Kirsten Hamling gives her advice on how to market to millennials and how it is different than you would think.

1. HOW TO
MARKET TO
MILLENNIALS
BY: KIRSTEN HAMLING
KIRSTENHAMLINGCO.COM

2. BE
AVAILABLE
Millennials aren’t likely to work 9 to
5 jobs, and they won’t expect your
brand to either. And having grown
up with email, texting, and the
Internet, they are used to getting
instantaneous responses from those
that they contact. Customer service
and a social media presence outside
of normal work hours build trust in
and reliance on your brand.
KIRSTENHAMLINGCO.COM

3. KIRSTENHAMLINGCO.COM
DON'T TRY TO HARD SELL
MOST MILLENNIALS HAVE BEEN
BOMBARDED WITH ADVERTISEMENTS
SINCE BIRTH, AND AS A RESULT,
TRADITIONAL ADVERTISING HAS LOST A
LOT OF ITS PUNCH. THEY ALSO VALUE
AUTHENTICITY, SO SUPERLATIVE-LADEN
PROMISES CLEARLY DESIGNED TO SELL
A PRODUCT ARE MUCH MORE LIKELY
TO BRING MOCKERY THAN ACTUAL
ATTENTION..

4. KIRSTENHAMLINGCO.COM
THINK WORD OF MOUTH
WORD OF MOUTH MARKETING HAS ALWAYS BEEN EFFECTIVE. PEOPLE HAVE
ALWAYS BEEN MUCH MORE WILLING TO TRUST FRIENDS AND ACQUAINTANCES
WITH RECOMMENDATIONS, RATHER THAN MAKE PURCHASES BASED ON
ADVERTISING. BUT IN THE PAST WORD OF MOUTH HAS BEEN DIFFICULT TO
ENACT AS PART OF AN ACTUAL ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN.
BUT NOW, WITH MILLENNIALS (AND MANY OTHERS) PLUGGED INTO SOCIAL
MEDIA AND THE INTERNET, WORD OF MOUTH CAN BE UTILIZED EASILY AND
CHEAPLY BY SAVVY BUSINESSES. FEATURE CUSTOMER REVIEWS ON YOUR
WEBSITE OR SOCIAL MEDIA, MAINTAIN AN ACTIVE FACEBOOK AND TWITTER AND
WATCH INTERNET TRENDS TO SEE WHAT’S WORKING. FOR THE NEXT STEP UP,
SOME BRANDS CHOOSE “INFLUENCERS” –POPULAR SOCIAL MEDIA USERS WHO
PROMOTE YOUR BRAND THROUGH THEIR CHANNELS, BLOGS, OR PAGES.

5. YOU WON'T GET
EVERYONE
KIRSTENHAMLINGCO.COM
MILLENNIALS ARE A HIGHLY DIVERSE
GROUP. SOME WORK HIGH-PAYING TECH
JOBS. SOME ARE DEEP IN STUDENT DEBT
AND STRUGGLING WITH UNEMPLOYMENT.
SOME ARE PARENTS. OTHERS ARE SINGLE
WITH LITTLE THOUGHT TOWARDS
MARRIAGE OR CHILDREN.
ADD IN DIFFERENCES IN EDUCATION LEVEL,
REGION, RACE, CULTURE, GENDER, AND AGE
(SOMEONE WHO IS 21 AND SOMEONE WHO
IS 33 WILL HAVE VERY DIFFERENT NEEDS),
AND YOU’LL REALIZE HOW FOOLHARDY IT IS
TO TRY TO APPEAL TO ALL MILLENNIALS.
INSTEAD, THINK OF WHO YOUR PRODUCT
OR SERVICE WILL BENEFIT AND TARGET
THOSE SUBGROUPS.

6. MAINTAINING LOYALTY
IS HARDER
KIRSTENHAMLINGCO.COM
MILLENNIALS HAVE A REPUTATION FOR BEING DISLOYAL TO BRANDS. IN
SOME WAYS, THIS IS TRUE: THEY ARE LESS LIKELY TO STICK WITH ONE BRAND
THAT THEY ARE SATISFIED WITH. INSTEAD, AS THEY ARE EXPOSED TO
COUNTLESS ALTERNATIVE PRODUCTS THROUGH MEDIA AND THE INTERNET,
THEY MAY WANT TO EXPERIMENT WITH DIFFERENT BRANDS. HOWEVER, YOU
CAN MAINTAIN BRAND LOYALTY BY EMPHASIZING YOUR PURPOSE OVER
YOUR PRODUCT. BRANDS THAT ARE DOING GOOD THE IN THE WORLD, OR
THAT HAVE PARTICULARLY LOFTY OR INTERESTING GOALS, ARE MORE LIKELY
TO KEEP MILLENNIAL CUSTOMERS LOYAL.