5 Tips for Understanding Millennials
By Suzannah Raff, MScA, MSW
You’ve heard a lot about the millennial generation but do you know who they are? Millennials were born between 1982 - 2004, and are the largest generation of all time—even larger than the post-war baby boomers. And this large group make up more than 80 million millennial consumers in the U.S. alone, estimated to spend $200 billion annually by 2017.
As an Adjunct Professor of Social Media and Digital Marketing, I spend a lot of time with and studying the largest consumer group this country has ever experienced. The Millennial generation is a fascinating demographic. Understanding them better will help you market, teach, parent, live with or befriend a millennial. With that in mind, here is my list of Millennials’ most defining characteristics;
1. Millennials are completely fluent in all forms of technology, especially mobile, as a result of growing up and feeding on the tech-boom since infancy. Notice all those students taking notes on their laptops and glued to their phones?
2. Millennials are known to value experiences over money and will make career, life and purchasing choices that demonstrate these values. Airbnb is the perfect example of this phenomenon. By understanding just how deep-rooted and important travel experiences are to Millennials. Airbnb has reached billion dollar success and completely disrupted the entire hospitality industry.
3. Millennials are also a generation committed to giving back to society. These trends are seen perfectly in Adweek’s Creative 100’s list where many of the 2016 honorees balance creative life with advancing some greater good. More than 50% of millennials today make an effort to buy products from companies that support the causes they care about.
4. A driving force defining the millennial generation is that they are very social and vocal. They have a tendency to shop in groups and make purchasing decisions by seeking the opinions of others. The majority of millennials also take action on behalf of brands by sharing brand preferences, updating Wikipedia entries and posting on Youtube, social platforms, blogs and reviews.
5. Unlike previous generations, 85% of today’s Millennials name one of their parents as their best friend! They shop, socialize, talk and enjoy spending time with their parents.
These are the very impressive forces that motivate our Millenials, a very fascinating, large and powerful demographic.
Suzannah Raff, MScA, MSW is a Business Coach and Consultant specializing in strategy, social media and digital marketing. She also provides Career Coaching integrating LinkedIn and Digital resume writing helping 100% of her clients get their dream job. She is an Associate Professor at Lander College for Women, Touro College Manhattan and founder/owner at WeAccel Workshops and Raff Business Consulting.
