Millennials are one of the largest generations in history and they’re about to enter their prime spending years.

The Millennial generation is defined as those born between 1980 and 2000. They’ve grown up in a world with rapid change and new technology which gives them a very different mindset, world view and set of priorities then previous generations.

Millennials are the first generation to grow up with the Internet and technologies like smartphones. They’ve been connected to a digital world for as long as they can remember.

Many millennials have less money to spend due to lower employment levels, smaller incomes and large amounts of student loan debt. As a result they have a different set of priorities and have been putting off commitments like marriage and home ownership.

That being said this is still an absolutely massive demographic with a great deal of spending power. This is the next big demographic that’s going to be entering the housing market and it’s important to realize that they’re very different from previous generations and this will affect your marketing.

Traditional advertising no longer works

Millennials are not impressed with traditional forms of advertising. Marketing with magazine ads, television ads, radio ads, etc. is perceived as impersonal and company focused.

A study from the McCarthy Group found that 84% of Millennials do not like advertising. They see it as disruptive, annoying and unwanted.

When asked to rate their trust in sales and advertising on a scale from 1 to 5 Millennials rated it a 2.2 while they rated their trust in their close friends and word of mouth a 4.

Millennials are Internet experts and know exactly how to find what they’re looking for online. When making purchasing decisions they do a lot of research using blogs, YouTube videos, forums and social media.

When it comes to making a purchase these are the factors that influence them, not traditional forms of advertising. Millennials want to make their own choices and are much more influenced by authentic content instead of interruptive advertising.

Content marketing works exceptionally well

Millennials are looking for instructional blog posts, ebooks, videos and how-to-guides so content marketing and permission marketing work very well with this demographic.

By establishing yourself as an expert in your field you can gain their trust. 44% Of millennial are more likely to trust people they perceive as experts, even if those people are complete strangers.

Not only that but they’re also 247% more likely to be influenced by blogs or social networking sites.

As a real estate agent you can create content with tips about how to purchase a home, how to get a mortgage, what to look for when buying a home, etc.

Content like this will help you build trust and get the attention of millennial much better than traditional advertising.

Millennials value experiences more than possessions

Millennials have a different view of possessions than previous generations and put a higher value on experiences than owning the latest products.

A report from the Intelligence Group found that 35% of respondents said they would rather pay full price to access a product when they need it instead of outright owning it.

This has lead to what’s called the sharing economy with services such as Airbnb or digital products that provide access to items without the burdens ownership.

Because of this mentality Millennials are more reluctant to enter the housing marketing.

However due to the massive size of this generation and the fact that they’re approaching the peak home-buying years of 25 to 45 with a desire to settle down in the future there could easily be a large increase on home sales in the near future.

When marketing real estate it’s important to emphasize things like experiences and freedom and remember that Millennials might see owning a home as more of an inconvenience which is a mindset you’re probably not familiar with.

In conclusion

The Millennial generation is the largest generation in American history and as they enter their prime working and spending years they’re going to have a massive impact on the economy.

Therefore it’s incredibly important to understand how they think and realize that traditional forms of advertising and marketing that worked on previous generations will not work and may in fact hurt your company or reputation.

If you have any experiences or tips about marketing to millennials please share them in the comments.