There is no ignoring that millennials are important to driving your business — no matter what industry you are in — but they are often a confusing generation to understand and target. There is a lot of conversation on the Web about millennials, who they are and what they like, so it can be tough to understand what is really effective and true. In response, we’ve boiled down the wealth of information into a few crucial but simple points on how to attract millennials.
For a little background on myself — it’s no secret that I am not a millennial, but I have a few millennials on my team, and I have a wealth of experience working with and trying to reach the millennial demographic through my years in advertising. Before we dive in, allow me to define a millennial: A millennial is anyone between the age of 18 and 34 years old. There are roughly 75 million millennials, and they will soon to be the largest generation alive. Now for how to attract this young market:
1. Listen First, Then Speak
Yes, you probably have more experience and wisdom, and you may have much that you want to speak about to a millennial. But they have a lot to bring to the table in almost any conversation: energy, enthusiasm, curiosity, a fresh perspective, and more. Let them speak first while you genuinely listen to what they have to say. This principle applies in most of life and is one of Stephen Covey’s “7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” but it is especially relevant with millennials. You may be surprised what you learn when you take time to listen before speaking. 
Some practical ways you can make this happen are:
- On social media: listen to what your audience is saying on social media and then respond to them. (But only if you have something relevant to say.)
- Developing content: first listen to what your audience has to say, how they feel about different issues, about your product or service, and then develop content around how your audience thinks and feels
- In-person interactions
2. Speak To Them Where They Want To Be Spoken To
It is highly unlikely that a millennial is reading a hard-copy newspaper every morning, so if you are trying to reach millennials, you shouldn’t purchase an advertisement in the weekday paper. Invest your time and advertising budget on the platforms that they use frequently like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, news apps, email or other digital platforms. Make sure you tailor your message per channel as well. Millennials will become especially disinterested in what you are saying if they see the same thing on every social media platform or on every advertisement.
3. Be Relevant
Millennials have grown up with the world at their fingertips, but this also means they consume an incredible amount of information every day. It’s a challenge to cut through the wealth of information available to millennials. For this reason, you must ensure you are delivering relevant content to your millennial consumers.
Here’s an example: If you are going to send out an email to all your contacts, consider creating a different email for millennials with a different subject line and different or tailored information specific to that demographic. If you include information in your email that isn’t relevant to your millennial audience, odds are they will ignore everything in the email and miss the content actually designed for them.
Also, millennials will often use more than one device at a time. They are most likely on their phone or laptop while watching TV, so a TV commercial may not be the most relevant way to reach them. Another reason it is important to deliver engaging and relevant content that captures their attention.
If you create relevant content for your millennial consumer and deliver it to them on the appropriate platform — where they consume information because you have listened to what they have to say and know what makes them tick — then you are going to reach your millennial market in an exciting new way that will attract customers to your business! Happy marketing and go reach those millennials!
Want to learn more about your millennial target market? Go talk to a millennial! Ask them questions, listen to them, and understand what makes them tick so you can reach them in a more targeted and relevant way.
Millennials are one of the most active groups on social media and if you want to attract the millennial customer through Facebook you’re going to need a few tips and tricks. Download our Free eBook to learn more about how to attract customers through Facebook!
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