As you know, any good content marketing strategy needs to be tailored to a very specific target audience. If your target demographic happens to be women, then you need to hone in on strategies that appeal to this audience. The same general strategies that you use to target male consumers simply won’t work.
Who is the modern millennial woman?
“I’m a twenty-something millennial female. I have a master’s degree, am on the board of a nonprofit and am the head of my household, the only other member of which is Mara (my cat),” says Melinda Brocka, editor and entrepreneur. “My main focus in life is career advancement and family. I rent an apartment and my greatest financial concerns are paying down student loan debt and trying to save money, so that one day I might be able to afford things like a family, home or retirement.
Why should you care about Brocka’s life? Well, she’s a good representation of her peers. While the details may change, the overall structure and challenges she faces are indicative of what the majority of other female millennials are currently going through.
Here are some other things you should know about this group of 18-35-year-old women:
- Very diverse. When it comes to ethnicity and race, millenials are extremely diverse. In fact, Pew Research Center says they are the most diverse cohort in the history of the United States. Only 58.9% are white (record low), while 18.5% are Hispanic, 14.2% are black, 4.3% are Asian, and the remaining 3.2% are mixed race.
- Raised on technology. The millennial generation has been raised with modern technology. In fact, younger female millennials don’t even know a world without some form of internet, cell phones, or personal computers. This familiarity with technology totally controls the way they view the world.
- FOMO is real. Because millennial females are so closely tied to social media and technology, there’s a perpetual fear of missing out (FOMO). Brocka points out that 60% of females check their Facebook newsfeed multiple times per day, compared to just 44% of men. Many do so because they can’t stand the thought of missing out on something.
- Increased purchasing power. In the past, females have traditionally only held buying power in B2C situations. This is quickly changing, though. According to National Business Capital, more than 29% of privately-held U.S. businesses are owned by women, while one-in-five businesses with revenues over $1 million are owned by women. This means a healthy percentage of millennial women will one day (if not already) have B2B buying power.
- Savings matter. Because of high student loan debts, low entry-level salaries, and high cost of living, millennial females are focused on saving money. This means price is a very real pain point – especially when it comes to larger purchase decisions.
It’s impossible to define any segment of the marketplace. And while female millenials are all unique, many were raised with the same experiences. As such, they tend to have similar viewpoints on different aspects of life. This shines through in the products they purchase and the brands they engage with.
4 content tricks for reaching the modern women
When it comes to reaching millennial women, content is a very powerful tool. Not only do they enjoy consuming content, but they also tend to respond positively to content they find appealing.
Here are a few tips, tricks, and best practices for reaching this important demographic:
1. Personalize the content
If there’s one thing millennial females have to come to expect from marketers, it’s content personalization. They’ve grown up in a technological world that fulfills their needs and desires. If they want to customize something or align it to their preferences, it’s fairly easy to do.
“Not just in terms of big-ticket demographic items like their gender or a location that they share with millions of others,” NewsCred point out. “They want content that is catered to the under-30 Kansas City mom who loves to shop at Target and listen to Taylor Swift. Or content that is catered to the under-25 Park Slope blogger who shops at Brooklyn Industries and loves She & Him.”
Sephora is an example of a leading brand having great success with personalized content:
Image from NewsCred
Content personalization definitely takes more time, but it’s significantly more rewarding. According to one study, simply personalizing emails produces a 26% higher open rate. The same is true for most other content mediums.
2. …But spread out
While millennials want personalized content that’s tailored to their needs, they should be reached via multiple avenues. The average millennial female references multiple sources before making a purchase decision. These include:
- social media
- product review sites
- company blogs
- third party blogs
- YouTube videos
- and more
The best strategy for reaching these omnipresent customers is to be in as many places as possible.
3. Speed up the delivery of content
Here’s the deal: Millennial women are extremely busy. Most have full-time jobs, while some are also left juggling parenthood, relationships, and hobbies. They don’t have a ton of time to waste consuming content. As a result, marketers must hasten the delivery and reduce the amount of time it takes to consume articles, videos, etc.
Want a perfect example of what this looks like in action? Just check out popular recipe videos, like these, that often populate your Facebook page. These videos are the polar opposite of the traditional written recipe – and that’s why they work. They deliver the same information in a quick, aesthetically pleasing format that easy to consume.
4. Coordinate with customer service
Did you know that women actually have higher expectations for customer service than men? When you’re able to deliver exceptional content that serves the needs and pain points of these customers, you’re actually able to elevate your brand’s status. (And it won’t hurt with male customers, either.)
How do you deliver customer service friendly content? Think about FAQ content, educational resources, and things like webinars and product tutorials. All of these content formats help enhance customer service.
Reach millennial women where they are
Millennial females are unique and special. From a content marketing perspective, it’s imperative that you recognize their affinities and satisfy their needs. In doing so, you’ll find it much easier to tap into this powerful segment of the evolving marketplace.
If you want to get 30 effective techniques to master content marketing along with valuable insights from 10+ influencers like Mark Schaefer, Rebecca Lieb, Lee Odden, Jason Miller or Ian Cleary, download our free eBook now!
Image by Andrew Santoni.
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