3 Ways to Engage Millennials

Businesses are obsessed with Millennials nowadays, and are often looking for ways to win over this group of tech-savvy, trendsetting, entrepreneurial, and some might even say, entitled and narcissistic consumers. A global benchmark study conducted by Edelman states that there are 1.8 billion Millennials around the world, and by 2025, they will make up 75 percent of the workforce. Their generation has never experienced a world without the Internet and has the ability to influence the buying decisions of other generations.

McDonald’s Global Chief Brand Officer, Steve Easterbrook, once said: “The Millennial generation has a wider range of choices than did any generation before them. They are promiscuous in their brand loyalty. It makes it harder work for all of us to earn the loyalty of the Millennial generation.”

So how do you go about engaging them and earning their loyalty?

1. Authenticity is the Way to the Millennials’ Heart

A. Make your brand relatable: Authenticity is key to making your content stand out among the numerous advertisements that bombard Millennials every day. Instead of relying on viral content to make consumers notice your brand, take a more personal approach by being relatable to your audience, in this case, the Millennials.

As the main purpose of content marketing is to drive awareness, and more importantly build trust, start by identifying the main influencers among this particular group of consumers, e.g. Youtube stars and bloggers. Being Millennials themselves make these influencers, such as Ryan Higa, Michelle Phan, Xiaxue and Wong Fu Productions, more approachable to fans and a suitable bridge between your brand and the consumers. Therefore, collaborating with influencers shows that companies pay close attention to the interests of Millennials, potentially making the latter more trustworthy and influential.

In addition, use less corporate speak, as it bores Millennials and gives them the impression that your company is formal and distant. Instead, take a page out of IHOP’s book and engage them using their language.

Bae = Before anyone else or a shortened form of baby.

Amanda Chen, Xiaomi’s Head of Global Marketing, has said that one of the formulas of success is “to understand the fans and make friends with them, instead of talking as a brand”. Likewise, attempting to use millennial slang sends the message that your company is relatable and interesting.

B. Build relationships: With this digitally savvy generation, it is all about building relationships over time via conversation. Millennials want to learn more about your brand, and most importantly, wish to be heard. According to the 2014 NewsCred Millennial Study, social media is the second most popular tool used by millennials to engage with brands. Hence, what better way to break down the barriers and reach out to Millennials than through a platform to which they are constantly connected?

Xiaomi, the Chinese electronics company, has achieved success partly due to its continual interaction with fans on social media platforms, such as Weibo and Twitter. The senior executives of China’s new phone giant take time out of their busy schedule to answer customers’ questions online and meet with users in person. Earlier this year, Lei Jun, Xiaomi’s CEO published a Weibo updated concerning its revenue numbers and directed the post to its fans instead of to the media or industry analysts. these efforts add a personal touch to the relationship between Xiaomi and its users, proving that the company genuinely values them.

Click here for the translation.

2. Pathos a.k.a Appeal to Emotions

According to CEB, a best practice insight and technology company, “emotional marketing messages are twice as effective as promotional ones”. Individuals tend to feel a sense of personal connection and stronger loyalty when their favourite brands successfully appeal to their emotions. Besides, content is more likely to be shared when people develop an emotional response to it. Millennials are inundated daily with countless messages and advertisements, so unless you turn things up a notch and leverage their emotions to your advantage, your content might be less likely to impress.

When Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD Bank), a Canadian multinational banking and financial services corporation, launched a Youtube ad for its #TDThanksYou campaign in 2014, one of its marketing goals was to ensure that the video was viewed by as many people as possible, particularly Millennials. The ad, which showcased genuine moments of surprise and appreciation when customers were presented with gifts, was an instant social media hit and left many teary-eyed, effectively becoming the most watched Youtube clip in Canada and one of the top in the United States.

3. Be Entertaining

Marketing entertaining content is another way for brands to stay relevant and grab the attention of Millennials. Hands up if you are hooked onto Buzzfeed, because I sure am. The American news internet company has more than 1 billion monthly views and 54 per cent of its audience are Millennials. How does Buzzfeed to it? By making readers laugh.

Millennials are more likely to share content when it makes us happy and is engaging, such as this Buzzfeed post about 17 terrible puns that garnered 805,448 views and counting.

This article about 18 hilarious tweets regarding body image has over a million views.

American entrepreneur Michelle Phan sums it up perfectly: “It’s about having a connection and having a two-way dialogue and relationship. Millennials want to be spoken to, they want to be heard and they also want to have that dialogue.”

Millennial consumers are not a tough nut to crack. In a nutshell, they want to establish a connection and be impressed. Use different tools to market your content and if you are trying to go global, be sure to understand the country’s media landscape and respective consumer behaviours before creating your local marketing and communication plans.

You can start by downloading this Asian Media Landscape Series whitepaper covering Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia. If South Korea, Thailand and Indonesia are your main focus, download the second series of whitepapers. Good luck!

Janice Tan is the Audience Development Executive in Singapore at PR Newswire and a Millennial who enjoys binge-watching TV shows on Netflix.