Millennials (18-34 year olds) will represent $200 billion in annual buying power by 2017 (Harvard Business Review). So how can brands reach this lucrative demographic? We’ve all heard the typical advice, ‘put your advertising budget into social media, after all that’s where the action is’. There’s no doubt Millennials love their social media for keeping up with friends, events, and sharing each and every moment of their day.
But when it comes to consumer-to-consumer brand communication, they prefer more direct contact. A 2015 study by the Principal Financial Group shows given the choice between email, in person, postal mail, social media, phone call, online chat, or text message, Millennial respondents overwhelmingly choose email straight across the board. They want one-to-one contact with companies, whether it’s for offers, customer service, or other communication.
Marc Apple, owner and chief strategist at Forward Push Media believes no one is constantly on social networks, but most people check email every day, whatever their demographic profile:
“In my opinion, email is the original social media.”
Not surprisingly, Millennials check email more than any other age group according to a recent Adobe study. That same study found nearly 98% of Millennials check their personal email at least every few hours at work, while almost 87% of Millennials check their work email outside of work.
But that doesn’t mean the same old email marketing will work. Ultimately, Millennials want useful emails. They want emails to work on the device of their choice, and they want emails to appeal to their interests and passions (Harvard Business Review). Here are some tips for planning your next email campaign involving Millennials:
- Mobile Rules – Since they live life on their phones, design your emails for mobile first. Use responsive design across every screen size. Get your call-to-action across quickly as part of a clear, captivating mobile user experience.
- Targeting – Stop batch ‘n’ blasting and start marketing to individuals. Millennials expect personalized, relevant content that interests them. Take advantage of a third-party hyper-targeted email advertising campaign and precisely target your ideal audience based on 100s of criteria. This is a great way to compliment your existing house list and the email delivery is handled by the third party.
- Timing – Millennials are more likely than any other age group to check email while in bed (45.2% according to a Harvard study). Experiment with sending emails first thing in the morning or late in the evening with content relevant to that time of day.
- Rock Your Content – Content is all-important, and that’s about personalization again. Make it relatable and relevant, speaking to them on their individual terms. It’s got to provoke thought and look smart or risk being swiped away to the trash folder.