As members of the baby boomer generation near their retirement age, and Gen X moves into middle age, the social-centric, group-oriented Millennials or Generation Y as they call it, is transitioning into their peak earning years. Leading marketers see Gen Y as one of the most promising group of consumers to target, and small business owners like you should get to know them well.
While there is no precise age range for Generation Y, analysts often refer to them as those who were born from the late 1970s to the early 2000’s. Gen Y is comfortable working in real time, they are techno-dependent, and works with online social tools with great ease. With a population of over 80 million in U.S. alone and purchasing power of over 200 billion dollars each year, Gen Y is probably the most socially active generation to date with a huge spending capacity to boast.
Here are some ways to help you effectively target your Gen Y customer base.
• Optimize your presence online. Make your products and services fast and easy to find. Gen Ys move in a 24/7 digital environment, and they’re not afraid to try out something new as long as it proves beneficial to them. They were born with ready access to the internet, and they expect brands to be accessible all day every day.
• Keep abreast of mobile and social media trends. Create an interactive website with fresh and authentic content plus a business fan page in Facebook and Twitter. All these are essential to get your products and services on the radar of these Millennials.
• Tap into the visual medium. Millenials are visual learners, making YouTube, infographics, and a lot of pictures a must in your communications materials.
• Create an enriching experience. According to an October 2012 article from Forbes.com, 70% of Gen Ys favor cool experiences over great products. Set up an interesting blog, incorporate your brand values into your contents, or launch an event that make Millennials feel important.
• Create a campaign that genuinely promotes social change. Inspire hope and promote doing small things that make the world a little better. Gen Y is an optimistic bunch. They also forge relationships easily with brands that are big on social values and care for the environment. According to The Cassandra Good Guide report, two out of three Millennials believe that “a person on a computer who is socially aware and spreading the word” online, can create more change than a person on the street rallying and protesting. 44% of them also try to practice being green in their daily lives.
• Appeal to their taste for technology. As a small business owner, it’s crucial that you get a grasp of social media trends and take an active part in it. Don’t just talk, you need to engage them. Millennials share with excitement all the things they like, and they make sure all their family and friends know about it. They make for great word-of-mouth advocates in an online landscape.
Another key to getting the loyalty of Generation Y is to be influential in, not invasive of, their social lives. If you don’t align your business around the behavior of the Millennials, get ready to lose that valuable chunk of your market. We at 365Outsource.com specialize in online technology. We can help you with your social marketing needs and enable your business to better serve the demands of a tech-savvy customer base. Call us today to know more about our flexible and cost-effective digital marketing packages.