Inside a Millennial’s Mind

inside-a-millenials-mindEver wondered how to market to millennials? What do they enjoy? How can I get their attention?

I’ll let you in on a little secret of mine: I know what kinds of marketing and advertising that work on me.

I’ll give you a hint, it’s not television commercials, sports sponsorships, or even t-shirts.

The two types of marketing/advertising that work best on me:

  1.      Social media contests
  2.      Experiential marketing

I know these work best on me because I’m getting an actual experience from the brand itself, instead of just an annoying ad that I have to ignore or click out of.

The reason I like social media contests so much, is that I have really nothing to lose! If I have to enter any other kind of contest, I become hesitant with the amount of time it takes, and not knowing where all of my information is going.

With social media contests (liking a photo for a chance to win, tag your friends for a chance to win, following an Instagram page for a chance to win, using a hashtag for a chance to win, etc), I don’t have much risk involved with entering.

It’s also different from just regular social media marketing or advertising. While millennials are constantly involved with social media, we know how to avoid ads and we ignore them when we see them.

I’ve won a few social media contests (just a few gift cards), and I’ve had a very positive experience with these companies.

Now, I understand that social media contests may not work for every company.

Say, for example, that you are a part of an insurance agency. A social media contest might not be ideal because there is no physical product for the consumer to look and feel. However, this is possible when experiential marketing becomes involved.

While there may be no physical product to sell, you are still able to associate a brand with a feeling, or environment.

I’m much more likely to interact with a brand in person than I would just through a random ad on Facebook.

Millennials are much smarter than you think! We may be on social media all the time, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that social media marketing works the best.