5 Low Cost Ways to Reach Gen-Y Dollars

by smallbizbee · 9 comments

The following is a guest post by Greg Rollett from Endagon Innovations, a new media and youth marketing boutique in Orlando, FL. Here Greg shares some cost effective ways to reach the worlds biggest generation! Check out their Gen-Y Hospitality Report here and read more from Greg on his personal blog.

As we head into early 2009 and budgets are shrinking and marketing dollars vanishing we are starting to see many businesses forget about an important demographic, Gen-Y, aka the Millennials. With over 80 million of them in the United States and over $150billion in spending power annually, this group is quickly becoming the go to generation for marketers.

As a small business tapping into this generation has its advantages and risks. Young people see right through marketing and like to be included and not spoken to. Finding the right mix and marketing to them on their own terms can be a huge win for your organization as their loyalty can extend as they grow, mature and have needs down the road.

Here are 5 low cost ways that Small Business can reach Gen-Y

Local college marketing

Many colleges and universities have market days for 3rd parties to set up small booths and interact with students and faculty between classes. The cost to attend is usually low, however you need to be able to engage these kids with sign-ups, prizes, games and activities.

Facebook advertising

By hyper targeting an age group in your local market you can assure that just the right people see your ads. If you have a product that attracts 18-29 year old males who like Bob Marley in Orlando, FL, you can set up ads to show in those profiles and pay per the click.

Sponsor large local music or culture events

By associating your name with a local film or music festival your name, logo, url and brand can be associated with many young people who are already engaging with each other and spending money. Be careful that you pick events that relate to your core values or you can end up harming your rep just as easy.

Start using SMS

On your receipts, in ads, on tv, heck anywhere. Let people text into your service and offer them coupons and special offers. The results can be staggering producing an ROI that will amaze you. Plus the list is yours to keep and continue to market to forever!

Start utilizing video

Be authentic in your videos. Gen-Y doesn’t need million dollar production; YouTube just compresses all of it anyway. Show your brand, what you stand for and make it short and memorable. YouTube is now the number 2 search engine (not video search, overall search) and can drive traffic and give your campaign legs with embeds, comments and ratings.

This is just a fast look at what you can do to attract young people to your organization and realize the potential that they have. Many Millennials travel in packs and utilize word of mouth marketing to learn about products and services. That means when there are 1 there are many and if you deliver a memorable experience there will be many more.

Here’s to tapping into the world’s biggest generation!

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