Younger generations are spending huge amounts of time online, which means digital marketing is essential to most businesses these days. But just establishing an online presence isn’t necessarily enough to connect with younger audiences. You need to reach them on the right platforms with the right messages to engage and appeal to them.

Below you’ll find key tips for how to effectively reach out to younger audiences through digital.

Promote a lifestyle

Younger audiences are interested in experiences over products and features — they want to buy into a whole idea rather than just the item.

Rather than just talking about the features of your products you want to focus on the benefits. Create a lifestyle that surrounds your brand and your products to give an impression of what their life can be like with that product.

Younger people want brands that communicate with them and evoke strong emotions. You need clear brand guidelines to build up this kind of connection with younger audiences — colors, fonts, and image styles that you use across every platform so that they all align with the aesthetic you want to convey. Everything you post from images on Instagram to blogs posts needs to be consistent with the brand and image you want to create.

A good example of this is the fitness clothing company, Lululemon. Their branding focuses on motivation and wellbeing, and they use their social media channels to really establish this by sharing inspiration to get people exercising.

 

Image: Instagram

 

During the pandemic, Lululemon’s posts have focused on ways to work out at home or on your own, outside of the gym. They’re showcasing people using their products and demonstrating how they’ll support them in a healthier life, but also making it relatable and reflecting the current situation.

By focusing on the lifestyle and experiences instead of the products themselves you’ll be able to engage younger audiences with your whole brand.

Focus on your values

Younger audiences are also much more interested in choosing brands that have the same values as their own. So you need to promote your values, and actively work towards them and demonstrate the contributions you’ve made to relevant causes.

For example, sustainability is an important issue for many young people, but it’s not enough to just state that your business is eco-friendly. You need to be proactive and take action — raising awareness, sharing how your products and business practices are environmentally friendly, and the long term sustainability goals that you’re working towards.

YouTube content is essential

Video is a valuable marketing tool for all ages, but it’s essential if you’re trying to connect with younger audiences online. You need to be creating engaging video content to share on the platforms that they’re using — primarily YouTube.

It’s the place that younger people turn to if they want to be entertained or to learn about something. YouTube has a greater reach than other social platforms — 77% of 15-35-year-olds watch content on the platform regularly. And it’s one of the best ways to connect with even younger audiences — 80% of parents with children under 11 saying that their kids watch YouTube.

Your brand can use YouTube to share video content that’s going to engage and appeal to younger audiences. They’re happy to watch branded, marketing videos, as long as it entertains them and isn’t overly promotional.

For example, the Red Bull YouTube channel shares a number of videos covering adventurous activities all over the world, but it isn’t talking about their products.

 

Image: YouTube

 

You can still use your YouTube channel as a tool to share more information about your brand and products. It just needs to not be the only focus of your video content.

A good example of a smaller brand that’s using YouTube effectively is the Sago mini box, which sells subscription boxes for kids. Their YouTube channel shares a huge range of engaging content including an introduction to each month’s subscription box, short stories involving the characters, and behind the scenes content as well.

 

Image: YouTube

 

If you’re able to create engaging video content for your brand then YouTube is one of the best ways to connect with younger audiences.

Work with micro-influencers

Influencer marketing can be an effective way to reach out and connect with your target audience, but that doesn’t mean you have to spend hundreds of thousands on working with high profile influencers with millions of followers. Younger audiences actually engage more with micro-influencers — those that have between 1,000 and 100,000 followers on social media.

They’re more relatable to their audience, and followers tend to value their recommendations and suggestions more strongly. Plus they’re a lot more affordable for smaller brands to work with, and there’s a higher conversion rate for micro-influencer campaigns.

Younger audiences are less interested in highly polished marketing campaigns, they want to see unfiltered, real-life examples of products being used. They trust that the micro-influencers they follow are recommending things that they actually use themselves, which makes it a worthwhile way to appeal to younger audiences.

 

To ensure that your brand engages and appeals to younger audiences you need to have a clear understanding of their interests, concerns, and what they do online. You need to use the right channels and platforms to reach them and tailor your digital content so that it connects with them.

 

 

 

Rodney Laws is an online entrepreneur who has been building online businesses for over a decade. He knows what it’s like to see websites both succeed and fail – even the best business ideas can fall short. Find out how he can help you by visiting EcommercePlatforms.io or heading over to @EcomPlatformsio.