Plenty of news stories like to claim the Millennial generation, those born between 1980 and 2000, have “killed” a lot of industries and products over the years. But don’t let those stories fool you into overlooking this generation and its buying power. The Millennial generation is the largest cohort in US history - even larger than the Baby Boomers. Goldman Sachs estimates there are roughly 92 million Millennials in the United States, many of whom are just now coming into their full buying power. To make sure you are benefitting from some of that buying power, you want to be sure you are connecting to your Millennial audiences and engaging them in ways that are meaningful and will attract them to your business.
How do you connect with MillennialsOne World Economic Forum study found this generation, on average, spends two hours and 38 minutes on social media every day. Millennials have grown up with technology and as a result the internet is deeply embedded into their consumer behavior. They turn to the internet, search engines, and social media to help inform and educate themselves before making a purchase.
The buying behavior of this generation is well known for price-comparing in store, reading reviews before making a purchase, and buying a product online before going to pick it up in store. The best way to connect with this powerful buying demographic is to meet them where they are and give them the tools to consume how they prefer. Social media allows for this, and more.
Younger Millennials - those under the age of 30 - heavily favor short-form platforms like Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok. These platforms allow users to consume short, punchy pieces of content and easily lend themselves to highly visual content.
Instagram is a favorite of the younger Millennials but it is also used heavily by the older cohort as well. If you have products or services that are “Insta-worthy” you’ll want to be sure to post eye-catching, engaging pictures on Instagram to catch the eyes of your Millennial audiences. Instagram is predominantly static images, but it also supports stories - short snippets that are shown for a limited amount of time - and reels that are short video clips that display in a regular content feed.
Those same short video clips can in turn easily translate over to other favorted platforms like Snapchat and Tiktok. Tiktok lends itself well to short, instructional videos. Recording a product demonstration and a video answering questions about your services are just two examples of how businesses keep content engaging and interesting to their Millennial audiences. It is important to keep in mind your videos, and overall content, be short and to the point. Millennials will pay attention to online content for an average of 12 seconds so keep that length in mind when creating videos.
The common denominator across the whole Millennial generation is Facebook. While Facebook users have been consistently declining over the last few years and it isn’t very popular with Gen Z, it remains a favorite of Millennials.
Due to its mix of content formats and possibly the nostalgia factor, Facebook has proven to have staying power. With Facebook, you also get the benefit that it is still one of the most widely used social media applications among all U.S. adults. With TikTok you’re not likely to get many viewers outside of Millennials and Gen Z, but with Facebook you will reach a broader audience.
By putting a bit of thought into the length, format, and platform for your social media strategy you will be able to more easily engage Millennials and benefit from their buying power
If you’re interested in learning more, reach out to us today at sales@mydigitaladv.com