Target Millennials Through Mobile Marketing

Generation Y, also referred to as the Millennials, comprises the largest demographic in the United States, according to USA Today. Ranging in age from early teens to early 30’s, Millennials make up almost 90 million Americans, and to marketers this market is crucial to keep in mind mobile marketing tactics for millennials when developing brand awareness. They must consider the ease and speed of information to which these young consumers are accustomed, the plethora of brands that are competing for their attention, and of course young people’s increasing inclination and ability to avoid traditional advertising ploys. So, how best can advertisers communicate with this tech-savvy market? An emerging understanding, illuminated by Inc Magazine, is that Millennials are not as driven by money as their predecessors were but rather by purpose and mission. Hence, young people must believe in and trust the brands they engage with, and they must feel a sense of significance in such engagement. This is affecting consumer trends and marketing tactics, as traditional mediums just aren’t working the way they did for Baby-Boomers and Gen X’ers. Marketing strategies like Direct Mail, Email marketing, TV and Radio, and others simply aren’t making an impact in brand development for Millennials. Young people don’t pay attention to superfluous snail mail, and their email inboxes have too strong of SPAM filters and are too inundated with non-personalized advertising to take effect. And with the advent of music, radio, and TV on demand, skipping commercials is easy. Hence, most advertisers are transitioning their marketing strategies to engage in more fun, interesting, and tech-relevant ways. One of the most important new ways of communicating with and monetizing this demographic is through mobile marketing. Millennials utilize mobile technology more than any other medium to socialize, purchase, and search. Utilizing mobile marketing strategies such as text marketing, voicemail broadcasting, mobile app advertising, mobile search marketing, and other creative mobile marketing ideas is becoming increasingly more important in the race to gain Millennials’ attention. Mobile is perhaps the most used and certainly the most intimate way of building trust and loyalty among this young demographic. Any brand interested in obtaining and sustaining Millennials’ attention must get creative and go mobile!