I have to say, as a Gen Y’er or better known as a millennial, we have to be the single hardest generation to please from a brand’s standpoint. I can barely keep focused on one article for more than 30 seconds before something else on the screen catches my eye, or my phone goes off, or a notification pops up on my iPad. I mean there’s few—very few—articles I read all the way through. I’m a writer and blogger and it’s even hard for me to find blogs I can keep up with and read on schedule. There’s just TOO. MUCH. CONTENT.
And what’s worse? I’m totes not impressed by a majority of it.
The articles I do read and the blogs I do keep up with though are nothing short of amazing. Useful, educational, helpful. Engaging nonetheless. But you have to be. You can’t just casually create content anymore. That just isn’t going to do it.
Millennials aren’t impressed by your passive, static content marketing. Yahoo and Tumblr recently released a new study, Content Marketing Best Practices Among Millennials, that gave some serious insight on to how important it is to catch the attention of the millennials.
So let me be of some use to you for a second. I’ll quickly break down the study in some major bullet points for you to scan through while you’re in the midst of reading this and checking your notifications as they pop up. Easy, right? That’s what I’m here for.
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Millennials are the first generation to openly receive and engage with ads. Heck, they even are willing to share them. Take advantage of that.
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45% of millennials don’t find your content marketing compelling enough to share with anyone.
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Millennials have an average of 7.1 devices they have access too. Don’t forget to design your content to be mobile friendly as well. Long paragraphs and endless posts will not work when they’re scrolling fast through your article on their smartphone.
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We’ve got some busy digitally-focused lives. Millennials expectations are high for what content needs to be delivered and how quickly it gets to them.
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75% of millennials want to learn things and become smarter. Teach them. Educate them. They’ll listen and be willing to come back for more.
Millennials expect transparency, creativity, diversity, positivity, and fun from your brand. And for millennials, your very first touchpoint with them will almost always be your digital experience. If you can’t fulfill these expectations, assume that your brand will not be top of mind when they are ready to purchase. They hold the power of sharing, of word-of-mouth, of your brand’s reputation. By 2020, they will equal more that $1.4 trillion in spending power in the U.S. alone.
And while us millennials are so hard to please, everyone else is beginning to expect the same. Don’t let your visitors become bored with your static content. Transform your content marketing into useful and engaging experiences between your brand and your audience.
Not sold yet on interactive content—even after all that? Really? Well, we’ve got more proof for you. Check out what Demand Metric has to say about it. Register now and receive their research report, Enhancing the Buyer’s Journey for free (valued at $495).
