Tuesday, 06 August 2019 / Published in Marketing, online business

How You Can Successfully Market Your Business to Millennials

As a business owner, are you still trying to figure out how to successfully market your business to millennials? They’re a difficult audience to sell to since they don’t buy into established cultural norms so easily, which confounds business owners and professionals in more traditional industries like insurance and finance.

While you could make the argument that millennials just don’t have it as good as their Boomer predecessors, it’s also just as plausible that businesses don’t understand the way millennials think. For example, millennials have a general distrust of larger corporations and would rather support small-to-medium sized businesses instead, or the fact that millennials long to express themselves and be perceived as unique by their peers, hence their obsession with social media.

For big businesses especially, marketing to millennials is no easy feat. For instance, Pepsi made the ultimate error running an ad featuring Kendall Jenner, who offered a can of Pepsi to a cop amidst a swelling group of protesting millennials. In an attempt to unify a divided nation and resonate with millennials, Pepsi’s message had the opposite effect: Millennials thought it made light of the social turmoil. This angered people so much so that Pepsie had to pull the ad and formally apologize.

So how can you avoid making the same mistake? You need to dive into the psyche of the modern millennial. They have a distaste for companies that exist solely for profit and can smell inauthenticity a mile away. Millennials also care about social justice and the state of the environment. These are all topics that, when leveraged effectively, will resonate with millennials. Check out these tips below to learn more:

Capitalize on Social Media Opportunities

Millennials love social media, both as a means of staying in touch with their friends and family and as a way of communicating with brands. 35% of Millennials claim they prefer to communicate with businesses over social media, so which social channels should you focus on the most? Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are among the most popular. However, simply having a company account isn’t enough; to make the most of the opportunity, you need to engage with your audience.

Pay attention to what you followers are saying and be timely with your responses. If they comment on something, be sure to like it and respond back as soon as possible. This shows that you’re actively seeking to engage with your followers.

Be Authentic

Millennials crave authenticity. For brands, that means sticking to your guns rather than changing your message and tone to appease a certain “type” of Millennial. For instance, if your company hosts an annual barbecue event and then suddenly decides to throw a vegan party one year to attract a new niche, Millennials will see through it. Rather than change your brand identity to reach new customers, stay true to your brand. This speaks of authenticity and will resonate with Millennials more than changing your core values in an attempt to align with their interests.

Be Environmentally Conscious

One cause most Millennials are passionate about is the environment. If you want to win over Millennials, you need to be environmentally conscious — and show it. So how can you do this? For one, you can capture it in your Instagram and Facebook posts. Donate to environmental causes and encourage your employees to volunteer at events in support of fighting climate change. By showing you’re passionate about a cause, you can instantly win over Millennials.

If you want some hard and fast advice on the do’s and don’ts of millennial marketing, CleverTap has provided an infographic below with some pointers.