Ignore Millennial Generation at Your Own Peril

Want to reach the Millennial Generation? You should. Millennials--those born between 1982 and 2002--have plenty of disposable income and, according to Osiel Madrigal, even the ability to change the economy.

Millennials earn $211 billion a year and spend $127 billion, according to Madrigal, interim director of the Orange County Center of Excellence. Madrigal's doctoral dissertation focused on millennials.

Madrigal joined Cara Stewart, CEO of Wundermarx PR, in a discussion of "Hottest Business Opportunities: Millennials and Social Media" during the Institute for Women Entrepreneurs' first-ever Women's Summit in Anaheim, Calif., last month. The IWE offers no-cost advice to women entrepreneurs in English, Spanish and Vietnamese.

Traditional advertising won't attract this generation, according to Madrigal. He says that millennials:

• Don't pay attention to marketing
• Ignore social media site ads
• Use their DVRs to skip commercials
• Tune out radio ads
• Don't read e-mails
• Don't like being told what to do and when to do it.

So what's the secret?

Approach them openly, he says. Engage in niche marketing so they feel they're learning about the hottest thing on the market.

That's where social media comes in, Madrigal says. But if you're going to be a presence on social media sites, you have to do it correctly:

• Be genuine and not overly commercial.
• Listen to the conversation on social media sites.
• Communicate on a personal level by sharing something personal. Don't resort to bragging, though. You don't want to be the date who won't stop talking about himself.
• Go to the next level and create a virtual forum so there's a two-way conversation.
• Make sure your messaging is consistent--don't say one thing today and something else tomorrow.

Take a leaf from the book of those who are communicating successfully with millennials, including President Obama, Apple Computers, Scion, Converse, Facebook, Nintendo, Nokia phones.

"They personalize their products so each millennial can fit the product to his or her ideas, looks and independence," Madrigal says.

Stewart kicked off her portion of the discussion by recalling the first video to air on MTV: "Video Killed the Radio Star." Similarly, Stewart says, "The internet is killing TV, and social media is killing mainstream media."

Tracing the evolution of the internet, Stewart noted that the first generation of the internet published content, without any interaction. Today's internet is a conversation, she says. And the people with power are the ones participating in the conversation.

A case in point is Bill Tauber of Progressive Lighting and Energy Solutions, who posted a blog on his website so he could speak directly to his target audience. That blog led to an interview with The Wall Street Journal. The WSJ was doing a story on going green, and the reporter found Tauber because of his blog.

Stewart's advice on reaching audiences directly:

• Authenticity counts.
• Think visual--put photos and videos on your website.
• Market to the season--people will be searching the internet for topics such as "summertime" or "travel."
• Write scannable copy--because your first audience is Google. You want to be searchable. Don't just say "Call today for a quote." Say "Call today for a quote on air conditioning in Tustin, Calif." Because people will be searching for services in their local area.

Social media has other useful attributes:

1. You can unify a work force by creating a work group on LinkedIn, for example.
2. You can dodge a stodgy image. Printronix is a 40-year-old company that sells industrial printers, which aren't exactly sexy. But the company started using podcasts ahead of the curve to share information with its sales channels. "Audio and video," Stewart says, "provide richer content and document what you do."
3. You can conduct a social media fundraising campaign. Laura's House, a shelter for abused women, used Twitter to solicit donations last November. In two weeks, it amassed $10,000. "That's the power of social media," Stewart says.

Ignoring more than $125 billion in spending power because it's in the hands of a group you aren't comfortable with doesn't seem practical. Learn the ins and outs of social media and stay in full view of the Millennial Generation.