How to Market to Millennials in 2018

Is your brand struggling to draw attention from younger customers? Do you want to 2018 to be the year that you finally crack the millennial market? Appealing to young people isn’t rocket science, but it’s all too easy to make some serious faux pas if you don’t know what you’re doing, The tips below will help you on your quest to appeal to the Instagram-generation.

1. Show That Your Brand Has Values

Young people are all about supporting brands that they genuinely believe in - rather than simply going for the best product at the lowest price. If your brand already has strong values and focuses on things like treating workers well, being environmentally-conscious, using natural materials, or donating to charity, make sure this is front and center on all your branding. If you’re currently lacking in the values department, now is the time to make a change.

Show off your brand values by sharing stories on your website, posting relevant content to your social media pages, maintaining a blog, or sending out email newsletters highlighting your efforts. To appeal to young people, you need to show that you’re ethical, responsible, and forward-thinking.

2. Be Genuine on Social Media

Social media is a great tool for connecting with your audience, promoting your products, and reaching new customers. However, posting content which is clearly designed to sell products or build a popular brand won’t go down well with most millennials. It’s really important to make all of your social media content genuine and avoid sounding too corporate or sales-y.

This could mean sending personalized replies to people who comment on your posts or mention your brand, sharing posts which are authored by specific members of your team, or posting behind-the-scenes details and secrets. Young people want to feel like the brands they buy are real, honest, and authentic, and social media is a great tool for that kind of brand positioning.

3. Focus on Experiential Marketing

There’s tons of research to show that millennials value experiences over products, and you can tap into that with your marketing. Even if you’re not selling experiences, using experiential marketing to show off your brand values and connect with your audience is a really effective strategy.

For a food brand, this could mean holding taster sessions in the local mall. For a luxury car firm, offering test drive experiences could be a great way to get attention and win customers for life. Using technologies like virtual reality and augmented reality is a great move for traditional brands who want to show that they’re moving into the 21st century.

In a world that’s dominated by online marketing, real-life marketing experiences stand out from a mile away.

4. Build a Community Around Your Brand

Your brand should be more than just your products. The most successful companies build entire communities based around their core values, meaning they have tons of ready-made ambassadors out in the world.

Start creating a community online by encouraging followers to share pictures with you, post using hashtags, or respond to specific prompts. Create community in the real world by putting on events, running classes, or building spaces. A trendy sportswear brand might start offering free yoga classes in the city, while a cool tech brand could create their own co-working space. Make your brand about more than just selling products, and millennials will be interested.

Marketing to young people means being authentic, using new technology, focusing on experiences, and building community. Kickstart your 2018 millennial marketing strategy with the tips above.