While the baby boomers currently make up the majority of the workforce, millennials will comprise 75 percent of it by 2025. That means that in order for your brand to really connect with this important target audience, your blog must address the concerns, problems, and desires of millennials. Although there are a lot of negative stereotypes about those born between 1980 and 2000, the truth is that they are a lot like previous generations. They simply have new advantages and challenges that marketers never had to address before, and it’s important to start taking those seriously.

Optimize the Post for Smartphones

Millennials will often access blog posts while on the go by using their smartphone. Making sure that the post is easily readable from a smartphone is the first step. This means that shorter posts are best. If you need to write a very long post, be sure to break up the article with subheadings and visually appealing content like bulleted lists. Since a lot of phones don’t support Java and Flash, you want to leave them out when possible.

Integrate Instagram

Instagram is growing in popularity among millennials (over 50% use it daily). You should find a way to integrate this platform into your blogs. Using images taken by the millennials themselves (with image credit given, of course) wearing, using, or buying your service or product would resonate well. Offering an incentive to this target group (like a 5% discount) if they post a pic to their Instagram account engaging with your brand and tag your brand in the post would give you lots of image options to choose from. When you make it easy for visitors to help you, they will, even when they don’t realize that’s what they’re doing.

Showcase Your Mission-Drivenness

A brand that is mission-driven will appeal to millennials who are often seeking a purpose for completing a task or buying a product.  For example, recent research shows that millennials prefer Toms Shoes over Nike. Pretty shocking considering the crazy amount of marketing dollars Nike spends annually. However, the mission of Toms — We give shoes to the millions of people around the world who do not have them by matching each sale to a donation, “one for one.” — resonates extremely well with millennials on an emotional level. The company’s  blog is filled with stories of its customers doing good deeds, while wearing their Toms shoes.

These mission-driven posts appeal to readers, making them more likely to share them across their social channels.

Keep in mind that millennials will keep coming back to blogs that appeal to their interests, needs, and wants. When your brand makes the extra effort to optimize it for their ease of use, to include content submitted by similarly-aged customers, and to show your mission in action, it will leave a strong impression.

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