While everyone feels Gen Z is the hardest nut to crack, you must not discount the value of understanding Millennials for your marketing campaigns’ success. 

There is a lot of division on who exactly Millennials are, but the general consensus is the people born between 1981 to 1994. Some reports mention that Gen Z starts in 2000, so it can even be that people born between 1981 to 2000 fall under this category. 

If you recall, these ages have been ripe with technological advancements and societal changes. Mobile phones, the internet, globalization, pop culture explosion, and so on all happened here. And it shaped a lot of the Millennials’ personalities, which makes it a challenge to market to them. 

In this blog by Kimp, we discuss everything you need to know about Millennial marketing.

Why are Millennial-specific marketing campaigns important? 

Why market specifically to Millennials? What is so special and unique about this generation? 

Well, the Millennial generation is currently between 26-41, and this means they are a major chunk of the spending population of the world. They have entered the workforce, are extremely tech-savvy, and have a lot of influence on the generations before and after them.

This makes them a formidable force. So is the job of marketing to millennials too tough, and can brands ignore it? 

Well, some brands and campaigns have stood the test of time and resonated with Millennials. You need to know what works. And no, you cannot ignore them. Millennials’ spending power is unmatched, and studies suggest that Millennials spent 1.4 trillion dollars globally in 2020. And this spans across online and offline stores, so there is something for every business if they target Millennials. 

With such a unique and powerful audience base, you cannot afford to run generic campaigns without understanding what makes them tick. 

But why does everyone worry about Millennial marketing so much? What is the challenge, and what can you do about it? 

Millennial Marketing Challenges 

The Millennial generation as a whole is too diverse to be put in one box. The group consists of anyone born from 1981 to 2000. But their experiences are not homogenous. Some people experienced their childhood without the Internet, mobile phones, and social media. Many refer to these as early millennials. On the other hand, some grew up with mobile phones, social media, and the Internet during their childhood or early teenage years. 

Obviously, this means that the same things don’t bring out the same emotional response in Millennials. So designing campaigns can be a little tricky.

Also because of the internet, this generation has seen it all – over-the-top advertisements, large discount sales, pop culture explosion, and many scams. 

So they are cautious, and they don’t trust brands a lot. 

Too many tools and the constant content that came at the Millennials also reduced their attention span a lot. They have become used to moving from one sensational happening to another, which pushes the brands and marketers to be on their toes at all times. 

These all sound quite serious, so what is the way out?

Read on to find out. 

How to overcome Millennial marketing challenges?

We know it sounds impossible to work with such a diverse and challenging demographic, but it is possible. You just need to know their preferences. 

So what is it that works the best for this generation? What is that they look for in marketing campaigns? 

1. Transparency

We have established that this generation is a little wary of trusting brands and the advertisements that they see. And the fact that the last decade has been rife with political and social tension does not help any brands’ cause. So if you want to establish trust among Millennial customers, your ad copies are not enough. 

Millennials expect brands to show their real face, and that is why BTS content, User-generated content, and transparent packaging labels are more popular than ever. 

2. Keep communication lines open 

Remember when we told you that the internet changed how brands and customers interacted? The biggest change was that communication was no longer one way. Customers now had a way to make their voices heard, and it is this generation that has used it in the best possible way. 

So, stay vigilant, look for their feedback and respond to them whenever they reach out. Some of the best marketing campaigns are born by listening to customers and solving their problems. 

Kimp Tip: It has become easy for brands to interact with customers due to social media. You can host AMA sessions on Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and even YouTube using the live chat option. Whenever you do so, ensure that you represent your brand well and use the right settings.

Choose a Kimp Graphics subscription to design templates for customer interaction on social media. 

3. Organic >>> Paid content 

The last couple of years have been rough on the marketing community. Everything right from the pandemic restrictions to the volatile situation of the markets and the low morale has made it hard for everyone. Marketers’ biggest arsenal – paid ads too no longer bring the results one expects. 

But this change has been coming for a few years because Millennials do not like to engage with ads at all. They prefer organic, meaningful, and storytelling-esque content to interruption marketing. 

So if you want to work with this generation, step up your content marketing game. 

4. Well-established online Presence 

According to studies, Millennials are quite active on social media. While most of them are active on Facebook; Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Twitter, and Snapchat are frequent haunts too. Customers from the Millennial generations expect a cohesive and consistent online presence from their favourite brands so that interaction becomes easier. 

Millennials also spend 2 hours and 44 minutes on social media every day, and this is the highest across all generations. 

If you think you can crack this dynamic without an online presence, please think again. 

So now we know all we need to know about Millennials and marketing, let’s get down to understanding what you can create to attract them to your brand. 

6 Ideas to design your Millennial marketing campaigns 

A lot of your challenges in millennial marketing campaigns are about attracting their attention and emotionally connecting with them. But design can easily solve most of these issues in a jiffy. So how do you design your Millennial marketing campaigns?

Kimp has compiled insights on what works best and what design formats pay off. 

So with no further delay, let’s get started. 

1. Minimalistic design 

Millennials respond to subtle and understated marketing campaigns. As we said, they have seen one too many loud campaigns to be impressed by them anymore. They do not need your design to be in their face all the time. As long as you pick design elements that resonate with them, your campaigns will be a huge success. 

Across interiors, fashion, and graphic design, the Millennial generation favors the minimalist and contemporary design style over others. 

So no matter what the design’s aim is, keep it simple and ensure that the focus is on a singular design element or message. If the design is chaotic, it is possible nothing will grab attention. And so it will defeat the purpose of your design. 

Your design can be minimalist by :

• Picking a monochrome or monotone theme for your design
• Choosing to center the design on negative space design 
• Using just one or two images in the design

Kimp Tip: Before you choose the color, font, and images for the minimalist design, study your audience thoroughly and understand what resonates with them. This way, you can hit bulls’ eyes easily. 

2. Scannable content 

Whenever you see someone speak about Millennials or Gen Z, you will hear about the attention span. And yes, this is an area of concern, but if you want your millennial marketing to succeed then, it is time to embrace this fact. If the attention span is going down, then you have to make your content fit in that span. 

But how do you do that? Make everything you release extremely scannable. Yes, if the customer can understand your intentions and latches on to the most important section, then you are halfway in. 

Some examples of scannable content that you can incorporate in your millennial marketing campaigns are : 

• Repurposing blog posts into Infographics 
• Including blog images to break down your long-form content 
• Summarizing your content like videos, especially for platforms like Instagram reels, TikTok, and Snapchat 
• Including images and other visual aids in all your social media content such as Instagram stories, Carousel posts, Facebook posts, Twitter, and so on. 

Kimp Tip: When you create scannable content for your Millennial customers, leverage their favorite colors such as millennial pink, green, and gray to grab their attention. Use colors and fonts to show the emotion of your content while also building a hierarchy to peruse your design. 

Sounds too complicated? With the right design team, it is not. Connect with Kimp Graphics and Kimp Video today! 

3. Pay attention to UI and UX

Millennials are extremely tech-savvy. We know this but do you also know that the market has spoilt them for choice? Yes, in every niche and industry, there are a hundred competing companies at a minimum. A lot of Millennial purchase decisions boil down to customer experience and their likes or dislikes for a brand’s personality. While you cannot control the latter (almost!), you can work on the first.

And yes, customer experience means solving issues and being present but in this visually charged world, there is more to it. Yes, we mean the UI and UX designs. Millennials love apps and shopping online on websites and social media. And their experience on these platforms determines the success of your millennial marketing campaigns. 

Ensure that your apps are easy to browse and also pleasing to the eye. If your product is not Instagrammable, then you are losing the battle. This goes for your ecommerce site design and app design too. In fact, focus on Instagram Aesthetics too if you want to hook the Millennial customer in. 

Wondering what an Instagram aesthetic is? Check our guide here. And if you want to build one for your brand, connect with Kimp Graphics now. 

4. Create informational content

Just because it is easy to access everyone nowadays does not mean that everyone wants you to access them. This is especially true for your Millennial customers. Just remember this is the generation that lets the phone ring and then texts to understand what the call is about. 

They expect this from the brands they interact with. The more you minimize content and make them independent, the more they will appreciate you. 

So what is the solution here? Create extensive content for every stage of the buyers’ journey as part of your millennial marketing campaigns. Some examples are : 

• FAQ guides on website, social media, and other channels 
• How-to videos on most asked questions 
• Product demo videos to replace instructional manuals 
• Screencast tutorials for software products 

Build this content bank and then repurpose them across social media platforms so that customers can find it easily. 

You can also go a step ahead and link all these beautiful guides to your Millennial customers in the welcome email you send. It will build trust in your brand and make them curious. Easier to sell. 

Kimp Tip: Studies have shown that customers are more likely to purchase products based on a video than any other content form. So your priority must be to create good quality, informative, and engaging videos for your customers. 

And if you are looking for a team to get this done at an affordable price, Kimp Video is waiting for you! 

5. User Generated content 

Every guide and playbook on Millenials tells you that they crave honesty and transparency above all. They are more likely to trust their peers than a celebrity about your product. Also, seeing how the product works from a customers’ point of view is much more impactful.

So how can you leverage this? 

Sometimes we don’t know that our strongest weapon is just sitting in the garage collecting dust. Yes, we are talking about user-generated content. Remember the reviews, photos, and posts your customers send you after trying your product? What do you do with them? Just engage and reshare? 

Well, you are missing out big time. 

Repurpose the content your users so generously generated for you and use them in your campaigns. Replace the model photos from your newsletters and product emails with these, and you will see an instant jump in the conversion rates. 

We also recommend a separate section for this on your website and start a story highlight for these on Instagram. This must be everywhere if you want to impress Millennials. 

Kimp Tip: If you want to stand out in your user-generated content campaigns, then work with a design team like Kimp Graphics to build a template for sharing those. Ensure that you have the branding elements right in the front and that you showcase them in the best possible way. 

6. Interactive content 

Videos are not the only way you can manage to hold your Millennial customers’ attention. Yes, if you are on a budget or just need a change in your content schedule, work interactive and gamified content into your schedule. 

Interactive content allows the customers to engage with the brands fully. It can be a simple game such as a branded crossword puzzle, a storytelling carousel post, an Instagram story feature, and so on. As long as it forces customers to tap and scroll, you can hook them in. 

On Twitter and LinkedIn, you can create interactive content such as polls, quizzes, and AMA sessions. 

Millennials like to be intellectually stimulated and cannot resist a good puzzle or pass up an opportunity to voice out. In doing so, they take back an experience with your brand in the center. They will not forget you anytime soon.

Step up your Millennial marketing with Kimp

We think it is clear that while Millennial marketing is a challenge, it is not impossible to achieve. And with simple tools, you can see success instantly in all your campaigns. We strongly believe that graphic design and motion graphics are those tools. 

And with Kimp Graphics and Kimp Video subscription plans offering unlimited design requests, revisions, and an expert design team, what more do you need? 

Sign up for a free trial and get started now.