Connecting To Millennials And Their Avocado Ways

As a millennial, people don’t always understand us. For example, the way we take selfies as if every part of their lives should be documented like some sort of social media scrapbook. Or our (admittedly) strange obsession with skinny jeans and our love of avocados makes us almost seem like aliens to the everyone else.

However, we exhibit these behaviours because of the internet and the connected lifestyle we have grown up in. The avocados “obsession” is just because of how nutritious and delicious they are; I have no explanation for the skinny jeans though. Because of our unique behaviours we have actually made marketers rethink their marketing strategy and digital marketing efforts. To be successful in marketing to us there are a few things you should keep top of mind.

Gratify Our Needs Quickly

With so much information and entertainment located a simple Google search away, it’s important that your brand, and therefore your products and services, are as easily accessible as possible. Does it take more than one step to download a PDF you offer? We’re out. Do we need to be a part of a rewards program for three months to see any new offers or discounts? Not interested. Now you’re looking at a bunch of tumbleweeds and a musical chorus of crickets where your consumers once were.

How To Do It

Some simple ways to give us access to your brands are links to articles about how to use your product effectively. You can also make a button on your website to instantly call your business from a mobile device. Have a customer who wants to review you for such great service? Make it a simple click away to get that five-star rating pop onto your site. Just like that, you’re pulling in “us millennials” already.

Create Content That Stands Out

Unlike the days of yore when ye olde marketing team would highlight a product feature or proclaim their slogan loudly in the streets (okay, maybe not the literal streets but still blaring their message across every radio station and TV ad), getting people to notice and engage with your content is a little different these days. We want content that is different, that breaks the mold when it comes to common content like Facebook posts. It’s just fine to show off a feature of your company on Facebook, but a company that shows off their product in a fun way, like using their new sports drink as ammo for a water gun, will get us sharing that post faster than you can say “avocados on toast.”

How To Do It

Some other ideas include taking unique photos—maybe a meet-the-team where everyone answers what their worst technology experience was. Alternatively, your business could create a video showcasing a customer testimonial. Creating good, original content also helps your Google ranking so try something new, and dare to be different in your posting and content creation.

Inbound Is In, Outbound Is Out

Yuck, TV ads, we are so done with those! But how can you effectively get us to click on your ads as fast as us asking for organic, gluten-free food in a restaurant? The answer is inbound marketing! What’s that? It’s a type of marketing used to gain attention from people actively searching for products and services. Inbound marketing allows people to find you through content like blogs, social media, and search engines. And this is where all of us are: online, searching Google for everything from how to write essays to how to make an organic meal that’s not instant-ramen.

How To Do It

To take advantage of this, you can reach us in a couple different ways. Firstly, a company’s social media can be a great way to draw us in through entertaining us with funny or interesting content. Setting up options for contests or charities on social media can also be a great way to get us hooked. In addition, while not a traditional piece of inbound marketing, Search Engine Marketing has also grown as a good way to get us looking at and engaging with what your business offers. In addition, blog content can draw us in, especially for how-to articles relevant to your business. Working on the suggestions above, writing quality content, and providing a positive user experience on all relevant platforms is what Google favours when ranking content, and what everyone, not just millennials like.

Be Authentic

Kind of a weird one on the list, but no less important. Being authentic with your target audience means standing for issues. This doesn’t mean supporting a charity the company is using for tax credits and public relations (although supporting ethical charities is not a bad idea when done right). We want to see that companies genuinely care about important things and actively engage in supporting these issues. For example, it’s all well and good for a company to install low-water flush toilets to support “saving the environment,” but do they donate to environmental protection charities? Do they encourage biking to work to cut down on emissions? Does the company go out and plant trees once or twice a year? We want to see active action or at the very least, a company that stands up for what they believe as part of their core values.

How To Do It

How can you show this? Be active in the community for issues your company cares about. Sponsor an awareness event. Share other organization’s content including updates on environmental protection or new legislation that encourages equality.

Put It All Together

While it might have seemed like millennials are a challenging group to connect with, in truth we just need a different approach. By following the tips above you should have a better understanding of how best to reach us for your marketing needs. Still need a hand to reach millennials? Not a problem, reach out to us through this link, and we’ll help get you started!