How to Successfully Target Millennials With Your Business

A millennial is defined as a person born between 1981 and 1997. According to the United States census of 2015, there are 75.4 million millennials in the USA. This age range represents a coveted demographic for businesses. These “youngsters” are able to drive sales, set trends and make products go viral with their tech-savvy skills. 

But appealing to this demographic isn’t as simple as just referencing the latest popular memes. It takes hard work and effort, so here are some tips on how to get a millennial’s coin.

Understand Millennial Concerns

If you’re going to appeal to millennials then you’ll need to understand their concerns. They aren’t going to spend money on your product or service unless it solves an issue that actually affects them.

One of the leading concerns held by millennials is that of money. The Guardian reported that millennials have stopped going to nightclubs so frequently because drinks and transport to the club is too expensive and they’re often too tired to spend time out late. In response to this, explains The Drum, bingo company Buzz Bingo ran an ad campaign suggesting that its bingo games could provide an alternative fun night out for groups of millennial friends – as well as entertainment, millennials can even grab a bite to eat at the bingo spots. Buzz also offers an online bingo app, recognizing that millennials enjoy gaming from their phones and tablets, too. It seems like a small solution but for millennials looking to let their hair down, it works for them.

Go Where Millennials Are

Another mistake that businesses make when trying to appeal to millennials is that they look in the wrong direction. We can see this with social media sites especially.

Millennials and baby boomers use totally different social media sites, according to Business Insider. According to data, Facebook is the most used social media site for millennials in the United States. Snapchat, with its quickly deleting photos and videos, is also popular with the demographic. This means that any social marketing campaigns will need to be tailored accordingly. You’ll have to choose the right platforms and understand what sort of phrases are most effective and drive the most conversions in order to get some real results.

Adapt to Millennial Habits

It’s also important to understand that just because your business has been incredibly successful with an older demographic in the past, that doesn’t mean that the exact same iteration will appeal to millennials. Their habits – and thus how they engage with and use your products and services – are shifting in ways that you may not expect.

This will again require a deeper understanding of your target audience, but you can take some pointers from brands such as cereal maker Kellogg’s. The Star reports that in addition to its millennial-focused Froot Loops ad campaign (the slogan was “Whatever Froots Your Loops”), it also realized that millennials aren’t only eating cereal for breakfast; many enjoy it as a snack because it’s easy to prepare and suits their busy lifestyles. This usage may not have jumped out without the proper market research, so be sure to do your due diligence.

It may seem tough to know what millennials want or need, but it’s surely worth it to put in the effort. This demographic has a lot of collective spending power, after all.