Right here's the way to goal millennials by way of paid adverts
Millennials are something of a mythical bunch in society. Much is said about their behavior and preferences, but many of the stories seem to contradict one another. Even narrowing down the representation of millennials by age group is a challenge, and many people have different views.
This confusing picture makes it difficult to reach millennials through paid ads, but don't let that put you off. Let's take a look at who millennials are and how you can use that data to create targeted ads that will drive them to convert.
When were millennials born?
Millennials are defined as "people who will reach young adulthood in the early 21st century". The Pew Research Center further defines the group as those born between 1981 and 1996, although that period has shifted over time.
Millennials are the most populous group in the US today, accounting for 21.97 percent of the population. This trend will continue well into the 2050s.
Hence, understanding millennials is critical to creating paid ads that will actually drive sales.
What makes millennials unique?
One of the most important things that make millennials unique is their relationship with technology.
Millennials were born into a world where modern technology has not yet gained a foothold in everyday life as it does today. However, they grew up at a time when technology has changed the way we live so they are not new to them.
Generation X has adapted to digital technology as adults, and Generation Z has never seen a life without a smartphone or super-fast internet, but millennials have found their feet in both worlds.
The rapid transition to a digital world means that millennials' lives have taken a different path than the generations before and after them. This has affected them in many different ways.
Of course, it is difficult to assign common traits to such a diverse group, but some traits seem to be common in this generation, including:
- connected
- tech-savvy
- curious
- need instant gratification
- Collaborative
- Looking for transparency
- long for authenticity
- Concern for diversity and sustainability
Keep in mind; This is just a rough picture of millennials. There are still individual people with unique policies, levels of education, likes and dislikes. However, these insights must influence your paid advertising strategy.
Why you should target millennials through paid ads
If you successfully target millennials through paid ads, you will engage 21.97 percent of the US population and 2 billion people worldwide. While millennials are more receptive to certain products, this is a huge market for virtually any business.
However, millennials present marketers with a variety of challenges. First, it's a large, diverse group, and second, they're so used to advertising that some think they're immune to it.
Nobody is immune to ads, and millennials click on paid ads every day. The trick is to find the right strategy.
It starts with understanding your target audience. If your product doesn't solve millennials' problems or doesn't fit their view of the world, this group shouldn't be your primary target.
For example, companies that offer traditional weddings and razor blade manufacturers are struggling to advertise to millennials. This is not because this generation is immune to advertising, but because the products are not as precisely tailored to people's wants and needs (think of the prevalence of beards in society today compared to 20 years ago) .
Instead, it is companies in travel, technology, fast food, and other sectors where the products match the specific weaknesses of millennials who thrive.
If millennials are an important part of your target audience, paid advertising is an effective option as you can reach them where they "hang out". Ninety percent of Millennials are on Facebook, which makes it extremely easy to reach these people with your message.
An important part of marketing is seeing your message, and millennials give you ample opportunities to do it.
6th Strategies for targeting millennials through paid ads
To successfully target millennials with paid ads, you need to remember that this group is very tech savvy and grew up with online advertising.
They see through the cheap gadgets and are not forced to click without a reason. Hence, your focus should be on delivering real value. The strategies you use to target millennials through paid ads need to enhance the experience, not just for your own ends.
Here are a few ways to successfully target Millennials with paid ads.
1. Place ads on the social media platforms. Millennials use the most
The good thing about millennials is that they are easy to reach. A large percentage are active on social media, but to get the most out of it we need to understand what platforms millennials are using.
In the past it was pretty easy. People had Facebook, Twitter, and maybe Instagram. There weren't many other popular options. Today there are dozen of social media platforms, new ones popping up every day.
Let's see what percentage of millennials use some of the most popular platforms each week:
- Facebook: 87 percent
- Twitter: 42 percent
- Instagram: 71 percent
- Snapchat: 52 percent
- YouTube: 86 percent
- Pinterest: 42 percent
Aside from these platforms, 38 percent of LinkedIn's audience is Millennials, and 19 percent of Millennials use TikTok.
There are many ways to target millennials through paid ads. The ability to reach this group is not difficult. The hard part is getting your medium and message right.
However, these platforms rely on marketing revenue so they are constantly innovating and finding new ways for advertisers to engage their users. For example, you can use Pinterest Story Pins or Instagram Filters to provide the experience millennials are looking for.
2. Create paid ads that target millennial values
Many studies point to deeply rooted values among millennials, and three that are frequently referred to are ownership, diversity, and sustainability.
No wonder, because millennials make up such a large percentage of the population that these values are more prominent in advertisements. We often see ads pointing to topics that Millennials care about, such as: B. Climate change and equality.
If your brand is active in these areas, this should be highlighted in your advertising.
Take Allbird's shoes. They entered the highly saturated shoe market in 2015, where they faced enormous competition. Sales exploded through a high-impact advertising campaign that impacted the sustainable properties of their shoes, and the company is now valued at $ 1.4 billion.
There's no such thing as a crazy marketing strategy, it's just clear messaging that touches people (millennials) values.
3. Be Open and Honest in Your Paid Ads for Millennials
Millennials grew up in the digital age and for the most part have seen all of the tricks. They're used to tricky advertising tricks to get their attention, and they've learned how to filter those out.
What makes millennials less noise (and this is closely related to their values) is being honest and open about your advertising. This group knows that if something sounds too good to be true, then it probably is, so there is no point in over-promising and under-delivering.
This has to do with creating paid ads that target millennial values. If you're not serious about sustainability, equality or whatever, millennials are more likely to hold you accountable.
This group grew up in a world of large (often faceless) corporations, but technology gives them the ability to look behind the branding and values behind a company. This can be a great promotion opportunity, but it needs to be done clearly and honestly.
For example, Allbirds doesn't just use practical sustainability slogans in their paid ads. It's a topic that is central to the entire customer journey and keeps its promises.
4. Create Fun Paid Ads for Target Millennials
Fifty-five percent of 13- to 35-year-olds send memes every week, 30 percent every day. That's a lot of memes!
Humor plays a huge role in millennial culture and can be used in your paid ads. Funny ads are nothing new. Take a look back at some of the classic TV commercials, but for some brands, things are very simple online.
When used in content and ads, memes can have many advantages:
- They allow you to be creative.
- This is an easy way to show your brand's personality.
- They increase engagement.
- They are easy to use.
- They are divisible.
People like humor, and there's certainly a place for it in targeting millennials through paid ads. Just make sure your ads reflect your company's values and reach your target audience. Otherwise it can backfire.
5. Take your cue from Millennial Trends
The juicy brunch, the avocado toast, and the emojis are just a few of the millennial trends reported in recent years. If 21.97 percent of the population are enthusiastic about something, you can bet it is one factor to target with your marketing.
If something keeps popping up in popular culture, check it out on Google Trends and see if it's worth including in your marketing.
Remember that millennials are cynical consumers of advertising. So, if you want to keep your products on trend, it's probably best to leave them alone instead of looking like you're just trying too hard.
6. Seek help from the millennials in your office
One of the best ways to get to know your audience is to ask them questions. Millennials make up the majority of the workforce today, so there are bound to be a few in your office.
Of course, your employees have jobs to do, but it doesn't hurt to implement a few ideas from them. Millennials are a very diverse group so they may not speak for everyone, but they may be able to give you some ideas on what works and what doesn't with this generation.
Examples of paid ads for millennials
Brands are always trying to reach millennials through paid advertising, so there are plenty of examples, some of which have had tremendous success and others are best forgotten. Let's take a look at the best and the worst.
The good
Here are a few ads that got millennial marketing in a nutshell.
NFL and McDonalds: Bad Lip Reading
This is a great example of brands that are benefiting from millennial trends in a positive way.
In 2013, a series of YouTube videos found great success by capturing video footage of normal events and overlaying them with "poor lip reading". One of the most successful videos was "The NFL: A Bad Lip Reading" with over 72 million views.
Instead of getting annoyed about the carefree fun, the NFL embraced the trend and developed its own version together with McDonald & # 39; s.
Airbnb: Belong everywhere
Airbnb was founded in 2008 and was worth over $ 100 billion when it went public in 2020. Part of his success has been a product that is closely aligned with Millennials' values, and his advertising continues to use this.
Messages like "Let's Keep Going Forward" and "We Accept" are a perfect fit with the ideals Millennials are responding to, and this has helped the company achieve great success.
The bad
What does it look like when millennial marketing goes wrong? Here are some ads that missed the mark.
McDonalds: fish fillet
It has been widely recognized that McDonald & # 39; s missed the mark with its fish fillet ad because it was viewed as emotional manipulation.
Emotions are a big part of any ad, but they need to be done in the right way. This ad just seems like McDonald & # 39; s is taking advantage of a child's grief to sell its sandwiches, and millennials will see through that.
Pepsi: Kendall Jenner Protest Ad
Millennials usually feel personally responsible for making positive change in the world, but brands that take advantage of that drive will suffer. For many people, that Pepsi ad with Kendall Jenner did just that.
The advertisements, broadcast across America at a time of heightened tension, seemed to trivialize the root cause of the protests and struck the wrong chord with millennials.
Conclusion
Millennials are a diverse, tech-savvy group who grew up with advertising. So it's not surprising that some fine-tuning is required to get your targeting right.
If you take the time to understand millennials, find out what values they care about, what platforms they engage on, and what types of content they respond to, you can successfully promote this group.
For some businesses, millennials just won't be part of their target market, but with this group making up more than a fifth of the population, the majority of businesses need to learn how to target them through paid ads.
Have you successfully promoted millennials?
See How my agency can drive Firmly Amounts of traffic on your website
- SEO – Unlock tons of SEO traffic. See real results.
- Content Marketing – Our team creates epic content that is shared, links accessed and visitors drawn.
- Paid media – effective paid strategies with a clear ROI.
Book a call