When someone mentions the world “millennial,” two distinctly different images come to mind: a selfie-obsessed teen making beaucoup money promoting a product on Instagram, or a tech wizard in sweatpants and flip flops that created a successful startup. The words “parent” and “millennial” just don’t seem to belong in the same sentence. However, Google did a survey with Flamingo and Ipsos Connect and found that 40% of millennials are actually parents (some upwards of 40 years old).
It’s about time to stop thinking of millennials in terms of such misguided imagery. There are over 10.8 million millennials with children, and it would be a shame to miss out this segment of the market.
Let’s take a look at some of the behaviors of millennial parents.
Social Media Helps Out Millennial Parents
Before social media, there were two main sources for parents looking for information to help them raise children: your own parent and the book What to Expect When You’re Expecting.
However, millennial parents now have social media to turn to when they need help. 93% of millennial dads and 97% of millennial moms found social media very helpful for parenting. In fact, millennial moms spend as much as 17.4 hours a week on social media (4 hours more than the average mom).
Everything from shopping to getting reviews on products have been helpful for both mothers and fathers in this generation. In fact, 85% of millennial parents use their phones when shopping.
It’s a perfect platform because it shares good content like parenting advice, trends, and funny stories to reel them in to help like the brand that much more. A good example is Minute Maid’s 2015 “Doin’ Good” campaign that targets parents that are too hard on themselves.
Gain a Sense of Authenticity
For a millennial, individuality and self-expression holds the most weight, so it’s not surprising that they lean towards the most authentic content. When it comes to marketing to this group, it’s about much more than selling a gimmick—it’s about practicing what you preach and caring about the mission and purpose behind your company.
Millennials focus in on opinions and experiences from like-minded people rather than celebrity doctors (hence why there are so many parenting blogs and influencers).
Perfection is Key
Millennial moms focus on perfection due to the societal pressures they face. Since their lives are on social media, 80% of millennial moms feel pressured to do it all.
As a result, there are a lot of testimonies and essays in online forums and communities about women who face these ordeals. If your product can help a millennial parent struggling with these issues, make sure you’re marketing it as such.
More Online Support
It’s all about building a community, as millennials are raised with an abundance of friends. When millennials become parents, they want to find people that share the same parental issues. The editors of Romper, a site dedicated to millennial moms (and spinoff to popular Bustle), have found this to be the case. Also, the need for uplifting content helps them take millennial parenthood one day at a time.
Help Break the Mold
Millennial male parents are trying to break through the traditional stereotype of them not really being around to help. Besides being around more and breaking out of this traditional role, 21% of dads are stay-at-home caregivers.
Millennial families want to show that there is an increasing number of unconventional living situations. According to Adage stats, 67% of millennial moms are multicultural, 50% of children in the US will be non-white by 2020, and 40% of millennial moms are single moms and 61% are unmarried women. Your marketing should reflect these diverse segments.
Both millennial parents and single millennials value authenticity and grow an affinity towards online mediums in helping and sharing. However, millennial parents need that extra support to let them know they aren’t the only ones going through certain growing pains in raising a kid. You have to earn their trust and brand loyalty. By creating more marketing campaigns for different cultures, you may find that it works wonders for your brand.
Do you have a product or service that you’re looking to market towards the millennial parent? Get in touch with digital marketing agency Mabbly for help in successfully engaging this group of people.
