Learn Now or Get Left Behind: Marketing to Millennials

Millennials have gotten a bad rap over the last few years.

They’re supposedly narcissistic and self-absorbed. Of course, people have forgotten that the original “me” generation title went to the Baby Boomers. Millennials are also supposed to be self-entitled slackers -- except that title used to belong to the folks from Generation X -- who are now wearing suits and running businesses. Millennials are also supposed to be stuck to their phones and glued to social media.

Okay, that last one happens to be true.

Millennials are early-adopters when it comes to technology. However, that makes total sense when you think about it. They’re the first generation to grow up barely remembering a world without PCs, laptops, tablets, smartphones and free wifi. All of these items are highly customizable, so it also makes sense that Millennials expect personalization. They grew up wiring constantly wiring in more and more to the world around them, so it makes sense that they’d expand on that world. It made the Internet of Things almost a certain evolution.

So, if you think you hate Millennials, what you really may be hating is all the technological change going on around you.

Who Are Millennials, Really?

If Millennials aren’t the self-absorbed snowflakes they’ve been made out to be, who are they, really?

Research shows that Millennials are, as a group, more socially conscious and giving than other generations. They aim to give back to their communities -- a whopping 81% donate goods, money, or time. They are also twice as likely to start their own business as Baby Boomers and Generation Xers -- and at a much younger age. That’s partly because 3/4ths of them see business as a force for social change and they want to be part of that change in a positive way.

They also don’t see business as a means to wealth so much as they see it as a means to solve problems and improve the world. Their priorities are different than previous generations. Happiness, being a good parent, having a stable marriage, and helping others are more important than wealth and fame.

It is true that Millennials crave flexibility -- but it’s because they believe that it makes them more productive. It certainly doesn’t make them lazier than previous generations. Around 89% of Millennials respond to work requests and emails outside of normal business hours. Since they carry their offices with them on their phones and iPads, they never really leave the office.

They’re mostly okay with that because they put a higher worth on the acquisition of knowledge and experience than they do material things. They’re also skilled at building online communities that focus on shared interests and know how to motivate those communities to make actual change in the real world.

Why Is Understanding the Much-Maligned Millennial So Important?

Because they’re already becoming a major force in your world. They’re already about 1 out of every 3 employees you have. By 2025 they will make up 75% of both the global workforce and market.

That means you have less than a decade to understand the peculiarities of this generation and learn how to market to them or risk losing everything to someone who does. It doesn’t matter if you operate a large B2B or an SMB that sells or services to the public. Millennials will be both your employees and clients either way.

If you’re an SBO who doesn’t have a good grasp of how to market to Millennials, now is the time to learn. If you don’t think you can learn it, you need to hire someone to do it for you. Waiting another five years before you start could mean the death of your business.

How Not to Get Left Behind

Nobody wants to get left behind and see everything they’ve worked for fall apart in just a few short years. So here are some ways to adapt to changing SEO tactics:

Go Where the Millennials Are

You can’t get someone’s attention if they won’t even look your way. Current research indicates that Millennials multitask as a way of relaxing. They aren’t likely to channel surf through the commercials while they’re watching The Walking Dead. However, they aren’t necessarily watching the commercials either -- unless those commercials tie in somehow with what they’re already doing.

Instead, they’re opening new links on their tablets and shopping for show-related merchandise or chatting about the show on Facebook. If your brand is somehow relevant, turn this divided attention to your advantage by splitting your brand’s ad money out over multiple channels.

If your budget doesn’t allow for a television ad, that’s fine. You can still capture plenty of the target market by running a contest across multiple social channels at the same time the show is running.

Invite the Millennials Into Your Business

Millennials use social media to express brand loyalty, so give them plenty of opportunities to endorse your service or product through user-generated content.

Just make certain that it isn’t all one-sided conversation. Take time to reply to social media comments -- good and bad. Experts say that 93% of Millennials rely on blog endorsements and consumer reviews when making a purchase.

Despite having tremendous buying power because of their sheer number, Millennials tend to be frugal. They don’t want to waste their money (or time) buying something that doesn’t work or doesn’t work right for them.

Give your Millennial customers a place to voice their (hopefully positive) opinions. User-generated content is considered 40% more trustworthy than traditional ads.

Make sure you also collaborate with your Millennial consumers. Millennials are 78% more likely to buy from a company that has a rewards program than one that doesn’t. You give up a little and gain a lot in terms of brand loyalty.

Build Relationships With Influencers

There are online influencers out there who already have the trust of your target market. You just have to learn who they are and figure out how to tap into their leveraging power.

Your company or product can go viral through word of mouth if you manage to develop a good relationship with the right blogger, Instagrammer, or YouTuber.

These online influencers are particularly important if you’re trying to reach a market that hasn’t yet formed a strong brand loyalty or a lot of personal experience with your service or product. When people feel uninformed, they’re more likely to copy someone else’s choices.

If you’re unfamiliar with names like Coco and Breezy, CyreneQ, and Furious Pete, you’re probably unaware of just how strongly Millennials relate to online influencers through blogs, vlogs, Snapchat, and other social media platforms.

Find Your Cause

Remember how we mentioned that Millennials value a better world over more money? Well, they’re also willing to switch brands in order to get that better world.

Remember how we said that Millennials are frugal? Well, they’ll still pay more for a brand that aligns with their beliefs than one that doesn’t.

According to at least one study, 89% of people in the United States are willing to switch brands if they feel like their money is having a positive social impact.

Micro-causes that allow Millennials to know who they are helping and how are more attractive than broad-bucket causes. “Giving to the poor” has been replaced by “donating a goat” to a family in need. Smart companies are finding ways that their consumers can see how their money is changing the world. That’s been the reason behind the remarkable rise of sites like GoFundMe and Patreon.

Get Great Content on Your Site

Millennials spend hours out of each day online -- and they want quality content and useful information for their time. You establish yourself as an expert in the field by creating interesting, engaging content that answers the questions your customers might have.

That will help you build organic links, especially if any of that content gets shared. It also keeps consumers coming back to your site just to look around for more information.

Think Digital, and Go Mobile

It’s almost unbelievable but nearly 30% of SMBs don’t have a website yet. Over 20% of those that do still don’t have a mobile-friendly site.

If you’re one of those SMBs without a website, get one now. Hire someone to build it for you if a lack of technical knowledge is holding you back. In addition, you also need to develop and maintain a Facebook and Twitter account -- at the bare minimum.

Millennials do expect SMBs to have websites and near 24/7 access to their online accounts. They also tend to use smaller devices almost exclusively. If your website isn’t mobile-friendly, you might as well be invisible to the average Millennial.

Even if you think you’re optimized for mobile, when is the last time you checked your own website out over a smartphone? Does it operate the way you’d want it to operate if you were a customer?

Conclusion

Finally, in order to stay relevant, it’s important to stay informed and follow trends. Websites are no longer “build it and forget it.” You can’t expect to stay on top of the market unless you are constantly updating your content, maintaining your Facebook and Twitter feeds, and keeping current with the latest changes from Google when it comes to SEO and rankings.

If you’re relatively new to this game, it may seem overwhelming at first. Consider investing in SEO services to help you get started or handle the ongoing content. That frees up your time to do what you do best -- create, innovate and build your business.