Marketing to Millennials

One of the main things I ask my clients when starting a new project is who their ‘ideal clients’ are, i.e. to whom are we speaking when writing the content. Of course they can identify several different ideal clients, but it is important to describe at least one.

When asked this question, it’s very easy to say ‘everyone’ – but not at all smart. Knowing who your main audience is will influence how we write, the tone we use, and the terminology we include. There is a massive difference between Baby Boomers  and Millennials – particularly in their needs, aspirations, lifestyle and language.  And it is the Millennials who have become the group on which many marketers, especially those with lifestyle or tech products, now focus.

I thought these two succinct resources might help you to understand and more finely target Millennials as part of your digital marketing plans.

Who are the Millennials?

In marketing-speak, the Millennials are the demographic group who followed GenY, who followed Baby Boomers. They are generally said to have been born between 1981 and 1993. They are the younger siblings of GenYs and the children of the youngest baby boomers.

After Baby Boomers (80 million, they are the second largest demographic group (75 mllion). Some more great stats on this group is available in this report by Deloitte “Who Are the Millennials

I particularly like this quote:

“… Boomers have given them the confidence to be optimistic about their ability to make things happen, and Xers have given them just enough skepticism to be cautious….. If you want to remember just one key word to describe Millennials, its ‘realistic’.”

– Lynne C. Lancaster and David Stillman from ‘When Generations Collide’.

Content Co-creation

I’ve just read an interesting article in The Guardian, “Marketing to millennials: the rise of content co-creation” which illustrates how the group is active in creating their own content (usually via Social Media) and sharing that of their peers. Companies and brands who are looking outside their marketing-department-generated content, using creative strategies to have Millennials become active partners in content and brand development.

Both are interesting short reads with some good insights – and I thought worth sharing.

– Kerry