The Ultimate Millennial Video Marketing Guide
When you think about the Millennial generation, what comes to mind? Maybe you think about one of the many stereotypes or their effective, digital lifestyles. But when it comes to marketers and advertisers, the first thing that comes to mind is how to reach them.
Born between 1981 and 1996, Millennials (also known as Generation Y and the Net Generation) are 26 to 41 years old in 2022. According to Statista, there are 72.19 million Millennial residents in the U.S., making up 21.75% of the entire country’s population. This, of course, makes Gen Y a huge target for marketing teams around the globe.
In addition to making up a substantial portion of the population, they also have money to spend. According to Statista, “In 2021, the [mean] disposable income of a household led by a Millennial in the United States was 84,563 U.S. dollars per year,” making this generation the second highest in disposable income.
Here, we’ll explore more about Millennials, where they spend their time online, and how your business can create video content that appeals to them.
Learn more about your audience. Check out The Ultimate Gen Z Video Marketing Guide.
Get to Know the Millennial Generation
What Platforms Do Millennial Audiences Use?
YouTube
A growing number of adults in the United States use YouTube. In fact, Pew Research found 81% of all U.S. adults use YouTube at least occasionally. While YouTube is an incredibly popular platform across the board, it’s one of the most important channels for reaching Millennials.
Statista found 87% of all U.S. Millennials have a YouTube account. As of 2018, the time Millennials spend on YouTube was continuously increasing. According to Statista, 46% of 25 to 34 year olds increased the amount of time spent watching YouTube content, when compared to the amount of time they spent just two years earlier.
In addition, HubSpot Blog Research found Millennials trust YouTube more than other generations, and you can use this to help your business grow! By sharing engaging and informative content, Millennial viewers can begin to view your business as more trustworthy.
According to Statista, 27.5% of Instagram users are between the ages of 25 and 34 and 18.1% are between 35 and 44 years old. Statista also found Millennials are continuing to spend more time on the platform. A 2018 report showed 50% of Instagram users between the ages of 25 and 34 were spending more time on the platform than they had two years prior.
In 2020, Statista found 78% of 26 to 35-year-olds utilized Facebook. However, unlike other platforms, the number of Millennials on Facebook is beginning to decline. According to Insider Intelligence, “…the number of millennial users—those ages 26 to 41—will dip by 2.1%, marking the first-ever millennial loss for the app.”
TikTok
While you might initially associate TikTok with Gen Z, they’re not the only people using the app. According to Statista, 25.2% of users are 25 to 34 years old and 17.1% of users are 35 to 44 years old. This makes 42.3% of TikTok users (roughly) within the Millennial generation.
While TikTok might not be the first platform to come to mind, it’s certainly not one to skip over while you’re crafting your upcoming video marketing strategies for Millennials.
Connected TV/OTT Streaming
According to Statista, 88% of Millennials have at least one video streaming service. The same study found 30% of Millennials stream more than 3 hours of content through a computer every day, while 29% stream through Connected TV (CTV) and 26% stream through a console.
Specifically, Netflix is a critical streaming service for reaching Generation Y. According to Statista, 75% of 18 to 34 year olds and 72% of 35 to 44 year olds had a Netflix subscription in August 2021.
As Netflix and other streaming services begin implementing and growing their ad-supported tiers, CTV and OTT advertising can be an effective way to reach your target audience.
Why Do Millennials Use These Platforms?
More than Gen Z users, Millennials tend to use different social and digital platforms for the same reasons, including:
1. Product Discovery
One key reason Millennials use social media platforms is to find, research, and buy new products. In fact, one study shows 86.2% of Millennial internet users also make online purchases, so promoting products and services to this generation is essential.
But this certainly doesn’t go unnoticed! Millennials understand the influence social media has on their shopping habits, and recognize some platforms have more influence over them than others. According to Statista, social media users between the ages of 25 and 40 are most likely to be influenced by Facebook and Instagram. The same users also reported some influence from TikTok, however at a significantly lower rate.
2. Entertainment
Of course, one of the main reasons anyone uses social media or streaming platforms is for entertainment. One TikTok study reported 36% of Millennials said the main reason they use digital platforms is to consume funny or entertaining content. When looking specifically at TikTok, that number grows to 67%.
3. Connection
According to Sprout Social, “61% [of Millennials] use social [platforms] to communicate with family, friends and acquaintances.” While Millennials are more focused on creating connections with people they know, you can still use social media to connect with them.
For example, TikTok reported 19% of the social media platform’s Millennial users buy certain products just so they can access the community associated with them. By building communities around your business, products, or services, you can connect with your Gen Y audience and build trust in your brand.
So which platforms do Millennials turn to when they’re looking for connection? According to Statista:
- TikTok – 91%
- YouTube – 87%
- Instagram – 83%
- Facebook – 71%
What Content Resonates With Millennials?
Educational Content
One of the reasons Millennials turn to social media and the internet in general is to learn something new. According to Think With Google, “70% of millennial users watched YouTube in the past year to learn how to do something new or learn more about something they’re interested in.”
Since you know your audience is interested in this kind of content, take this opportunity to give it to them!
In this educational Rosetta Stone example, the brand uses upbeat music, humor, and interesting facts to keep their audience engaged. With a theme of Saint Patrick’s Day in Ireland, they explore local words to know, share some facts about the celebration, and showcase common activities for the day. Plus, this is the perfect example of an educational and entertaining video!
User-Generated Content
Similar to Gen Z, Millennials crave authenticity from brands, which is why user-generated content (UGC) and UGC-like content is effective. Since many Millennials spend a good chunk of their time on YouTube, they’re likely familiar with how-to, unboxing, and similar content, so it’s no surprise that UGC is such a powerful tool.
Millennial consumers want to feel an intimate, personal connection with brands just like yours, and these videos establish instant credibility and trust by instigating social proof. Popularized by a psychologist in the 1980s, social proof is when consumers see or hear about someone enjoying a product, or a professional recommending a service, and that testimonial encourages them to want it for themselves.
While UGC is, by definition, created by users, many brands are now leading the production process. So whether you use textbook UGC or produce UGC-like content, you can still convey authority to increase feelings of trust — all while making your videos more affordable than other concepts.
In this Once Upon a Farm example, UGC allows viewers to see how the product positively impacts the customers. By showing how these products make breakfast (and life in general) easier for busy families, the brand solves a significant pain point for their audience. With this strategy, Once Upon a Farm hopes to show customers genuinely enjoying their products, so other families might want to give them a try as well!
Personalized Promotional Content
Though you may have heard Millennials don’t like seeing advertisements, that’s not entirely true. Millennials don’t like seeing irrelevant advertisements.
Instead of talking about the general market your business is in, create a more refined message to discuss your individual products and the benefits they provide your customers. A 2018 Statista study found 57% of Millennials believe online advertising is becoming more relevant to them, which helps improve the overall experience of digital marketing.
And, now, you have several different ways your business can share personalized content. You might, for example, want to implement content with influencers, which 23% of Millennials have said affects the clothing items they purchase. Or, you might want to (or already do!) run online or social media ads, which influence 29% of the same purchasing decisions, according to Statista.
For example, this Cirkul ad directly promotes the product by discussing its benefits and the pain point of the average consumer. By understanding this pain point and the people who want a solution to it, you can refine and target your audience. Certain audience segment tools can also help you reach this audience!
How Can Your Business Connect With Millennials?
Use Millennial Video Marketing Best Practices
Start Your Video Content With a Hook
According to Statista, the average Millennial unlocks their smartphone 63 times every day. This gives your business several times throughout the day to catch their attention, but it’s important to remember you’re competing with other notifications and social media posts. If you want your audience to pay attention to your content, you need to implement an engaging hook to reel in your viewers.
Not sure where to start? See how QuickFrame Makers can help.
Utilize Creative Storytelling Strategies
Once you have the attention of your Millennial audience, you need to use creative strategies to keep them engaged.
Storytelling can boost conversion rates by 30%, so crafting a narrative with your video content is critical. Plus, compelling storytelling also gives customers more faith in your business. If customers love a brand story, 55% are more likely to buy the product in the future, 44% will share the story, and 15% will buy the product immediately.
Don’t Forget About YouTube!
One key aspect of your marketing strategy to reach Millennials should be YouTube. According to Statista, 38.41% of YouTube’s audience is 25 to 34 years old.
While it can be easy to get caught up in the vitality of TikTok or the new video format of Instagram, many Millennials spend the bulk of their time on YouTube. HubSpot also found 54% of Millennials “discover new products most often on YouTube,” making YouTube an effective platform for sharing product ads and other brand-specific content.
What Types of Video Content Should Your Business Consider?
Product Marketing Video Content
Product marketing is a key way to promote your products, services, and benefits to your target audience. Since 86.2% of Millennials are digital shoppers, getting your brand in front of them online is essential.
Plus, 76% of Millennials said offers and promotions from brands helped them view brands in a positive way, according to Statista, so keep this in mind when creating your video content.
One great way to show off your products is to put them into action! This Hearst Media example pairs a Harper’s Bazaar editor and a Neiman Marcus senior director to showcase some of the brand’s most popular products for the upcoming season. By using different pieces to style the outfits in the video, they’re creating more opportunities for the audience to find at least one piece or outfit they like!
Holiday Content
Just like we’ve discussed throughout the blog, Millennials purchasing decisions are highly influenced by the social media content they see and engage with — and that’s no different during the holidays. According to Statista, 81% of Millennials turn to at least one social media platform to get inspiration for their holiday shopping, so social media content will be especially critical during these promotional seasons.
When you create your holiday videos, you’ll want to include a holiday-specific message. While it might seem obvious, it’s essential. We used QuickFrame Video Vitals to analyze video content and found social media video ads with holiday messaging were tied to a 58% higher engagement rate during the holiday season than those without a holiday-specific message.
This Poshmark video ad is a great example of a subtle, yet engaging holiday video. After opening with a relatable experience, the ad walks viewers through a simplified version of the user experience. While they, of course, can’t capture the whole experience in this seven-second video, it still gives potential users an idea of what to expect from Poshmark.
CTV and OTT Content
Connected TV, also known as CTV, refers to any television with the ability to connect to the internet. This trend started in the mid to late 2000s and has evolved into a daily part of many of our lives.
Similar to CTV is Over-the-Top (OTT), which refers to content that goes “over” your cable box to give you access to TV content using an internet connection instead of a cable cord or satellite by traditional broadcast providers. The main difference is OTT content can be viewed on any device, while CTV content is strictly shown on television screens.
In 2022, there are 60.5 million Millennial CTV users in the U.S., and this number is expected to continue growing. Statista expects the number of users to rise to 62.6 million by 2025. As these numbers show, CTV and OTT advertisements provide a huge opportunity to reach your audience with living room quality video content.
Let’s take a look at this example from Prose. In just 30 seconds, this brand provides a look into the personalization they provide and the benefits of their products. In addition, with a person speaking directly to the audience, more people are inclined to feel like the product has been verified by a real person, which can help create trust in your brand. This social proof is doubled down on by including the number of five-star reviews at the end of the ad.
This ad is a great example of an effective CTV ad, as it is engaging, helps build trust, and shows the products. Once it’s put in front of the right audiences, this ad can help Prose reach new and returning customers.
Use Video Marketing To Connect With Your Millennial Audience
Now that you’ve learned a bit more about your Millennial audience, it’s time to start creating content they want to watch. Reaching your target audience is critical to growing your business, but creating effective video content can be challenging. Don’t worry — that’s where we come in!
From awareness to acquisition (and every other objective), the QuickFrame platform connects you with Makers who are ready to deliver high-performing video built for every channel, audience, and campaign. Plus, it’s always backed with exclusive performance data to make sure your ad stands out against the competition and connects you with your audience.
Contact us today to learn more about our approach to creating effective video content for business!
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