What we are about to discuss may have significant impact on you company and its success. If you are unaware of it and not planning for it, your company may not be as successful as it can be.
What is It? What Are We Talking About?
Millennials and your Content Marketing campaigns.
Millennials are those born between 1982 and 2004. Right now those people are between 13 and 35 years of age. Let’s put aside those between the ages of 13 and 21 since most are still in school.
Most of those between the ages of 22 and 35 are in the workplace. Many of the older ones have started to move into more important positions in their companies, including management and leadership positions.
The Main Form of Communication for Millennials is the Smart Phone
One important difference between millennials and previous generations is their reliance on smart phones as the way they communicate and receive information. Their primary use of these phones is not calling but texting (and typing).
As they grew up, their smart phones were always in their hands. They texted constantly even when they were right next to the person they were communicating with.
As soon as new forms of social media came out, they were the first ones to use it. Even right now they use social media more than their parents, grandparents and even their older siblings.
Even after entering the business world, their main form of communication is the smart phone. The tablet is next. In third place is the laptop and bringing up the rear is the desktop.
Let’s look at the Impact This is Having on the Business World
A company’s decision makers have less time to research products and services their businesses need to succeed or to move to their next level. They delegate this research to others, primarily the millennials. This is happening more and more frequently.
- When a company needs a new product or service, the decision makers tell millennials what their need is.
- The millennials then look at the market for what is available to take care of that need. They also research the companies that offer it. How good are they companies? What type of reputation do they have?
- Once they have done this, they pass their findings along to the decision makers who review what they have found and narrow it down to the 2 or 3 companies that most interest them.
One other important piece of information about millennials is they are the ADHD generation. They have very short attention spans. If something doesn’t catch their attention quickly, they move on.
What Does This Mean for You and
Your Content Marketing Campaigns?
You have to construct your campaigns differently. If you continue to do them as you have been, you’re not going to catch the attention of the millennials.
- They may never get to see how important your product or service may be in meeting the need their company has.
- Their decision makers may never have the opportunity to look more closely at your company.
- Your company may never be one of the top two or three they consider.
- They may never buy from you.
That’s not desirable.
How Do You Prevent It from Happening?
You have to modify your Content Marketing campaigns. The marketing information in your campaigns has to appeal to both the millennials and the decision makers.
Take a white paper.
You can have a fantastic 8 page white paper that explains how the product or service you offer satisfies a specific need a company has. There are two things wrong with it.
First – it is 8 pages long. Very few people other than final decision makers, are going to read it. It’s going to take too much time.
Second – in spots, the language may be technical and not exciting to read. So, a person stops reading right there before learning the most important information. You know – the information that shows why the product or service is best for the need the company has.
What Do You Do?
First, keep your White Paper as it is. The reason is you want the final decision makers to be able to read it. It may be the main thing that moves them and their company to keep your company and your product or service in the running for purchase.
Next – take key pieces from the white paper and create blog posts, emails and social media posts to catch the attention of millennials. Make sure you create enough to do this. (It may be one or two. It can be more.)
Do the same thing with the case studies, articles and blog posts in your Content Marketing campaigns.
Two Content Marketing Campaigns Instead of One
In effect, you will create two Content Marketing campaigns, one for the millennials and the other for the Decision Makers. Yes, it is more work but not much more. It can pay big dividends.
Always Remember . . .
. . . the goal of each of your Content Marketing campaigns is to take a prospect who is totally unfamiliar with your company and the product or service you off and over time convert them into someone who is excited to buy what you offer because of what it can do for their company. You always have to do whatever is necessary to accomplish this.
