If you’re in your 40s, 50s or beyond, you’d be forgiven for not knowing what on earth “spilling the tea,” “clap back,” or “fleek” means. However, if you are a security dealer, integrator or manufacturer, it would behoove you to learn more about millennials and what moves them when it comes to marketing.

Why? Because marketing is a complex and ongoing process (#thestruggleisreal) that requires fully understanding your audience. And in this case, understanding and connecting with millennials is the most valuable thing you can do to help boost your marketing efforts.

In 2018, the Council of Economic Advisors for the White House officially called the “Millennial Generation” the group that would shape our country’s economy for decades to come.

Millennial marketing is a powerful tool because millennials are powerful. According to The Boston Consulting Group, millennials have a buying power of $1.3 trillion. It is a generation that is constantly buying, selling and sharing products and services they believe in.

How does this matter beyond buying power? Millennials are the first generation of digital natives. Not only do they understand security technologies, but they are also willing to adopt them and use them in new and unconventional applications that can expand your market. Forget having to “convince” this generation of the value of app-based features and cloud-based technologies — they expect things to be at their fingertips.

Just as exciting, they are huge fans of inbound marketing. Don’t worry if you don’t have a pricey television commercial because they prefer informative content such as blogs, e-books and informative videos, which are perfect for showcasing your security industry expertise.

Actionable Tips for Marketing to Millennials

Successfully marketing to millennials means realizing this is a very different generation and you’ll have to adjust to reach them. Here are the most important things to consider.

1. Create more valuable content — Millennials are information-driven. Have a blog and fill it with valuable content that can be consumed quickly and readily.
2. Optimize for mobile and tablet — Make sure your company’s mobile experience is top-notch. Millennials use digital technology far more than previous generations. Eighty-five percent own smartphones and if your content doesn’t translate to mobile, you’ve lost them. Optimize your landing pages for mobile so they load quickly. Even on a small phone screen, there should be a clear call-to-action.
3. Go where they are — Millennials do not necessarily move between life-stage groups as was common in the past. They are just as likely, if not more likely, to move in interest groups comprised of various ages. Target a portion of ads to related social groups and create content that would be helpful to specific concerns. For example, create content about how to prevent wandering in Alzheimer’s patients versus an article that just highlights features of motion detection technologies.
4. Highlight brand values — When you learn how to market to millennials, remember this: millennials are a principled bunch. One study found that 83 percent of millennials care about whether a brand aligns with their personal values. Of course, the security industry does not lend itself easily to things that matter to this demographic, such as sustainability, but it does to transparency, authenticity, customer support, and even health and wellness.

What’s the bottom line? Millennials represent a very powerful group of consumers who understand our industry, so it’s important to develop a marketing strategy to cater to their highly digital nature. Although this generation has its idiosyncrasies, millennial marketing is not such a hard nut to crack. Millennials crave valuable, honest and personal content that sticks out from the rest of their feeds. The best way to accomplish this is to create marketing campaigns that provide informative content to your audience.