It’s common knowledge millennials have a hold on most consumer-facing businesses these days. After all, the group of 81 million born between 1982 and 2002 now makes up 25 percent of the U.S. population, putting those aged 22 to 37 in a highly influential economic position.
Fortunately, copious research on millennials is helpful in discerning which marketing efforts are bound to produce the best ROI. One point is certain: Millennials tend to dislike ads they view as overly disruptive, pushy or annoying, making them excellent targets for inbound marketing campaigns that pull them toward your brand through content marketing, engaging videos, entertainment and similarly savvy strategies.
“Only about 1 percent of millennials claim a compelling ad influences them,” notes Matthew Tyson in the Huffington Post. “The rest are almost naturally skeptical of advertising. Brands and businesses are going to have to nix it with the advertisements and find a new angle — one focused more on authenticity and value instead of the sale.”
That helps explain why companies using inbound strategies are three times more likely to see higher ROI than those using outbound methods. Other tips that may help you nail your next millennial-focused inbound marketing campaign:
- Optimize your web platform. After growing up with the internet, millennials expect excellent usability and design. Make their experiences on your site responsive, seamless and visually appealing, ensuring your landing pages are focused on conversions.
- Strengthen and use your social media sites. YouTube, Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram (in that order) are particularly popular with Americans aged 25 to 49.
- Conduct content mapping. Gather as much information as you can about your target audience’s behavior, preferences, needs, wants and buying journey so you can tailor online content accordingly. Your content should provide value, whether it’s inspirational, educational, entertaining and/or aimed at solving customer problems. And it should be personalized whenever possible.
- Aim for marketing transparency. Be clear, truthful and human, respond quickly to PR challenges and try to think beyond the almighty dollar. “Millennials need to know you before they’ll trust you,” explains Tyson. “They’re not moved by flashy ads, big promises and ‘wow’ factor.”
- Incorporate video content. Millennials are huge on both YouTube and video marketing in general. Pew reports some 88 percent of Americans 25 to 29 and 82 percent of those 30 to 49 use YouTube, while the segment climbs to 94 percent for those 18 to 24.
Getting to know the preferences of your millennial audiences should pay off in a big way when it’s time to form your inbound marketing strategies. Take time to understand them so you can produce your best possible ROI.
Let Dial800 become your inbound marketing strategist for any audience generation.
CallView360®
AI Analytics
AccuRoute®
BizCloud
RapidRecall®
Integrations