Sponsored content!
With that statement the majority of you rolled your eyes, and your hand was immediately triggered to continue scrolling on.
I get it, I really do. What seems to be a constant stream of ads that appears on whatever social media channel you prefer can be annoying, exhausting, and make you never want to look at your news feed again. This oversaturation has numbed consumers to unsolicited ads, and millennials especially have grown weary and wary.
We aren’t going to respond to the traditional sales and marketing model, plain and simple. As stated on Hubspot, 84% of Generation Y does not trust traditional advertising, myself included in this stat. Radio, internet pop-ups, cold calling, direct mail–none of these illicit positive feelings. They feel extremely “sales-y”, and we don’t respond to companies essentially trying too hard. If a company is trying to sell you something, you immediately turn away without a thought to the product or service’s benefit.
However, I am among the few who still love a good targeted ad, and I’m not ashamed to say it. Why? It makes my research for products that I am already interested in that much easier. But, please keep in mind that I only click on a really good ad. What makes a millennial, like me, click? Read on!
Visually Appealing
This should hopefully be a no-brainer for any marketer reading. Your sponsored content on social media platforms should be visually appealing, and hopefully tell a story or showcase your product in a way that’s going to make me, or your target audience, click on it.
My favorites from the aesthetically pleasing are clothing advertisements on Instagram. As a self proclaimed shopaholic, I do end up clicking on a LOT of these ads to see pricing, product details, and if it’s actually something I am looking for. My clicking on content that I find relevant or interesting has also improved my ad experience on social platforms. The targeting is working!
We all know that our search queries, cookies, and clicks are being used to market to us. If you do not know this, welcome to 2018! It’s very nice to have you. Now take some deep breaths, as this can be a bit of a rough concept to really wrap your head around.
Naturally, if something is tracking us, we tend to be very suspicious about it. I have friends that refuse to click on these things purely because they don’t want to be tracked, which is entirely understandable. Alternatively they also have extremely spammy feeds because there isn’t as much data to use to advertise to them. You can view it as a double edged sword, I like to view it as making marketing to me easier. It is my decision at the end of the day to click on an ad and buy something, I might as well be advertised to correctly than not at all.
Educate Me About Something New
Did you know that 61% of Millenials are worried about the state of the world? We want ways to help. But researching and going through all of that can be overwhelming, and end up with crying in a corner about the state of the polar bears in the Arctic. Not the most pleasant search, and definitely not one with a lot of follow through.
Does your product help with something that will allow me to avoid this search? Please tell me about it in your advertising! I want to feel like you’re educating me on how to help with a problem, and your product can be a part of that. I don’t really want to hear all about how much better your product is compared to others filling this niche. Gen Y likes to assess this for themselves–we trust what feels authentic and accurate. This is usually done by a deep dive into the review section of your product, and by asking friends or family that are knowledgeable.
Your ads on social media can also be extremely valuable if and when people start interacting with them. A comment on an ad, or even on a post on your social channel, can reach a lot more people than you think, and your interaction matters.
Show me a real positive review, tell me how you have helped a community with your product sales, and I will be more likely to support your business.
Good Deal? Please Share.
Flag your coworkers down real quick, ask them if they’ve ever clicked on an ad from social media.
I’ll do the same, report back in 5!
General consensus from my office was that half had done it, and it was because they saw something they were already looking for that was perceived as a good deal. Beats headphones and athletic gear were on the list of purchases. Free shipping, a 10% discount code, an extra free treat with purchase, some sort of incentive for people to click and follow through on a purchase were things that made them click through.
I imagine that your coworkers said something along the same lines. This “deal” does not have to be anything huge. You still need to make money off of your product. But an extra treat for your customer will go a long way and introduce the brand to those who previously had no incentive to buy.
In conclusion, please don’t tell me why you think I should buy your product. Explain your product to me and show me other people who have really liked it and what they say about it. These, along with some free shipping to sweeten the deal.
Krista Grenier is a Digital Marketing Manager at Markitors, an SEO company that connects small businesses with customers…and has a good time doing it.
