As a social media agency, Posse is mostly comprised of millennials. Does that scare you? No, wait! Marketing to millennials isn’t as scary as you think. It’s actually easier to utilize inbound marketing with millennials than other generations. With our first-hand experience, we can tell you exactly how to get your message across, and why inbound marketing is the perfect solution.

Who they are

Millennials get the illustrative futuristic title of the century. So what exactly are they and why can’t anyone stop talking about them?

The millennial generation refers to anyone born from 1984 to 2004, meaning ages 12-34, and there are an estimated 83 million of them, which outnumbers Baby Boomers by over 8 million.

Millennials came of age during the greatest recession since the Great Depression, and that’s changed their perspective on what life goals are important to them.

  • Self-oriented: While many label millennials as narcissistic, a better term would be self-reliant. They are delaying getting married, having children, and settling down because they’re focusing on themselves and not jumping into familyhood after college. The median age for women getting married is now 27, up from 20 in 1964.
  • Tech-dependent. This generation has grown up with technology in hand, making them digital natives, and that has morphed into their source for news, entertainment, communication, and a boredom fix. Nowadays, 98% of millennials own a cell phone. With 1.57 billion daily mobile Facebook users, 967 million are mobile-only, which means you don’t have to look hard for an audience; they’re already there. Implementing mobile ads into your inbound strategy will reach a large portion of this illustrious group of consumers.
  • Immune to traditional advertisements. Most of their lives, they’ve been bombarded with advertisements, so they’ve learned to tune them out. 84% don’t trust traditional advertising. Reread that. Traditional advertising doesn’t work with millennials.
  • Different type of communicators. Due to their expertise in technology, millennials are able to communicate through text, social media messaging, sharing articles on social media sites, and sending images like through Snapchat. Most are even able to carry conversations or imply the tone of a message by using emojis. Millennials are far more likely to share content with their peers via social media and are far more likely to give their information to a brand.

Who They Want You To Be

Inbound marketing is the perfect foundation for marketing to millennials. They’re already online, and they’re already consuming blogs, content, and websites. So here are the top three traits that millennials want from your brand.

Transparent

Millennials love transparency. It makes businesses take responsibility for every action made within a company, and it builds trust. Whatever happens behind closed doors, whether good or bad, makes this generation skeptical, and skepticism is bad.

Inbound marketing gives brands the opportunity to be transparent by being available to customers online. People want their opinion to be heard. They want to be able to reach you with their problems, questions, and even good experiences. Providing an outlet that they’re comfortable with using, like Facebook or Twitter, allows them to have access to your brand, and that helps with authenticity and trust.

Remember: People don’t buy from businesses. People buy from people.

Educational

Educating buyers is key to your credibility, and credibility is everything to millennials. Blogs are important content with 76% of millennials wanting to be informed on specific topics. Provide your knowledge with your customers, and they’ll be more likely to buy from you.

Engaging

Millennials are all about experiences. In fact, 62% of millennials say that if a brand engages with them on social networks, they are more likely to become a loyal customer. Engage millennials with your informative and entertaining content, and be sure to tailor it to specific interests. Millennials love for messages to appeal to their specific needs and problems.

Entrepreneur sums it up perfectly: “Authenticity comes from thoughtfulness and treating millennials the way they want to be perceived: unique, decisive, and authentic. Remember to be sure you’re cultivating an authentic relationship, rather than one based on the constant state of selling.”

Have your brand’s voice be heard

Millennials are a huge subset of buyers, and they’re already active participants in inbound marketing. Make sure you’re getting involved with them by providing them with the information and experiences that they want.

Cultivate these relationships by building the human side of your brand and make sure you’re actively participating with them online.