Millennials are currently the largest generation, and they’re just getting into their prime spending years, making them an obvious client to market to. However, because they came of age during an era of tremendous digital advances, they’re a particularly challenging generation to understand. Their needs and preferences are always evolving with developments in technology.

Millennials officially sit in the driver’s seat and are influencing the relationship between marketer and consumer unlike any generation before them. Nearly two in three millennials block ads.

Millennials value happiness and diversity and place less emphasis on marrying and having children. They believe that economic accomplishment is important in adulthood, but they don’t believe that money is the best measure of success. If you align your message with what truly matters to them, you’ll be able to really speak their language and connect on a deeper level.

1. Use data to drive your marketing.

Marketing trends in the digital age are always shifting, so make sure you’re paying attention to any changes in order to adjust your approach accordingly.

While there’s certainly an aspect of creativity that goes into developing content, ignoring data is a big mistake. Data will guide you to the most effective methods of reaching your target audience. I recently had Joe Martin, head of social insights at Adobe, as an expert guest on my weekly, #Millennialtalk chat, where he dropped some golden nuggets on how to create an effective content strategy.

Facebook is certainly not slowing down; it’s a successful platform for many marketers to take full advantage of. Features like Facebook advertising, live streaming, video analytics, messenger video stories, and chatbots to enhance sales and customer service are new-age, modern ways to engage your consumer and track feedback on an intimate level.

2. Build your brand. 

Know what you and your company stand for, and be consistent in your message. Millennials are a skeptical generation, so if they sense your message is inconsistent or phony, they won’t feel connected with your brand — a big turnoff.

A Twitter chat is a modern-day focus group that crowdsources information from participants. It’s a powerful experiential activation that allows your brand to showcase its voice and create a conversation with consumers. A whopping 98% of participants felt more inclined to purchase a product when they participated in an experiential campaign.

Use Twitter chats to launch new products, kick off campaigns, showcase new insight from a survey, encourage app downloads, generate hype around an event, or most importantly, build a relationship with consumers.

3. Be thoughtful about frequency. 

Millennials don’t want to be bombarded. If you’re disseminating information too often, they’ll feel like they’re getting spammed and will be put off. Think quality over quantity. To gain clarity on how often to post, track user engagement on your content for at least three to six months. Understanding user behavior through content metrics can give you a solid idea of what your audience is enjoying. Be sure to track page views, unique visitors, average time spent on a page, bounce rate, likes, mentions, and shares. Give your audience more of the content they like and they will come back again.

4. Don’t try to sell to millennials.

Millennials are less likely to be persuaded by traditional advertising. Think less “infomercial” and more storytelling.

Be genuine in your message. Authenticity is a must when you’re marketing to millennials. Instead of selling, think about how you can provide value to your followers and develop relationships. The more value you provide your audience and actually show how your brand, service, or product is the solution, the more traction you will see.

5. Make your message brief and to the point.

If you don’t hook millennials from the get-go, you’ve already lost them as a customer. Nothing turns off a millennial more than a long-winded message or one that just isn’t hitting the mark. There’s an art to hooking someone with just 140 characters (Thank you, Twitter!). Take the time to research keywords or buzzwords to include in your captions to make that first impression count. Make sure your content is visually appealing and developed so that it’s swift and clear. Think snackable bite size content that users can consume, share, and engage in easily from anywhere and on all devices.

Millennials really are a generation unlike any before them. Their desires and preferences are always shifting as technology evolves and advances. But one thing is for certain: At their core, millennials know what they want and what matters to them. They value being true to themselves and they demand the same transparency in the brands they support.

Article written by Chelsea Krost