Marketing To Millennials

Millennials, the ones born in the early 80s to the early 2000s. The ones who embrace modern styles or bring back the old trends. The ones working remotely at the new coffee shop downtown or living at their parents' house as a result of minimal savings. They go on afternoon jaunts into the mountains in search of new content for their media habits. They have a strong sense to engage in their local and global community. Whether they're outdoors, in micro-breweries, or vacationing in one of SkyRun's properties, they are continually searching or setting the next trend. How do I know all of this? Because I am one of those Millennials working remotely out of a coffee shop as I embrace living in this day and age. Luckily for me, I have savings and don't live at my parents' house.

According to Forbes, in America there are around 80 million Millennials with an annual buying power of $200 million. If you are in the business world, nothing should scream louder than the word opportunity.

How to Reach

So how does a business not only captivate but capture this particular market? I believe it takes two things: being at the right place with the right content. Today, advertising and promotions seem as though they are on steroids. They are everywhere you could imagine and sometimes appear without you even conceptualizing how it's possible. Therefore, you must direct your marketing to areas where you know they're looking. Many companies are competing for Millennials' eyes, the key too capturing is to offer what they are after. In other words, you must psychologically understand Millennials to create what they perceive as valuable.

Being at the Right Place

For the Millennial, being at the right place essentially means being on the right digital platform. According to Forbes, Millennials are one of the largest reading demographics, but much of that reading is on a screen. Ultimately, your marketing should revolve around the digital outlets. The average Millennial spends more than 53 hours per week online, that's about 6.5-7.5 hours daily as shown from a study by Ipsos. Of those 53 weekly hours, 69% is on a mobile device, which is up from 30% in 2012. And as I'm sure you could have guessed, Millennials devote those internet hours on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Spotify, Instagram, BuzzFeed, and Amazon.

With the Right Content

Now that you're 'in the right place,' you must market the 'right content' which can be done by psychologically understanding Millennials. Where are they coming from and why? American authors and historians William Strauss and Neil Howe have helped us comprehend this by pairing Millennials with seven fundamental traits in their book Millennials Rising. These "core traits" are special, sheltered, confident, team-oriented, conventional, pressured, and achieving. All of which serve as marketable opportunities. Marketing combined traits that Millennials identify with alongside their perceived value inside a unique message on a platform that they will see is a recipe for success.

Below is an illustration to help visualize what marketing materials SkyRun Vacation Rentals uses to grasp the Millennial's eye when we combine our products with Millennials' core traits.