devices, it’s nearly impossible to get their undivided attention. But with social media as tool, this can work to the benefit of strategic ad campaigns. 

If you divide your brand’s ad investment into multiple platforms, you’re going to have some serious reach across many channels. Plus, you have the advantage of posting in real-time. So let’s say, for example, you create some ad content that’s relevant to a popular TV show. You can leverage it by promoting it in real-time across ALL of those social channels to target that specific audience during the broadcast.

Not too shabby.

5. Offer An Experience

Unlike their crankier and more independent Xer predecessors, millennials embrace the collective experience. They love being part of something. In fact, they like it so much that FOMO (fear of missing out) was born.

That being said, Millennials are thrilled when a brand creates an experience for their audience. 

For example, when Budweiser got wind of the fact that nearly every Millennial had seen Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, they ran with it. Playing on the nostalgia of that movie, they created a challenge to find the “golden beer can.” Millennials would buy a case of beer, in hopes that they’d get that golden can and win a prize. But even if they didn’t, they still ended up with a case of beer. So it was a win either way. 

(Though some would argue that a case of Bud wasn’t nearly the “win” that a chocolate bar would have been. But you get the point.)

Give Millennials A Story, Not Spin

That’s essentially it.

Millennials are far more receptive to brand storytelling than they are to straightforward advertising. This is important to remember because  millennials tend to exhibit early adoption

tendencies and then remain loyal to brands they trust.

So rather than crafting ads they’re expected to witness, make them part of your brand’s conversation instead. Address them directly through social media to spark a connection. And take the time to win their trust. It’s a worthwhile venture. 

At least as much as searching for a golden can.  

Question of the Week: What Is the Future of Interactive Advertising?

Remember the days before interactive advertising? Back when you knew your cola was enriched with coca leaves and snake oil was all the rage?

Okay, it wasn’t quite that long ago.

But Interactive Advertising Did Not Start with the Internet 

It was already around - at a decidedly more rudimentary level - in the form of things like customer surveys, focus groups and Ovaltine.

Yeah, Ovaltine. Back in the (not so) glorious days of radio programs, they encouraged listeners to save proofs-of-purchase from jars of (not so) delicious Ovaltine to obtain radio premiums. Radio premiums, in this case, were secret decoder rings, badges or pins that the lucky obtainers could use to decode messages during Little Orphan Annie or Captain Midnight. 

You can bet the good folks in Bern, Switzerland - where Ovaltine is still produced to this day - used that feedback to “analyze” how they could improve upon their advertising. 

Of course, the definition of “analyzing data” in the late 1930’s/early 1940’s was about as different from its current definition as “happy returns,” which once meant “vomiting.”

Even so, it was the internet that really got people excited about interactive advertising and, more specifically, analytical data that could be transformed into actionable insights. 

Analytical Data Was Groundbreaking Stuff 

Customer surveys and lukewarm chocolate beverages aside, advertisers soon discovered they had this new superpower at their fingertips. Rather than using this power for evil, they got to work tweaking ad approaches, changing up colors, swapping out content and then soliciting feedback from their target audiences. 

Savvy advertisers could now give their potential customers a chance to interact with companies and their advertising, as opposed to simply being recipients of the pitch. This gave them some savory feedback.

But as valuable as that feedback was, it still took a backseat to the analytical data that tracked how those changes affected the ad’s performance. And soon enough, the wild world of interactive advertising was going beyond simple clickthroughs and banners to branch out to social media, branded games and polls and a slew of other approaches. 

What’s the Next Phase of Interactive Advertising?

While advertisers grapple with how to best wrangle the powerful animal that is interactive advertising, they’re also curious about where this dynamic, volatile creature is heading next.

There are, of course, varying opinions on the matter. But two components seem to be taking center stage:

New Technology and Content

And they’re in cohoots.

Advertisers are discovering how combining street campaigns with social media, innovative technology and powerful storytelling are coming together to create lasting effects.   

So the future of interactive advertising seems to be facing the challenge of how to integrate this shiny new technology, the internet and - perhaps most importantly - entertainment and good storytelling into advertising campaigns which consumers feel compelled to connect with rather than block.

It’s a big order.

But here’s what could potentially happen:

The creation of engaging content will boost the cost of buying ad space. This will have a domino effect on the quality of ads - meaning that they’ll also have to be higher quality. That means fewer ads. But those that are birthed will demand attention. Like a child with a temper tantrum. But far more entertaining. And that’s the operative word. Entertaining.

It Is Advertising Posing As Entertainment

Interactive advertising may just evolve into content that is

indistinguishable from regular entertainment. Yet it’ll be just as effective in leaving a lasting impression on consumers.

Ads that create a dialogue between the consumer and advertiser will be those that make a difference. The future of interactive advertising could just create a world where ads are enjoyable and advertisers are paid good money for great content, not spin.

Imagine that.