No matter how you look at it, online operations matter a great deal to modern business success. There’s simply no way you could ever achieve the sales or attention you desire otherwise, especially if you’re targeting a millennial audience.
And let’s face it, millennials now make more than 54% of their purchases online, with many not even considering companies who don’t have a pretty prominent presence on their desktops.
For this reason, there’s a strong chance you’re already active on social media, and have a painstakingly built website behind you. Despite that, the fact that you’re here suggests millennials still aren’t looking your way.
This can be disheartening, especially if large amounts of your marketing budget are currently going towards your online drive. Still, there’s no dancing around the truth – poorly done online marketing can be more off-putting for youngsters than no online marketing at all. If your efforts aren’t working so far, it’s just possible that you’re making rookie mistakes here.
We aren’t saying that you need to be a tech expert to make tackle digital marketing. In fact, it’s a pretty simple thing to get right. Still, if your social media updates remind millennial consumers of that time their gran tried Facebook, it’s no wonder they’re staying away.
Appealing to an audience is about more than just appearing on the right platforms, remember. If you want to get millennials buying from you at last, you also need to make sure you’re avoiding these criminally outdated mistakes.
1. Typos in Your Statuses
You might not think Twitter requires language worthy of Shakespeare, but a recent study revealed that 74% of 18-34-year-olds find poor grammar annoying. Of course, on a practical level, mistakes like these are outright unprofessional, but this issue goes even deeper. With many millennials proudly defending their titles as ‘language warriors’ who put the poor grammar of social media to shame, confusing your theirs could lead to barrages of corrective comments rather than sales. Do this often enough, and consumers will get the clear impression that you can’t even handle a keyboard. And, honestly, what millennial in their right mind would do online business with a brand who can’t get their head around something that basic?
2. A Total Lack of Influencer efforts
Note, too, that successful digital marketing campaigns are about way more than just your online presence. Influencers also now play a huge part in brand success, with as many as 49% of millennial consumers relying on recommendations from vloggers, bloggers, etc. and even trusting such individuals more than their friends. If you’ve neglected influencer marketing until now, then it’s no surprise millennials are laughing you off the online board. Does a brand even exist if a YouTuber hasn’t given it a shoutout?
Luckily, influencer marketing isn’t difficult to understand, and there are even a few different options available. Sending free products along with promotion codes can help to give your sales a boost in the here and now. Equally, affiliate efforts like those discussed in this guide about the best affiliate programs for beginners could work to provide influencer backing in the long-term. While such affiliations do involve small commissions each time you receive a sale through an influencer-backed channel, influencers who continually refer to your brand and products provide the sincerity you need to show millennials you’re worth their time after all.
3. Extended Reply Periods
Social media moves at lightning speed. Something that’s trending today could be at the bottom of the favorites pile tomorrow, and comments millennials send your way have a pretty short lifespan, too. Don’t think that you can get back to them in a day or two and still have the conversation be relevant. Even five or more hours may be past the reasonable window for continuing an interaction here. In other words, you need to reply within ideally an hour or less for millennials to really engage with what you’re doing. Aside from letting the attention train pass right through your social media station, failure to get on top here again makes you stand out as a clueless social media user that probably isn’t worth millennial attention when it comes to sales!
We’re sorry to break it to you, but millennials and their online expectations make for a pretty dog-eat-dog online world. To show that you’re up and coming rather than already behind the times, overcome these mistakes, and start using social media the way millennials do at last.
