What Millennials Want From Your Brand: 5 Insider Secrets

A lady never reveals her age, but I will for the purposes of this post. Hello, my name is Anuli and I am 21 years old (or, young-however you want to see it).

Marketers categorize me as a Millennial — one of the approximately 79 million Americans between the ages of 16 and 34. The purchasing power of Millennials is estimated to be $170 billion per year, which makes me someone that you want to know.

Even though I am a 21-year-old female with a slight addiction to retail, you need me more than I need you.

You need me to know who you are, buy what you’re selling, and tell all my friends about it.

That’s fine, but if you want to market your brands to my age group you have get our attention. You can always ask Randy in marketing who has an affinity for the word “dawg” and still thinks it’s cool to “get jiggy with it,” or you can ask me.

Here are 5 things to know about marketing to Millennials:

1. Quickness is next to Godliness

We like things instant, whether its our messages or our ramen. We tend to be early adopters, so if you want to get our attention you’ll have to do it fast before we move on to the next thing.

2. Just because you’re on social media doesn’t mean we’ll care.

Oh, so you made a Facebook account? That’s cool, but everyone is on Facebook — even my friend’s dog.  Being on social media is a good effort, but now you must be consistent with your messaging. You can’t just set up a page and leave it there, crossing your fingers for a comment. At the very least, you have to update it frequently. And, while you’re at it start a dialogue with us by sharing our comments, letting us rate you, and creating opportunities for us to interact with your brand (see image below). Helpful tip: free stuff never hurts.

[image: ChrisL_AK]

3. Just because you’re corporate doesn’t mean you have to sound like it.

I’ll let you in on a not-so little secret. The reason bloggers are so popular is because they seem human. For example, if I were looking for advice on a new pair of shoes, I would listen to a blogger before a brand. Product recommendations from bloggers come off more as advice from a friend than a hard sell from a company (unless the post is sponsored—but that’s another story). Let us understand what you’re about without sounding robotic or trying hard to be cool by TyPing LyKe DiS.  (Just to be clear, typing like that is never cool.)

4. A picture’s worth a million words or at least a couple tweets, a pin, and a reblog.

We love visuals! Bonus points if they are funny. Why? So, we can share them with everyone we know. It’s not enough for us to just look at something cool and go about our business. We have to Instagram it, pin it, email it, tweet about it, blog about it and then reblog it. Snappy visuals are always a go!

5. We want to change the world—or at least look like we care.

If the Kony 2012 campaign was an indicator of anything, it was that Millennials want to support causes. Whether you agree with the initiative or not is a debate for another time, or another site. Millennials tend to believe that their purchases/actions can make a difference. It’s why you’ll see us sporting TOMS shoes and LIVESTRONG bracelets. One way to get us to buy into your brand is by creating an advocacy program. At the very least you’ll create community for your brand by helping out a worthy cause.

[image: Hug It Forward]

I think you’re all set for now. So go forth and market, and if you’re lucky, you might just gain 79 million new customers.

How does your organization currently market to Millennials?

[image: YN Play City]