Biz Tips: 5 Ways to Make Your Brand Appeal to Millennials
GROWTH:
5 Ways to Make Your Brand Appeal to Millennials
Ah, millenials.
In the corporate world, they’re seen either as a modern day plague, or the proverbial Holy Grail that makes a company soar. Just looking at the headlines about established brands going under because of millennials makes businesses fret for their future.
But in all honesty, the problem is not as complex as the media make it out to be. This is simply a consumer shift, and by delving into some core points, we’ll hopefully put some of them at ease. So, how to appeal to millennials, you ask?
1. Be online
While your company is probably already online, it’s important to understand that brands can only survive by just having a website, newsletter and subscriptions. To truly thrive among millennials, you need more than online visibility — your brand needs a presence. That means having active accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat, and presenting your content in platform-appropriate ways.
Be wary of: Branching out too much.
Better to have one solid account than four poor ones. Find the one that “clicks” with your brand, because failing to utilize these platforms to their fullest ends up being a waste of time, resources, and ultimately harms the brand by making its engagement look clumsy, mismanaged, and forced.
2. Connect
During the ’50s, TV ads could easily sell a product by pushing a brand as a life-improving necessity. Today, millennials see right through ad campaigns, and they won’t stand by a brand whose interest in its consumers extends merely to sales pitches. With them, you need to be transparent, honest, and heartfelt, regardless of what your product or service is. Crowd-funding platforms like Kickstarter have created a new standard for company-consumer dynamics, causing a shift towards consumers support people rather than enterprises.
Be wary of: Overthinking it.
You don’t need a convoluted, complex personal story wrapped up to sound realistic. Really look into your own beginnings, the purpose and goal of your brand. A simple video of a CEO talking about his humble beginnings or the brand vision does much more than a larger-than-life one with paid smiling actors.
3. Make your brand about THEM
More than anything, the millennial generation loves to be a part of the bigger picture. Let them identify with your brand in their own, personal way. They navigate social media on a daily basis, and by sharing their experience with your brand in an interactive way YOU set up (promotional events, taking photos with the product in certain situations/places), they feel like they’re part of a movement. Give them the spotlight, and watch it return to you tenfold.
Be wary of: Letting go of the reins.
Online interactivity can also get out of hand, as the Internet provides a great deal of user freedom. Make sure you’ve created a set of rules that will keep your campaign safe from spiraling out of control.