There are many ways to present your brand image to reach millennials but here are 5 TIPS that are CURRENT. These 5 tips will help your brand image build a stronger and longer relationship with millennials.
Below is the behind the scene story why I concluded my 5 Tips to reach millennials had to be shared.
Recently I went to a Paul Rodgers concert and then later the same week to a Taylor Swift concert. Yes, they are different artists and reach different groups and how they reach their fans are exceptionally different. However, their fans have totally different expectations.
Boomer fans of Paul Rodgers are quite content to look at his website and Facebook page that has the same information on it. If Paul wanted to appeal to millennials he would really need to reevaluate his digital marketing.
Millennial fans of Taylor Swift have much higher expectations. If you are a Taylor fan you can go to her website and see loads of information. There is a link where you can email Taylor, connect on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Plus, links to You Tube where you can see her videos for free.
Can you image how Taylor’s popularity would decline with millennials if she decided for some crazy reason to have a lack lustre website and not be accessible on social channels?
5 TIPS TO REACH MILLENNIALS
Tip#1
Really understand your customer avatar.
If your brand does not have a clear understanding of your millennial customer avatar, then you will not know how to reach them effectively. This means not only where to advertise but what message will relate to them.
Customer avatars have gone way beyond the traditional demographics. It is understanding your customers psychographics based on interests, values, attitudes, lifestyles, and personality traits. Check out our free avatar worksheet on our blog about avatars.
TIP#2
Be authentic.
This can be more of a stretch for bigger brands because they can lose their personality and control when they get big. But they don’t have to. They must make sure their message is authentic, and they live by it. If it is all talk and no substance, then they are not authentic, and the brand becomes weak. It also means that everyone in the company must understand the culture.
TIP #3
The images and style used on all social channels must be specific to that channel.
Millennials do like social media and each social channel has its own culture. To build a strong brand image on a social channel you need to understand what gets the millennials attention. Millennials that are on Pinterest have different expectations than those that are on instagram. For instance, Pinterest users are not big on people in images, they are there to plan their life moments. But Instagram is all about people, pictures and engagement.
TIP #4
Consistently engaging.
Some may challenge me by saying consistency and engaging are two things. But they are truly one.
Yes, everyone wants to cut down in getting emails and following brands on social. However, if the brand is one they like, the consumer they will not only keep receiving emails or following them but they notice if it is not consistent. If you send out an email every week on Friday at 3pm people expect it. If they don’t get it, then they think there is something wrong with your brand. If you are great at sending out valued information on social and you stop you are leaving the relationship in limbo.
TIP#5
Be accessible/reachable.
Millennials are comfortable communicating to their favorite brands. They like the idea that they can make suggestions or tell you when something isn’t right with your brand. Your customer’s voice is important and what they say is of value particularly when they are saying you are doing something wrong. If you are doing something wrong them admit it and thank them for their input. This will build a much longer lasting relationship with your customers than trying to ignore the issue.
Building a strong brand image is expensive if it is not done correctly. ROI will be much better if you trying to reach millennials and follow my 5 Tips.
To read more about A&W’s marketing strategy check out strategyonline.ca
I want to mention that even big brands stumble when it comes to social media. I checked out A&W social channels, Facebook, Instagram and You Tube. They get high marks on having different types of posts on each channel, but they get super low marks on consistency. It looks like they forgot about social media for a while and how important it is particularly if they are reaching out to millennials. Oops!
5 TIPS TO REACH MILLENNIALS
One more example of a business that is marketing to millennials and does an amazing job. Here is a hint, they are a very old brand and were not in urban markets and they have great root beer. Recently you probably have seen them popping up where millennials hang out. I am sure you guessed A&W.
Below are a couple of excerpts from an article from the strategyonline.ca where they quoted A&W’s Tom Newitt, senior director of marketing and brand communications and Chelsea Stoelting, partner and managing director of client services at Rethink – A&W’s 17-year agency partner.
Millennials are also proving crucial for the brand’s growth. In early 2016, the company introduced a new franchise model aimed at lowering the upfront investment to open a store so that the younger demographic could build more urban locations.—Tom Newitt
The philosophy of authenticity means creative that speaks to the audience on each platform specifically, Stoelting notes. “We don’t take a TV ad and cut it down for YouTube,” she says.
OK so these two brands really get the millennials. But your brand can too by following my 5 TIPS TO REACH MILLENNIALS.
