Millennials are the most connected generation to date. And as marketers, that’s something we need to remind ourselves of every day. The reason being – they use that connectedness as a tool in their shopping and purchasing decision-making process. Our job is to find ways to leverage that characteristic in our marketing efforts.
An interesting strategy for reaching Millennials to increase brand awareness and relationship development is to create a campaign on Instagram. Fifty-nine percent of Millennials currently use Instagram and about one-quarter say they plan to spend more time on it over the next year. Furthermore, a survey by Bustle found that 80 percent of those polled said social media is the best way to reach them, and of those, 40 percent of women said specifically, Instagram, is the most effective platform for brands to reach them.
Additionally, other studies have shown that Millennials have three communication habits that make reaching them on Instagram (an entirely mobile experience) an effective tactic.
- They’re all about mobile. According to The U.S. 2017 Mobile App Report, Millennials are the most engaged, adept, and opinionated app users of any demographic. They spend the majority of their time on their mobile devices, connecting with each other and with brands. This generation is dictating how the market operates and that means putting mobile first.
- Millennials like to share. They share everything – their thoughts, their wants, and what they do daily. From a marketer’s perspective this is great because it provides a wealth of data. This is the information you need to create targeted, personalized messages, and campaigns.
- They trust each other. Millennials trust their family and friends more so than they trust products and brands. Edelman’s 2018 Worldwide Trust Barometer survey found that consumer trust levels are the highest with peers, friends, and industry experts. In 2018, CEO credibility also rose significantly gaining seven points to 44 percent. This show of faith indicates that consumer groups are looking for CEOs to build trust first and foremost.
Using this understanding of Millennials’ communication traits, you now need to create an effective Instagram marketing strategy. Some of the upfront work requires determining which segments of your Millennial audience you want to reach. Facebook is a good place to start (plus, it owns Instagram), and gives you the ability to conduct audience analysis and choose the Millennial pockets that you want to engage on Instagram.
Next, identify some commonalities among your audience groups, so you can hone in and define pertinent criteria. You’ll need this too for the development of your content.
You’ll also need to look at what engages these segments. Look for clusters with more creative characteristics as they will most likely be more receptive to your content. The great thing about Instagram is it provides a visual platform for both photo and short video content. This gives you the opportunity to put your own imaginative spin on your audience’s driving characteristics through your well-thought out campaign in either or both formats.
Hammer out the nuts-n-bolts, too. You should create an editorial calendar for how often you want to share content. In order to develop an appropriate posting schedule, consider the type of content you’re sharing. Different industries will have varying amounts of quality content. The most recent studies show businesses posting an average of 1.5 times per day. The key is to remain consistent with whatever schedule you determine apt. If you’re also considering advertising on Instagram that needs to factor into your editorial decision-making process too.
Stay tuned…. in our next blog, we’ll discuss a great way to leverage a particular type of campaign on the Instagram platform specifically for Millennials.
