Young consumers are acutely aware of brands, and marketing materials on social networks and around the web should reflect this perception.

When it comes to web marketing, businesses are increasingly studying population data and demographics to capture more qualified leads and prospects. This used to be an expensive and time-consuming task, but the wealth of information available to marketers makes related tasks, like email segmentation or social listening, quite a bit easier.

As Brafton reported, Millennials are one of the most important groups for content marketers. It’s not only the largest cohort – it’s also one of the youngest. Studying their habits offers insight into the changing marketing landscape as these technological early adopters mature and gain even more buying power.

Millennials are perceptive of brands

Adroit Digital recently published the results of a study on this age bracket and discovered that, above all, Millennials consider themselves acutely loyal to brands. In fact, 64 percent claim they’re at least as loyal to brands as their parents are, if not more. Even if this is only their perception, and not yet discernible in behavior, it certainly depicts the way Millennials view themselves and provides insight into how they consume marketing materials.

60 percent of the Millennials surveyed said social is the most important advertising medium for influencing their concepts of brand value. 

For example, 60 percent of the Millennials surveyed said social is the most important advertising medium for influencing their concepts of brand value. This group is clearly more comfortable with networks like Facebook, Twitter and even Snapchat than their predecessors, and marketers should bear this in mind whether they’re currently marketing to Millennials or plan to in the future.

Get in the habit of creating custom content

As Brafton previously mentioned, Millennials aren’t just tech-savvy – they’re diverse and individualistic. Generic content simply doesn’t cut it for young consumers, so blog posts, news stories and social shares really need to apply to their experiences. This speaks to another reason there’s a need for even basic demographic research: Companies succeed in internet marketing when they devote resources to attracting the best leads and most likely customers.

Alex Butzbach is a Marketing Writer at Brafton. He studied Communications at Boston College, and after a brief stint teaching English in Japan, he entered the world of content marketing. When he isn't writing and researching, he can be found on a bike somewhere in Metro Boston.