How to Market to Millennials

As a millennial, marketers often lump me into one narrow segment, defined by what they think all millennials want. Problem is each millennial, myself included, has different goals, agendas and motivators. So as a marketer I have to ask, how do we pinpoint our millennial target when they are all relatively distinctive?

Based on our research, we know some millennials are inspired by social change. So what do we do? We engage them by getting them directly involved in a cause and in a campaign. We communicate with them through social networks and invite them to directly tell us their thoughts about a certain topic. How do they feel about texting and driving, or drinking and driving? Why do they choose one product over another? Giving this audience the opportunity to offer direct input is encouraging to them, letting them know their opinion is valued. And if they stand behind what they believe in, they’ll become advocates, sharing their beliefs with their peers.

But as I said suggested before: different millennials require different approaches. So for those millennials who just want to read and learn about a campaign but not directly engage, reaching them through digital placement and getting the message in front of them there can make a difference. With this strategy, we, as marketers, can reach them while they are binge watching Orange Is the New Black or Season 1 of Empire – hitting them with a campaign message in their native environment. Taking it a step further, we can create a landing page link that leads to a campaign’s social media channel. So if they want to get involved, great! If they just want to see what everyone else is talking about on this topic, perfect! The lesson here is to meet millennials where they are and grow them into your future brand ambassadors.

As with all target audiences, millennials are ever changing. By listening to their voice, engaging with them socially, and taking the message to where they are, your chances of gaining a large segment of your desired audience increases dramatically and that, my fellow marketers, is just good marketing.