Marketing to Millennials For Dummies. Padveen Corey

      Corey Padveen

      Marketing to Millennials For Dummies®

      Marketing to Millennials For Dummies^®

      Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, www.wiley.com

      Copyright © 2017 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

      Published simultaneously in Canada

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      Library of Congress Control Number: 2017938428

      ISBN 978-1-119-36904-2 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-119-36905-9 (ePub); 978-1-119-36902-8 (ePDF)

      Introduction

      Millennials aren’t magical, elusive consumers, but marketers have had a great deal of difficulty figuring them out. Millennials are defined as individuals born between the years 1980 and 2000, and they make up the largest audience of consumers in the world. Although they’re defined by their age, Millennials are essentially prototypes for the modern consumer. Importantly, they’re poised to inherit the largest transfer of wealth ever recorded in human history!

      A seismic shift has taken place regarding buying behavior, and it’s up to the marketers of the world to find new ways to reach customers. There is no one-size-fits-all model for reaching this coveted demographic. Every consumer is an individual and will uniquely respond to different brands, campaigns, and content.

      Marketing to Millennials For Dummies is written to provide you with a framework to develop an effective Millennial marketing strategy. It’s filled with information that you can use to craft programs that are right for your brand.

About This Book

      I wrote this book to provide guidelines that marketers in virtually any field can leverage. Whether you’re working in a business-to-business setting selling raw materials to manufacturers or developing consumer-oriented communications strategies to sell discounted school supplies to an incoming class of mobile-oriented college freshmen, there’s something in this book that can help you.

      The methods outlined in this book don’t preclude any level of marketing professional from participating. Whether you’re a seasoned veteran who is looking for new ways to spice up your brand’s communications strategies or a new marketer wondering how to tackle certain types of campaigns, you’ll be able to develop your strategies.

Foolish Assumptions

      First and foremost, I assume that you’re either a business owner who handles your own company’s marketing, or you work in the marketing department of a brand, organization, government, or other entity. I assume that you’re already familiar with certain marketing strategies and tools. Therefore, you can use what I cover in this book to expand that knowledge. I also assume that

      ❯❯ You’re familiar with some of the business applications of social networks, like Facebook and Twitter.

      ❯❯ You’ve already created content and other assets for channels – for example, blogs and branded social platforms.

      ❯❯ You or your staff have worked on marketing campaigns in the past and are familiar with some of the more general processes involved in marketing a product or service.

      ❯❯ You recognize that Millennials are regular consumers with unique traits and habits and should not be looked at in a vacuum.

      ❯❯ You’re willing to work with hard data and take the time to analyze and optimize your campaigns and strategies based on what these data are telling you (admittedly, not the most exciting thing in the world).

Icons Used in This Book

      Throughout the margins in this book, you see little pictures that point out important information. The following list tells you what those icons mean:

      

The Tip icon marks tips (duh!) and shortcuts that you can use to expedite processes or improve the results of your campaigns in a shorter time frame.

      

The Remember icon marks the information that’s especially important to keep top of mind.

      

The Technical Stuff icon marks information of a highly technical nature or something related to the specifics of a particular network or industry that is being reviewed.

      

The Warning icon tells you to watch out! It marks critical information that may save you headaches and identifies common mistakes or mix-ups that can easily trap marketers.

Beyond the Book

      In addition to what you’re reading right now, this product also comes with a free access-anywhere Cheat Sheet that gives you pointers on the topic of marketing to Millennials. To get this Cheat Sheet, simply go to www.dummies.com and search for “Marketing to Millennials For Dummies Cheat Sheet” in the Search box.

Where to Go from Here

      You can read this book in any order. The chapters don’t have a linear structure. Cross-references throughout