So, What Are Millennials and How Do You Market to Them?

What Are Millennials?

So, what are millennials? Millennials are considered a sub-group of Generation Y. Pew Research Center says, " Adult Millennials are those aged 18-33 years and are born between 1981 and 1996.This could be considered a sub-group in Generation Y". Want to figure out what generation you are, visit Pew Research Center's, How Millennial Are You, test. My score was a 94!

How Do You Market to Millennials?

Millennials are the texting generation. I see no one my age who doesn't have their phone out or near them 90% of the day, myself included. This generation is so tapped into everything that goes on and it's right at the tip of our fingers. So, how do you market to them? Well, us?

MarketingProfs.com blogger, Dave Hawley, shares that millennials are sharing in real-time. They long to be in constant communication and the brands they are interacting with need to create positive customer experiences that they can share. Companies also need to create viral content that can be shared all over the internet. Ikea came out with a commercial titled, BookBook a few days before Apple released the information about their iPhone 6. Today it has been seen on YouTube over 11 million times, and it was released just on September 3rd of this year. Ikea released this in Singapore and Malaysia, but clearly because of the catchy video and hidden humor, the Millennials took hold of the video and it spread like wildfire.

Hawley also mentions that companies need to encourage user-generated content that will result in consumers reviewing products and services. A survey conducted by, SocialChorus showed that 91% of millennials trust their friends for their product recommendations. Companies need to encourage consumers to share their purchases and reviews on social media. Do you dream of working for Doritos? Well, for Superbowl last year and this year, Doritos takes submissions for your best commercial. Are you bold enough to try?

Bloggers Jeff Frommand and Andrea Franz, also from MarketingProfs.com, say Millenials are digital natives. We're 2.5% more likely to be early adopters because it is easy for us to adapt to new technology. An example of this would be when a new version of the iPhone comes out. Even if our old generation phones are in perfect working condition, we are more likely to purchase the new phone anyway to keep up with the technological advances. Millenials are also creating blogs and their own online personas. Here they can voice their opinion and give reviews of products and services. 

So, what now?

While marketing to Millenials, we have to remember that they're looking at everything they can. They want the best information about a product before purchase and they will read all the positive and negative reviews. Millenials want to feel connected and that their voice is being heard by the company. Good or bad. Until next time :)