Millennials have surpassed baby boomers to become the largest generation in the world. Businesses of all types and sizes will have to remodel their marketing strategy to appeal to millennial.
We know that millennial generation is totally into the technology and devices. This is evident from the following facts from a study by Nielsen.
- 83% of millennials sleep with the mobile phone right next to them in bed
- Millennials prefer texting over making a call
- 32% said that they browse social media on phone from the toilet
Social media might get more attention in this survey but millennials are equally big on emails. According to a study by Adobe, 98% millennials check their personal email every few hours at work. Another survey by Mapp discovered that the majority of millennials prefer to get the messages from their favorite brands through email and not on social media or any other channel.
However, they are not interested in the typical emails and newsletters. Millennials have a very peculiar set of likes and dislikes. In this article, we will share some research to highlight their preferences and how you can use it in email marketing campaigns.
Keep it short
A team of researchers carried out a study on “evolution of conversions in the age of overload”. They found out that younger generation prefers sending short and quick messages. The average reply length for this age group is just 17 words, compared to mature users who use at least 40 words. This is a clear indication that millennials like to-the-point communication.
There’s a reason that they are called “The impatient generation”. They don’t want to waste time and they are quite fast scrollers, according to Graham Mudd, the director of ad product marketing at Facebook. Their research suggests that younger generation is able to browse and consume content much quicker than the older people.
Businesses have better chances of conversion if they are sending short and direct messages. Using lengthy introductions and unnecessary repetition will only annoy the younger ones.
Make a good first impression
The first impression counts a lot when you are trying to impress the millennials. Still, many businesses fail to make a good first impression. This was revealed in a study by Ciceron. According to the study, 83% of brands did not make a good first impression.
The same study found that no welcome message arrived within the first 48 hours of subscription for 41% brands. Even worse, 27% brands didn’t reach out to new subscribers for 3 weeks. These stats suggest that many businesses are not even trying to make an impression, let alone a good one.
The welcome email is the first step towards building trust. Small oversights like this will hurt your chances of making a rewarding and long lasting relationship with millennials.
Use Responsive Themes
In the beginning of this article, we have shared how millennials are always glued to their mobile devices. Email benchmark report by Experian states that 56% of all emails are checked on mobile phones. That gets even better in the case of millennials. In a survey by Adobe, 88% millennials said that they use smartphones to check emails. 83% sleep with their phones right next to them.
They are not restricted to just one device. A report by MindShareInTheLoop claims that 30% millennial use as much as 4 different devices in a day. It can be a desktop PC, tablet, smartphone, or mobile phone. They might check an email on one device and later check it again on another device. Marketers need to use responsive templates to ensure a consistent experience across all devices.
If you are targeting millennials, unresponsive email means that you are simply ignoring almost 90% of your subscribers. Emails which are not responsive will result in a poor click-through and conversion rate.
Rediscover the right time to email
Early working hours were considered the best time for sending emails, mainly because people used to check their emails when they sit down to work. This is not the case with millennials.
In an Adobe survey, 45.2% reported that they regularly check emails while in bed. 50% check it the first thing in the morning. Most of them also mentioned checking the emails while they are watching television or movies.
Predicting the ideal time to reach the younger generation is quite difficult. You will have to experiment with different timings and see what timings work the best for your target groups.
Use visuals and videos
With millennials, email is becoming more casual and less complicated. They are using emojis and visuals in emails. 77% people in France and 66% in the UK said that they use emoticons in the emails. More than 30% said that they use them in work emails too, according to Adobe Email survey 2016. Adopting a more casual approach and using visuals can help businesses connect with this generation.
Millennials are also into videos and streaming services. In a recently conducted BI survey, 81% said that they use YouTube for streaming videos while 79% have subscribed to Netflix. Looking at their penchant for videos, businesses can consider using interactive emails with videos and graphics.
Just a word of caution, 21% users reported being annoyed by the wait for images to load in the Adobe study. When using visuals, marketers will have to optimize the emails for speed and quick loading time.
Traditional Marketing
Anatomy Media carried out a survey in which 46% participants said that they have installed an ad blocker. Remember that millennials are raised in the age of Internet. Traditional advertising channels or techniques do not work well with the millennials. They use the internet and online recommendations for everything they do or purchase.
In a study by Bazaarvoice, it was seen that millennials trust people more than the brands. 51% said that they will trust recommendations and user generated content on a business website.
It means that businesses need to establish relationships on a personal level. Instead of trying to “sell” products in the emails, businesses need to recommend products and explain how these products will be of help.
Give Incentives
The email census by eConsultancy shows that financial incentives are the most effective when it comes to signing up. 85% people said that they will sign-up to get special discount or promotions through email.
Financial incentives can also work if you want the millennials to share your message with their contacts on social media. In a survey by Aimia, 44% said that they will promote products through social media if they are getting some reward.
Use these tips and your chances of succeeding at millennial marketing will increase manifolds.
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