What actually is a millennial? That's a common question being asked around the world. To some, this demographic is the unmotivated, lazy and unpredictable. To Odyssey, we see them as motivated, selfaware and pretty predictable. Certain generations have always been boxed into certain stereotypes and the initiatives to get their attention can be off base.The millennial generation is no different, and we're here to tell you millennials are not one size fits all.
Personalization is everything
No one person is the same. For centuries, people have been saying these exact words, so why hasn't this concept changed? Millennials are no exception, so you need to market to them in a variety of ways. Simon Sinek put it very direct and eloquently when he said at a TedX Conference:
People don't buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it
Ask your marketing team, are we marketing what we do or why we do it? The millennial demographic has everything at their fingertips for connecting, shopping and comparing, so they do not always need all the facts to relate. Focus on using tools to tell the story of your brand and not just the cold hard facts of what you do.
Validation allows for relevancy: use the super highway
Communication has never been more crowded than it is right now. We live in a world with texts, phone calls, social media networks, emails and so forth. There is no need to do all the legwork yourself, let your customer help do it for you. Millennials have more technology than any generation in history so their ability to give and get feedback on their purchases is with a click of a button. Brands need to be using this network of millennials to help validate the brand and it's likely that it will spread like wildfire. Once it becomes something that millennials' friends have used, you have tapped into a superhighway of connections across the world.
Don't overestimate the power of upward influence
At different points in life, people always ask the question How do I act younger or how do I look older?. There are countless books, movies and television shows always depicting the younger brother or the neighborhood friend trying to act tough or seem older. The world also works in the opposite way and we are seeing a massive shift in the ability for younger demographics to manage up and influence the decisions of colleagues, parents or mentors. This phenomenon has even been seen in a massive uptick of older generations getting involved in social media. So, before your brand focuses on an older demographic ask yourself the question Is there another way to reach my audience?
So how do you implement these three tips? Social content platform Odyssey is in the business of helping advertisers and brands reach millennials. Insights combined with engagement on one single platform. Odyssey has direct access to 12,000+ millennial influencers, and because of that vast community, Odyssey is able to help brands access focus groups and insights from the very target audience they are marketing to, and do so with extremely quick turnaround. Those focus groups generate creative, innovative and personalized ways to reach and resonate with the millennial audience.
Odyssey's influencers are considered microinfluencers, defined as everyday consumers who have 500 to 5,000 highlyengaged followers. Microinfluencer marketing is about discovering those customers who are relevant and influential around your brand, and through their creation of codeveloped posts on social media, are the most effective at driving conversions towards your business objectives.
What's unique about Odyssey is that it's grown from 0 to 30 million monthly users in less than two years, all organically. All content is distributed organically and authentically through peertopeer sharing, not paidfor efforts including boosted social or SEO tactics.
As of June 2016, Odyssey has:
- 12,000+ content creators
- 1,000+ communities
- 50,000 articles published monthly
- 87% of traffic referred by organic social
- 82% of audience reads on mobile devices
- 30+ million unique monthly visitors (Google Analytics)
It's all about the millennial and Gen Z generations, and having your brand be authentic, organic and loyal.
They’re a growing demographic that can be hard to tap into for the older generations!
Interesting article and full of creative ideas. Thank you for sharing the article.