If your goal is to generate a large return on investment (ROI), AND continue building steadily over time, then the best demographic to target are the millennials. This generation of individuals (also called echo-boomers and Gen-Y) is not only the biggest spender online but also the most consistent.
Before we discuss how to create your native ads tailor-made for this demographic, let us first look at their numbers.
Why should you target millennials?
Targeting millennials might be a bit tricky, but let’s take a look at the figures that will convince you why this segment of the market is worth focusing on.
1. Population. Globally, millennials make up 31.5% of the population, which is equivalent to 245.7 million people. In the United States alone, they account for a quarter of the country’s population. They are at 83.1 million in 2015, according to the US Census Bureau. That’s quite a lot.2. Device Usage. Although the majority of millennials didn’t grow up holding devices during their primary school years, these echo-boomers own an average of seven devices per person. They use around three of these devices daily, according to CMO by Adobe.
3. Online Purchases. Right now, millennials in the US make 60% of all their purchases over the internet. These are people who already know how the system of online purchasing works and are pretty comfortable with it. This can either be an advantage or a disadvantage, depending on what you are offering or how you are marketing it.
With that said, 60% of their purchases are made through their mobile phones, with the remaining on desktop, of course. In the United States alone, millennials spent an average of $600 Billion a year. This expenditure is expected to double in the next couple of years.
These are amazing statistics. And with that much money on the table, there is little doubt why affiliates would be excited to market to this age group. But how exactly can you make native advertising work for you?
How can you effectively market to millennials?
Although affiliates can potentially make thousands or even millions of dollars advertising to just this demographic, it is not that easy. While millennials consume a lot of content and are engaged buyers, they are also very picky. Here is some information that can help you develop your advertising strategy.
2. The ad title says it all. One in every five millennials read just the title of the article, hence you should include informative ad titles as a variation in your creatives. Also, according to a study made by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB.com), 44% of echo-boomers visit a website or social media page because of an attractive ad headline.
3. Millennials hate disruptive advertising. This is proven by the 64% of this demographic that uses ad blockers. All the more reason to focus your efforts on native advertising.
4. Test auto-playing video ads. According to the same IAB.com research mentioned above, 79% of millennials like it when videos auto-play in their feed.
5. The more informative the content, the better. 83% of millennials find online content to be very useful. This generation likes making an informed decision, especially when it comes to their purchases and subscriptions. So if you want your offer to convert, let your buyers know what it’s all about. You can’t be shady when marketing to millennials.
6. Invest in keeping them satisfied. Echo-boomers are into subscription offers more than any other age group. So as long as their needs are satisfied, they will stick to a service or product. They would even “flex” or show-off that they are using the service, which is equivalent to free promotion for the business. If they are treated as valued customers, they will be loyal to the product.
If you can keep things interesting, as well as develop great content regularly, you can surely win the hearts of the biggest spenders online. Make your ads fresh, interactive, and relevant in order to woo these millennials. Do this and you can expect to cash in from your promotions.
I hope this helped - when you are ready to take your Native advertising to the next level, give brax.io a peek.
Cheers!
