Every business wants to get millennials on its side. Here's how you can do it.
There is non-stop chatter about how millennials are a completely different breed of consumer, but that conversation often ends without an explanation of how to get on their radar. It’s well worth your time and effort to connect with millennials, though -- they are America’s largest generation.
There are several simple rules that can help your business easily connect with millennials -- here are five that can be implemented by any business.
Millennials are huge supporters of brands that try to make a positive impact -- both nationally and at a local community level. Something as simple as donating a small percentage of proceeds to a good cause can do wonders when it comes to millennial acceptance. If you support a cause, they will, in turn, support your business.
Adopt a mobile-first marketing strategy.
Most internet searches begin on a mobile device these days, and nobody is more connected to mobile phones than millennials. This isn’t going to change -- in fact, it’s only going to be an increasing trend. If you want to be successful in the digital world, you must implement a mobile-first marketing strategy.
You need to design everything, from your website design and offers, with mobile users in mind. If you don’t, your user experience will be poor and you will see the millennial generation quickly disconnect from your brand. New startups understand this, but older brands need to quickly convert to this way of thinking or they risk completely alienating themselves from the millennial consumer market.
Be very active on social media.
Social media is part of every millennial’s life. They are extremely active on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and Pinterest. They spend hours on social media every single day, making it crucial that you are as well. You must have an active social media marketing plan that is designed to attract, engage and convert millennials.
Not only can you use social media to place your brand in front of millennials, but you can use it to create content that triggers engagement -- millennials love to share, and if your message resonates with them, it can lead to free exposure.
Content marketing is good for your business, but rather than focusing solely on publishing blog posts, shift your focus on creating visual content. A recent study revealed that content containing images receives 94 percent more views than content without. This includes video, graphics and pictures.
Video content is becoming increasingly popular, and infographics are still some of the most-shared pieces of content on most blogs. Creating video content can also help you establish a personal connection. Giving your audience a look at the behind the scenes day-to-day operation of your business makes you appear more human, which is something that really appeals to millennials. You don’t need a huge budget -- many brands are crushing it by creating content from mobile devices and editing and uploading it with free apps.
Let your data dictate your direction.
There is a sea of data available right at your fingertips. Sadly, most businesses don’t take advantage of it, let alone even look at it. Most social media networks have analytics available to you as a business owner -- knowing what posts receive the most engagement and what content is shared the most can help you stay on track and publish future content that your audience enjoys.
You also have Google Analytics data and insights from your email campaign manager that you can use to evaluate performance and map out your future efforts. For example, if you are noticing a high bounce rate on a webpage from traffic coming from a Facebook post, you know that there is a disconnect somewhere and you will need to make a change.