Marketing and Millennials in 2021

Marketing for millennials is a different approach compared to other generations. Millennials were born between the years of 1981 and 1996. Unlike Generation Z, they are not considered digital natives. 

Who are the Millennials

Despite not being digital natives, Millennials are considered to be a technology savvy generation and very connected. Millennials are connected through social media because this is how their generation shares and collects information. As social media users, millennials vary from other generations, so marketing efforts should be tailored to their specific needs and desires. 

The most popular social media platform among millennials is Facebook, with Instagram coming in a close second. Businesses can use this information to tailor their social media messages for each platform based on their audience. 

Millennials social media network preferences are shown in green.

Millennials enjoy engagement

Marketing efforts for Millennials can be more focused on Facebook and Instagram. If your business wants to reach millennials effectively, they need to be interactive. For millennials,  62% of millennials find that if a brand engages with them on social media they are more likely to become a loyal customer. 

This can be replying to comments on posts or reposting customer generated content about your brand. This kind of engagement with your followers can be more time consuming, but it is great for reaching millennials.  

One effective way to create user generated content is through the use of a common hashtag. The brand Aerie has done this with the hashtag “#aeriereal”. This hashtag has been promoted all over their social media and been used by thousands of customers. The hashtag now has more than 295 thousand posts from all types of audiences. This content can be reposted and used for marketing purposes. Audiences can then see how much customers are loving your product or service from people like them. 

As mentioned, replying to comments on social media can help create loyal customers. One brand who has mastered this is Target. In recent posts, Target has replied to a variety of comments on their posts. 

Examples of Target replies on a recent Instagram post.

Another brand who has been successful in replying to their comments on social media is Starbucks. Along with Target, Starbucks has done a great job of interacting with their followers through their comments on social media. 

An example of Starbucks engaging with followers on Facebook.

Millennials want you to be genuine 

Establishing trust with the millennial audience is important for their generation. They need to be able to trust. Marketing efforts that are too eccentric or over the top do not appeal to millennials. Instead, sharing your organization’s mission and being more personal can be more beneficial than other efforts.  A great example of an organization who has communicated their mission is Toms. They sell shoes and other apparel, but promote the message of their brand throughout their content on social media. 

An example of Toms promoting their product along with their mission.

If your business gives back to the community in some way, this is a great aspect to showcase to your millennial audience. They see value in more than just profit. For millennials, 75% said that it’s either fairly or very important to support a business that gives back to the community in some way or another. Displaying this in your business’s marketing efforts can persuade millennials to choose you over your competitors. 

How will – or do you – market to millennials?