Millennials are one of the most lucrative markets available today, yet many organizations and companies need help finding out how to market to them best. As they make up nearly 25% of the population, many organizations have focused on millennials as a primary demographic in their marketing efforts. If you are struggling with marketing to millennials, don’t worry—we have a few tips to help you get started! So let’s get into it.
Tip #1: Understand Their Desires
Marketers and businesses are always trying to figure out how to reach millennials. But first, you need to understand them. Millennials want to know what’s happening in the world around them, so you can be sure that they’ll be looking for answers from anyone and everyone willing to offer them. That’s where you come in.
You can connect with millennials by listening to their reactions to what you have to offer as a college or university. By listening and adjusting your strategy to match their pain points and their desires, you will make them more likely to enroll because they know that your institution cares and matches what they are looking for in terms of education.
Tip #2: Focus on Mobile Platforms
In the modern world, millennials are more mobile-centric than any other generation. More than half of them agree that it’s a turnoff if they can’t use their mobile device to access information about your institution. With the use of mobile devices, there are endless ways you can market your school to this generation through mobile marketing!
You can create and share many different kinds of content on social media, like video clips, images and GIFs, live streaming videos, and even emojis! Of course, it all depends on what kind of message you want to convey with your post—but whatever type of content you decide upon (be it text or visual), remember that simplicity is key when marketing yourself in this way.
Tip #3: Quality Over Quantity
The content you’re creating has to be relevant and exciting to your audience. More importantly, it has to be relevant and high-quality. There are certain things that millennials don’t care about. The key is finding out what they care about and creating quality content around those topics.
You can do this by doing some research on them or by just asking them outright: use social media as a way to get feedback from millennials! Don’t be afraid to create a conversation with them to learn more about their desires in a school. That way, when you start making blog posts or newsletters with the information they want, they’ll read them.
Tip #4: Personalize Your Marketing
To market to the millennial generation, you must ensure that your marketing targets the right demographics. To do this, use personalization techniques to make it relevant and engaging. Use customer data to personalize your marketing. Some examples of customer data that can be used are:
- Behavioral data such as website activity or purchasing preferences (how often they buy a product; what they purchased)
- Demographic data such as age range or job title
Using customer data, you can personalize and reach millennials so that they can’t ignore your message as a school. If you do your job correctly, your higher education institution will become irresistible to them, and they will have to learn more or interact with your school.
Tip #5: Leverage Social Media and Video Content
The most crucial step in marketing to millennials is to leverage social media and video content. That’s right—the platforms they spend hours on daily are now the tools you need to use in your marketing efforts. To leverage these platforms, here’s what I recommend:
- Post on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. Get creative with hashtags and use popular influencers with your target audience.
- Consider paid advertising options like Facebook ads or sponsored posts if you need more time to create organic content that will get attention from your target audience.
Remember video, too! Video marketing is a great way to reach millennials. It can be used for everything from campus tours to testimonials to program informational videos. Video allows you to convey your message in a short amount of time, showing off your school in an impactful way, and also through immersion so they can envision themselves enrolled at your institution.
Meeting the Needs of Millennials Can Be Challenging, But with These Tips, You’ll Succeed
The millennial generation is one of the most influential in history, and it’s essential to recognize that they are not all the same. For example, they don’t all want to own homes and cars, but many want things like a good job and financial security.
As a school, you can show them that you have the programs and environment they need for success in the future. If you understand what makes them tick (and why), then there’s no reason why your school can’t increase your enrollment numbers while capturing more of the millennial market!
Even if you feel sure about your marketing tactics for millennials, it is always a great idea to seek insight from other marketing experts in the industry. Book a complimentary strategy session today to workshop your marketing ideas, assess your efficiency, and get your school on track for maximum results.