If you're looking for a way to connect with the millennial generation, social networks are the best source to find those "kids" and build meaningful relationships with them. Try interacting with them via:
- Facebook: With over 1 billion active users and more than 42 million pages with 10 or more likes, Facebook is the perfect place to connect with MBAs. Your company/product/school should have its own Facebook page that millennials can “like” and get daily updates on relevant news and events. By creating an official Facebook page, you can easily reach a self-selected audience who is actually interested in what you have to say.
- Twitter: Twitter is a proven marketing tool and an effective outreach device. Many companies have a presence on Twitter. And some even have multiple accounts, including an entire product-oriented presence. Millennials are already using Twitter to communicate, research, promote and personally brand themselves – you should be doing the same for your company's/product's brand. Take a moment each day to tweet about something relevant or interesting.
- LinkedIn: Where Facebook is considered a more personal space, LinkedIn has been defined as the “professional” social network. Use LinkedIn to connect with working millennials with money to spend. You should not only create a LinkedIn group for your company's employees, but also create subgroups for each product's users/experts to better connect (and stay connected) with your customers.
- Google+: Google+ is the fastest growing social network ever, already with 90+ million users. And it’s critical to Google’s new “social” search algorithm. Create an customer-facing company “page” now and start adding your customers, users and fans to your “circles” (Google+ pages are different than personal accounts in that you can’t add people to your circles until they’ve added you). Once your Google+ page has been created you can advertise it to millennials just like any other social network.
- YouTube / Vimeo: Videos are 53 times more likely to appear in search than text webpages. So if you are trying to connect with millennials organically through search, YouTube might just the best way to do so. Need content ideas? Try helpful tips from users or how-to videos for your products.
- Blogs: You are probably already blogging, but if not, you should be! A blog is the easiest way to get information on the internet for your audiences to find. And comments on blogs are the easiest way to start a conversation with those audiences. If you don’t already have a blog built into your website, you can start one for free on Blogger or Wordpress. Then start posting any news or commentary that you think millennials might find interesting, relevant and timely. Your company's blog is also a great way to promote your new products to millennials doing research on the web.
- Instagram: This photo sharing network is an easy way to post a picture worth 1,000 words. Find the most artistic person with an iPhone or Droid in your office and create an account on Instagram for your company. Post pictures of goings-on around the office, product details, or people using your products to pique interest in your company. Instagram is the new Flickr.
- Pinterest: Pinterest is the hot new social network, and it’s dominated by women. Create some boards around “Women", “Fashion”, and “Style” to connect with the female millennials.
- Foursquare: Make sure your company is available for “Check Ins” on Foursquare. It’s an easy way for millennials to advertise for you by showing their friends where they've been and leaving tips for future visitors/customers.
- Tumblr: It’s the new way to blog. The best Tumblr blogs have a niche theme, so pick something simple like “Our Customers” or the newest internet meme and twist it to something your customers might find interesting or funny.
