Marketing to millennials, as we well know by now, is difficult — so a new and different approach to your marketing strategy may be necessary. Rather than approaching and thinking about your efforts as “marketing” to them, consider thinking about it instead as “connecting” and “communicating” with them. Below are some tips on how to do so!

Don’t Sell Yourself. Being blatant about trying to sell a product or service to millennials and Gen Z is not going to help you. These demographics don’t want to be pitched anything — so you’ll have better luck opening the lines of communication with them and focusing on real interactions and connections and making sure what your company does and stands for is obvious on all channels.

Relax & Go Informal. Younger generations respond more to humor and authenticity. Show your company’s human side and don’t be all “corporate” when connecting to your target demographic. Consider ditching some of the more traditional forms of marketing and branching out into newer, more intimate ways of communicating.

Don’t Go Overboard. While you want to connect with millennials the way they want to be communicated with, you don’t want to take this idea too far. Excessive use of emojis, slang vocabulary, etc., can make it seem like you’re trying too hard and doesn’t actually reflect well on your company. You need to figure out the perfect balance of being on their level while maintaining your professional vibe — to do this, consider inviting feedback from your consumer base!

Give, Give, Give. This tip is two-fold. Firstly, millennials want to be inspired and feel like they are doing good and supporting good causes. If your company gives to charity or otherwise contributes to society, communicate that as it will go a long way! Secondly, millennials love to feel they are getting a good deal. Offering discounts, coupons, promo codes, or other rewards will definitely entice millennials to your brand.

Watch and Learn. There are other companies out there who are doing a phenomenal job appealing to younger generations and connecting with them. Target, Amazon, and Apple are just some of the top companies that millennials love, interact with, and buy. Look at how they are communicating with younger consumers and strive to emulate their strategies.

These are just some methods you can adopt in your marketing strategies to better reach a millennial audience — just focus on authentic connections and you should see your efforts increase in success!

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As we said in last month’s post, we know college students can be tricky to market to. That’s why we’re continuing our three-part series with this second installment, where we’ll cover some more methods you can and should be using when marketing to college students.

1. Add Some Humor. We know we’re telling you a lot of things your marketing should be (and will undoubtedly tell you more), but you can be creative, funny, and on-brand in a short marketing campaign, all at the same time without being “extra.” Even if students may only spend a little while looking at your company’s marketing efforts, there’s still room for creativity and humor in simple copy.

Your campaigns can be witty, sarcastic, funny, or put a spin on slang or a current event, all of which will land with college students and make them more interested in your company and brand. Inject a little humor into your marketing — it’ll go a long way.

2. Be Authentic. College students are good at distinguishing between fake and real — and they can definitely tell when you’re trying too hard or not hard enough to appeal to them and grab their attention. Rather than going over the top in your attempts to win them over, stay true to what your company stands for, what they offer and who they are. You can still be humorous and engage with college students on their level while being authentic and ultimately, that’ll be what makes your company stand out and succeed in the long run.

You can do this by sharing insight into your company and its purpose, stories of how your company gives back to the community, or other personable and real details with your users and followers, mixed in with other marketing messaging or in combination with them.

3. Make Them Feel. There’s a reason people love to watch tear-jerker dramas and listening to Adele as well as enjoy videos of animals doing silly tricks and compilations of funny tweets. Emotion is a key factor to consider when coming up with your marketing strategy. Can you make your college student audience laugh, cry, smile, or otherwise react to your content? If you can, you’re already a step ahead the rest. Think about how your marketing efforts will be received and brainstorm ways you can up the ante and show college students you are “woke,” so to speak.

Stay tuned for next month’s blog where we’ll conclude this series and give you some more facts and advice to consider using in your marketing to college students. Until then, don’t wait to start implementing the above-mentioned methods!

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