Ah, the mythical Millennial. As a marketer, all you need to know is that they are all about selfies, NSA hook-ups and loans from the parents. They are the worst. Right?
Wrong. Stereotyping Millennials is rampant. And as a marketers you have the responsibility to understand the true nature of this group. In Millennials and Content Marketing on this audience, we show you how to shape content marketing to appeal to them.
Millennials are willing to spend more money more often on companies with records of social responsibility. There’s a reason Panda Sunglasses gives and underprivileged kid a pair of glasses with each pair of sunglasses they sell—and they let people know all about it.
Lesson: Most companies already have some kind of social responsibility strategy. Make it part of your content marketing so people know about it.
Ads are more effective on boomers than millennials. Instead, millennials trust word-of-mouth reviews more than ads. In fact, 84% of millennials say that word of mouth is their primary influencer on their purchases, and it’s frequently delivered via social media. In fact, the word of mouth doesn’t have to come from friends and family; strangers will well-written reviews are big influencers too.
Lesson: Your content marketing needs to be informative, because millennials are going to want some hard facts to compare your product to a competitors.
If what you’re offering seems like bullshit, Millennials won’t shrug and turn the other way. They’ll jump on social media and let everyone know what they think of you. Actually, they’ll be more proactive than that; check out the time that American Apparel made a bunch of fat jokes and a plus-sized model retorted with a satirical photo shoot.
Lesson: Your content marketing should stand up to scrutiny.
Want a meal plan? Well, fill out a little form about your diet goals, include a bit about what type of food you like, and this meal generator will tell you exactly what and how much to eat. Millennials like content like this; because the site is interactive, the advice it offers is personalized – a big theme with this group. Maybe you’re not much a meal planner; well, this site can tell you want you can make based off the stuff in your fridge.
Lesson: Want to make your content more than useful? Peronalize it.
Millennials may be saddled with student debt, but their spending power is over a trillion dollars. Sure, it ain’t boomer money, but it’s not chump change either. And keep in mind that lots of that trillion will be spent online.
Lesson: Are you not targeting millennials? If not, why the hell not?