Looking to Reach the Younger Generation with Print? Try these 7 Tips

Today, millennials make up 50% of the workforce, but are they buying print marketing?

Well, see for yourself. Take a look at these statistics:

• 50% of millennials will ignore digital ads, but only 15% ignore direct mail
• 90% of millennials think direct mail advertising is reliable
• 57% have made purchases based on direct mail offers
• 87% of millennials like receiving direct mail

The truth is in the numbers. But what about your print business? Are you struggling to reach the younger generation? If so, these seven tips will help you make the connection and load up your sales pipeline.

1. Go Where They Are – Social Media

This new generation is as tech-savvy as ever, but the goods news is, you don’t have to search far to reach them.

They’ve spent their lives (not minutes, not hours, lives!) on social media. Before you groan, remember, this means that social media can provide you with an instant connection to your audience. Yes, you want to get prospects and customers to trust you, but today, that’s not enough. You need to get them to like you, and social media is the place to do that.

Takeaway: If you want to be an effective marketer and have a brand presence with the younger generation (and more importantly, sales), you have to Get Your Social Media Going.

2. Don’t Fake It – Be Real

Remember the famous line from Dragnet, “Just the facts, Ma’am”? (Yes, the irony is not lost on us that we just quoted a TV show from the 1950s to make our point on reaching the newer generation.)

But, like Sgt. Joe Friday of Dragnet, the younger generation desires that same, no-fluff, no-frills messaging when it comes to marketing. They’ve grown up in a world being taught not to trust all the hype they read on the internet, and are looking for truly genuine people and messages.

Takeaway: Eliminate the “gotchas” and gimmicks and show yourself for who you are: real.

3. Make it All About the Benefits

If you want to reach the younger generation, you need to stop marketing your new press and bigger office building.

Your audience doesn’t care.

It’s unfortunate (especially since it’s something you’re proud of). Still, the reality is, millennials and Generation Z want to know the results they’ll see and the benefits they’ll get from using your services. Don’t worry; there is a happy medium here.

Takeaway: Rephrase your marketing to highlight the benefits and results to the reader. Phrases like “…to serve you better,” “…to bring you…,” “…will allow you to…,” and “so that you can” are the tools you need to keep at the ready when writing your come-print-with-me materials.

4. Make Your Point and Make it Quickly

When you market to the younger generation, remember three words: keep it simple!

When you consider the fact that Generation Z learned to swipe a screen before they learned to talk or that their average attention span is eight seconds, it shouldn’t surprise you that simple, snack-size content is what will work best with them.

Takeaway: Like free tortilla chips at a Mexican Restaurant, think “instant gratification” when it comes to your marketing. Short postcard and email snippets, GIFs, video clips – these are your new best marketing friends.

5. No Confinements

A short attention span also means that the younger generation needs access to you 24/7/365.

They don’t wait until the store opens in the morning. They hop online and order it from someplace else. If you want to hold their attention, you need to allow them to get to you on the go.

Another place you’ll see the no-confinements mindset is with design. The younger generation doesn’t want to be labeled as a group. Rather, they want to be seen as individuals. You can speak to this desire for individuality with your online design tool.

Takeaway: Make sure your website is up-to-date with a responsive design and market your online design solution as a way to showcase “the real you.” It will highlight the fact they can be unique, but with your tool’s help.

6. Participation Matters

Today, everyone gets a participation award, and that’s why participation matters to the younger generation.

Invite them to participate in your business by showing them how they can make a difference in the world by printing with you. Keep in mind, you don’t have to plant a tree for every sheet of paper used. You simply have to showcase a cause that their printing will affect.

For example, your marketing could speak to their cause by saying things like, “Your passion in print,” or “When your message needs to make a difference, choose print.” You can still play into that make-a-difference mindset, even if it’s in words only.

Takeaway: Share your values and speak to theirs by letting them know you support their participation in what matters to them.

7. Provide a Tangible Experience

The print business is a good business to be in because it provides something different than the everyday noise the younger generation is used to.

Print affords them something they can hold in their hand and read at their own pace with no interruptions.

In today’s world of tech, the younger generation considers junk mail as something in their inbox, not their mailbox. In fact, they tend to view print as nostalgic, which is a great thing for you.

Takeaway: Increase your results by playing up the nostalgic, tangibility of print in your marketing.

Above all, remember that, ultimately, passing down the message of “The Power of Print”  is up to you.