Facebook Marketing To Millennials

One of the largest market demographics out there today is the Millennial Generation. Based on an age range of 18 to 34 years, there are roughly 75 million Millennials in the U.S. That’s nearly a quarter of the population, so it makes sense for marketers to focus on this group, both now and in the future. And with 88 percent of Millennials owning an account and 51 percent actively using it, Facebook marketing is a great way to reach them. Here are 5 ideas on how you can do just that:

1. Create better posts, not more

Facebook news feeds are a kind of digital version of a high school hallway between classes. There’s so much ‘noise’ people don’t hear any of it, unless someone attracts their attention.

Some marketers give in to the temptation to just ‘yell louder’ by publishing more posts. But more is not the answer. Instead, focus on content quality – not from your perspective, but from the fan’s perspective. Create or curate content about things they care about because the best, most shareable content is that which is important to your customer, not you.

2. Use the right visuals

It’s no secret that visuals create greater engagement on Facebook. But did you know that video produces 60 percent more engagement than photos? According to AdWeek, the average photo produces 1,358 interactions while the average video produces 2,183. Yet, according to the same article, video only accounts for 3 percent of Facebook posts while photo accounts for 54 percent. The message is clear. By increasing the number of video posts, you’re not only getting better engagement, you’re exploiting a largely untapped vein or marketing gold.

3. Target your posts

Facebook offers the ability to target your posts to specific audiences based on age (between 13 and 65), gender, relationship status (single, in a relationship, engaged or married), educational status, interests, geographical location (country, region or state, city), and language. However, this is not a default option. You have to add this option under your business page settings.

By targeting your posts, they’ll not only be better focused, you’ll reduce the risk of someone ‘unliking’ your page because they think it’s not relevant to them based on some of your posts. This is particularly beneficial to companies that market products to a broader market.

4. Use Facebook groups

We’ve all heard of Facebook groups, and we’ve probably been invited to join one. The local church group, the local gardening group, etc. But you may not have thought to use the group feature as a marketing tool. Here are a couple of simple ideas for using Facebook groups to market your business:

• Create a group for existing customers. There are all kinds of product user groups out in the real world. HOG (Harley Owners Group) comes to mind, but there are many more. Creating a Facebook group for users of your products is a virtual version, and a great way to keep customers engaged.

• Create a group related to an event. We’ll be discussing Facebook events in a moment, but you can also create Facebook groups centered around actual events your company is sponsoring in the community, or wherever.

Of course, the only limit on the kinds of groups you can create is your own creativity. Leave a comment below and tell us what you came up with.

5. Host interactive events

Have you ever attended a webinar? Certainly you’ve been invited to one or more. Did you know you could host interactive webinar type events right there on your business page? Well, you can. Since Facebook introduced the ‘Reply’ (to comments) option, interactive events became possible for anyone who has a Facebook business page.

Start by creating a Facebook event, which will then have its own page. At the scheduled start of the actual event, post a pre-produced video of the information you wish to share. When you post the video, include a comment instructing ‘attendees’ to watch the video, then wait for you to open it up for questions. A minute or two after the scheduled start time, run the video yourself so you’ll know when it’s time to open it up for questions. Then, when the video finishes, post a comment inviting people to post their questions. Then simply answer each question using the ‘reply’ option for the comment containing the question. This is a great way to engage your fans and others.

Again, the only limit to the kind of event you can host is your own creativity. We’d love to hear what you come up with, so leave a comment below and tell us. Meanwhile, for more ideas about how to reach Millennials and other prospective customers through Facebook marketing in meaningful, authentic ways, contact us online or call 503-536-7350. You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter.