Millennial Marketing: Dos and Don’ts to content will make or break your marketing communication efforts, and social media is simply one way to activate your content strategy,” Fromm says. “The goal should be obtaining the best possible understanding of your consumer to reach them where they are rather than ask them to come to you. Yes, Snapchat might be all the rage right now, but it might not be the best channel for your specific audience.” In fact, Facebook, although still used by millennials in huge numbers, has been losing steam, Dorsey points out. Today, Vine, Snapchat, Instagram and Pinterest are more of-the-moment. “Look at your industry and identify the brands that are doing it right—see which channel is the most successful for them,” he suggests. “Yes, there’s value in being first, so when an opportunity arises, definitely experiment quickly. But the most popular outlets are already being used by millennials in large numbers, so you can see what’s working.” Dorsey recommends picking one or two social media channels that fit your audience and sticking with them rather than trying to handle five different outlets. “With social media, it’s not about quantity of posts, but quality of posts and engagement,” he concludes. “Give people a reason to connect with you and stay connected, and they will. Blast them with your latest ads constantly, and they’re not going to follow you. Being social is about bringing up the humanity of interaction around your brand.” CREATING A TWO-WAY RELATIONSHIP With the rise of crowdsourcing sites like Yelp, Karington believes millennials are more in charge of your marketing than you are these days. “Yesterday, it was buyer beware; today, it’s seller beware,” he says. “Any perceived slight travels to a wide audience in the blink of an eye, and millennials expect to hear back on a complaint within hours—not tomorrow.” After all, the secret to any happy relationship is listening. Therefore, you’ll want to provide easy conflict resolution (a link on your website or a phone number for complaints) and offer occasional surveys to solicit feedback and prove you care about their opinions. Don’t sign up for social media if you’re not prepared to listen to your customers and respond to them quickly, says Sameer Shah, VP of marketing at Austin, Texas-based
Our crack team of marketing insiders shares its top dos and don’ts for courting this group: DO use a responsive email design that loads fast and looks clean on mobile, and make your message concise. Only include links relevant to your message. And, of course, offer online ordering. —Kamron Karington, Repeat Returns, Las Vegas, NV DO let guests participate in seeing, touching and making items they will eat. Give details about your food and its origins. —Linda Duke, Duke Marketing, San Rafael, CA DON’T discount; coupons and discounts disparage your brand with the millennial mindset. —Linda Duke DO remove the hassle from customers’ experience. Millennials do not tolerate stuffed wallets or an extra step at checkout. Make it easy to pay with credit/debit cards for all orders, and use mobile coupons, not paper/print coupons. —Kane Russell, Thanx, San Francisco, CA DON’T be robotic. Don’t tell them how great you are; show them. Don’t treat them like a target audience; ask for their opinions. Don’t act like a marketer; do act like a communicator. And don’t assume the individuals in this generation are homogeneous; do take time to understand the best audience for your brand. —Jeff Fromm, president, FutureCast, Kansas City, MO DO communicate regularly and consistently. Respond in a positive, straightforward and transparent way. Respond to both positive and negative comments without being negative or defensive. —Sameer Shah, VP of marketing, Smart Flour Foods, Austin, TX Smart Flour Foods, which produced the study, Pizza Lovers in America 2015: Unexpected Findings From a Generational Look at Pizza Trends. Be positive and up-front, sharing as much information as you can. “Answer negative comments in a friendly manner, versus negatively or defensively,” Shah recommends. “Never hide negative comments; responding to them positively is an opportunity to shine, and hiding them will only make you look scared and weak.” For example, if a customer reports a bad experience at your pizzeria, say, “Thank you for the feedback! We appreciate you taking the time to reach out with your concerns, and we’re sorry you didn’t have a better experience. We have communicated your concerns with our management and will make the appropriate changes necessary. If you would March 2016 pmq.com
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