Advertising to Millennials- Go Mobile!

Millennials, people ages 18-34, are a unique consumer market. They have grown up in an age where everything is on-demand and extremely personalized. Since traditional advertising and marketing means don’t work well on this group, special methods and considerations should be taken in order to be successful with this market segment. Because Millennials are extremely tech-saavy, the best way to reach them is by going mobile!

In the age of smartphones and tablet computers, mobile search & shopping is well on its way to overtaking desktop queries. Millennials make up a huge segment of smartphone and tablet users, so it only makes sense to have a targeted advertising campaign designed specifically for this group.

Things You Should Know About Millennials

1) Millennials prefer and celebrate brand purpose. When it comes to social issues, this group is highly sensitive and compassionate. Most of these individuals seek out products from brands that support a cause which they value.

2) Millennials value personal connection. A few decades ago, advertisements focused on spreading a generic message across the masses. This generalized style of marketing does not work well with this group. Instead, products & services should be personalized and fulfill a personal need or desire. Millennials want to feel as if a brand has made a product just for them.

3) Millennials respect differences. This is a generation that has grown up to accept differences and brands that align with these values have a greater chance at scoring them as customers. That is why brands like Dove have gained such a loyal following with Millennials. Dove recently started the Campaign for Real Beauty, which promotes acceptance of superficial flaws to help gain self-confidence, and in turn has become a favorite brand of the Millennials. On the other hand, brands like Abercrombie & Fitch who portray body image shaming by only catering to thinner body types are losing ground.

4) Millennials want a dialogue. This generation of individuals isn’t sold through just storytelling. They expect a two-way dialogue from companies and enjoy being able to reach brands and to be heard when they are either happy or unhappy. In the age of social media, consumers can leave feedback, ask questions, and be part of a movement that can discuss new product/service ideas. This interaction helps them enjoy the way products are created and delivered and is pushing record sales for companies who are correctly embracing social media marketing & blogging.

How to Properly Mobile Market to Millennials

Data provided by BIA/Kelsey show that mobile search queries will completely overtake desktop queries by 2015. Since most smartphone owners fall into the Millennial category, it’s important to have a good understanding of how to correctly & successfully market to this group. With the holidays just around the corner, now is the best time to start a mobile campaign targeting these 86 million individuals.

Here’s a look at some ways you can break through to Millennials:

• Be Social: If you want to gain the attention of the most socially-networked generation to date, be social. Begin conversations on your social media accounts that let them interact and discuss ideas or new products. Announce sales & events which they can then share with their friends, fans, and followers. If you send out a mobile marketing email, make it easy for consumers to spread this information either or social media or through email. If you really want to get them hooked – set up a rewards program for sharing.
• Be Mobile-friendly: Millennials are extremely mobile-saavy, and perform web searches, read emails, and visit websites from their mobile phone or tablet often. That means they will quickly lose patience with websites or emails that are not optimized for smartphones. Your websites & marketing materials should be responsive, easy to read, and most importantly easy to navigate on mobile technology or you will lose a large number of customers quickly.
• Understand Millennials: To be successful with this group, you need to know them better than they know themselves. It’s critical that companies go the extra mile to personalize a consumer’s experience so you can assure them that you have what they want, when they want it.