So what exactly is a “millennial”? Millennials, or Generation Y, are the generation born between 1982 and 1997. Numbering over 75 million strong, this group wields about $1.3 trillion in annual spending power. In thinking about how to reach this demographic, it helps to understand as much as possible about them. Millennial grew up with the Internet and smartphones, and seem to be plugged in 24/7. They also grew up in a world with decreased opportunity, a recession economy, and oppressive student loan debts. They are more likely to want to actively participate in their own legal issues, and they respond to marketing that is interactive and tailored to their own needs and wants.
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REACH MILLENNIALS IN THEIR NATIVE HABITAT—VIA SMARTPHONE
If your website is not optimized for mobile viewing, you will lose the millennials attention, and fast. Over 85 percent of millennials own smartphones, and 39 percent of them interact with their phones more than they interact with people. They are accustomed to navigating a vast amount of content, and if they don’t see what they like quickly, they just move on to the next thing.
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YOU AREN’T GETTING ANYWHERE WITHOUT AUTHENTIC CONTENT
Millennials are empowered by authentic content. They are not going to respond to vapid, sales-pitchy, key-laden heavy websites and blogs. They want concise, quality information at their fingertips. They want to feel informed and in control. Along the same lines, outbound marketing is not particularly effective with this crowd. They are less responsive to static magazine ads, direct mail campaigns, and radio spots, as they tend to view these tactics as void of substance. Inbound marketing strategies like quality blog posts, videos, and other how-to information are likely to be more effective.
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LISTEN TO YOUR TARGET
Keep your finger on the pulse of what millennials want. Because they post so much information online, it isn’t hard to figure out what they are looking for. Listen to the conversation millennials are having by reading blogs and staying plugged into social media.
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AMP UP YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE
Social media isn’t going away. Law firms tend to be risk averse, and there is still some uncertainty about the ethical rules relating to legal marketing on social media. If you feel uncertain, work with a professional marketing company, because if you aren’t putting yourself out on social media you are going to get lost in the shuffle. One of the benefits of social media is that it enables you to communicate with millennials on a personal level—creating a two-way dialogue where they are able to speak to you through comments and reviews.
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BE CREATIVE AND MIX IT UP
Make sure that you are catering to the evolving needs of millennials with your practice area as well as your marketing strategy. Millennials are much more likely to be in non-traditional family structures such as same-sex marriages. They are also more likely to marry later in life, if at all. They are more likely to rent property than to own it. Across the board, millennials are far less likely to do things in traditional ways. They will respond to unusual and creative marketing strategies that catch their attention.