And Now Creative founder Nicky Rowsell unearths three tips to reach millennials. Rowsell has over two decades of experience in brand bulding and marketing.
Place your brand at the centre of culture by meeting them where they are
This generation (Gen Y) has never been more informed and connected.
They have all the information that they can imagine at their fingertips and are constantly being bombarded by messaging; so being able to cut through the noise and engage with them across a variety of mediums (both online and off line) through activities that reflect their passions, values and interests is key.
Millennials crave memorable experiences, culture and community. They are all about FOMO (fear of missing out); so providing a unique money can’t buy experience, event, or special offering to tap into their drive for being involved and staying in the loop is often a great way to engage with their desire of being in the know amongst their friendship group or with their peers.
This generation likes to see themselves in the media they consume; so utilizing user-generated content to help tell a brand story is an authentic and honest approach that will enable a brand message to go a lot of further. This also plays back to word of mouth as being an influential driver in their purchasing decisions.
Connecting with them through quality video content and engaging story telling builds connection and trust. The content needs to be subtle, genuine and not ‘salesy’.
It needs to add value to their lives in some way; have a sense of fun or evoke an emotion that will make them stop and watch.
As part of this establishing and leveraging credible and sincere relationships with influencers and brand ambassadors is a critical part of communicating to a millennial audience and speaks volumes to the importance of diversity and inclusion within these collaborative partnerships.
These partnerships need to be well thought out to best reflect the brand and the audience that you are trying to reach and engage with. Best practise would be to use a strategic tiered approach where the influencers/ambassadors are a mix of inspiring, ‘cool’ or aspirational, high profile with authority and credibility to relatable.
Using a brand's own staff or friends of the brand as micro influencers is also a great way to create a real sense of community with trusted, well informed and loyal brand advocates out there spreading the good word on a brands behalf.
Millennials are a niche demographic with unique wants and needs and so being where they are online at the right time with the right (relevant) message is a winning formula. If your target market is on a social media or digital platform and you’re not, you are seriously missing out on brand exposure, leads, sales and conversions.
Appeal to their values
More than any previous generation, Millennials value social and environmental responsibility.
They want companies to stand for something beyond the company bottom line. They are more likely to embrace and engage with brands making a difference and are quick to discern a disingenuous brand story.
Millennials want to align themselves with organizations doing good in the world and use their purchasing power to support companies that have similar values.
They are now looking for transparency right through the supply chain around both people and planet. Millennials want to feel like their buying decisions are making an impact both in their own life and the lives of others; so whether it’s the environment or some other issue of social justice, make sure that your company reflects something that Millennials will find meaningful and resonate with - and be sure that your brand marketing reflects this.
Don’t sell products. Sell your purpose
Marketing has traditionally focussed on a products features and benefits; but millennials require a second layer.
What is your why? How do you impact the world, or leave it in a better place? Are you doing, or providing something that matters? Lead with your purpose.
For Millennials, the world is their oyster - so your business needs to present a pearl. Create an opportunity to make a difference for change by being a market leader within your category.
This could include making a difference with products or services that offer a healthy lifestyle or environmental impact solution, through tapping into the pure joy of helping others in need by giving back to community; or even by making a public stand on an important social cause or issue.
Provide a meaningful product, service or experience and make the customer ‘feel’ something with your brand message; and this generation will reward you for it with their loyalty.