For decades, the baby boomers have been the largest group of people in the U.S. market. Now that they are retiring, the millennials are coming into their own and becoming the largest group. This is good news for marketers because this means more people to buy from, which means more money to be made! Now it is time to explore what the millennials want and how you can use that knowledge to your marketing advantage to help grow your business and bring in more revenue.

If you want to reach this generation of consumers, you need to think differently than you have been. This is the first generation that has been raised with technology, and they have grown up surrounded by an ocean of information at their fingertips. They have learned to use the internet as their primary source of news and entertainment, and many of them are rejecting the traditional advertising methods that have worked so well for previous generations.

What does all this mean for your marketing campaigns? It means you need to create new types of marketing messages that are “wired” for today's consumers. Here are a few tips on how to create these new types of marketing messages:

Use credible information

With any marketing message you are putting out there, you want to offer credible information. It is important that you are transparent about your product or service and can stand behind it. Just as any other form of marketing, you want to be sure that you do not try to be something you are not. Millennials tend to be more skeptical about companies and their products, so it is important to have information about your product that is trustworthy.

Make them easy to understand

Nobody likes a complex marketing message. Your message when marketing your product should not be hard to understand. The purpose of your marketing campaign and any message that goes in it is to provide just enough information to your ideal audience to entice them to purchase your product or service. If you do not know where to start, try asking yourself or your team what your customers want to know about you or your product. How can it help them? How will it improve their lives? We have noticed that a "one line" marketing message is more efficient than having a text-heavy ad.

Use stories

People respond to stories. Tell a story with every marketing campaign you publish. It can be a true story, a fictitious story, or a story about someone else. Stories have a way of getting people's attention and holding it. Telling stories will help your content get noticed and tend to have better engagement rates when consumers can relate to the story you are portraying.

• Use vivid, sensory details. The internet is a virtual desert when it comes to providing readers with vivid and sensory details. Give them a story that will allow them to have an experience they can visualize themselves having.

Create Short-Term Goals – Not Long-Term Goals

When people are asked to think about the future, they tend to over-analyze and worry about stuff they can’t control. However, when people are asked to think about the short term (the next 30-days or so), they tend to move quickly from analysis to action. So rather than telling your customers what you want them to buy (i.e., your long-term goal), tell them what they can do (i.e., their short-term goals) and give them the tools to accomplish those goals.

Setting a series of short-term goals will help you work toward achieving your long-term goal. This strategy also applies to the goals you want your consumers to achieve. Think about the long-term goal is that you want your consumer to reach. Is it to schedule an appointment with you? Do you want them to purchase a product from you? Whatever the long-term goal is, setting short-term goals for your consumers will reach will make it easier for them to meet the end goal. Check out some of our examples of short-term goals that will help your consumer reach the end goal you are leading them to:

Offer a Free Download

Offering a free download of some kind will allow you to capture contact information from your consumers while also allowing them to get something for free in return. Of course, you will have to decide what kind of download to offer (our favorite is a free guide that is targeted to the audience you are marketing to). The goal is to create a relationship with the audience so they will want to turn to you in the future for more information on how you can help solve their problem.

Give Away a Free Sample

If you are looking to sell more of a certain product (especially from a new collection), try giving away a small free sample. This will allow your prospect to provide you with their contact information to market to them in the future, but also let them try your product before committing to making a purchase.

A good way to offer a free sample is to give away a coupon to those who sign up for a sample of the product you are advertising. If your product is not able to be shipped or if you are unable to fulfill orders online, offering a coupon will still allow your prospect to try your product while also driving physical traffic to your location. Driving traffic to your location is a great opportunity for up-sells.

Need Help?

The suggestions listed throughout this blog are just a couple of many ways to help get started on marketing to a new generation (that is if your target audience is millennials). HTX Marketing Group has the knowledge and expertise to help you target the audience you want to get in front of - no matter what generation they are a part of. If you are ready to grow your business to the next level, then contact our team by scheduling your introductory strategy call online or by calling us at (713) 965-7370!