Tips from January 29, 2010 The Small Business tips today discuss marketing to Generation Y via incentives, instant gratification, & innovative new products. Generation Y is a big fan of free gifts or free trials. They are open to try new things, especially if they are free. Gen Yers don't appreciate or value the dollar, but they are big fans of free products. New products that help Gen Yers interact, organize, & stay connected are hot items. In fact, Gen Yers expect and appreciate products that will work to their advantage. Gen Yers appreciate & will take part in incentive deals. Buy one get one half off deals catch their eye. With little careful spending habits, Gen Yers will actually purchase more to receive savings. Impulse purchasing is a frequent habit of Generation Y. Instead of going to the store knowing what they need or want, Gen Yers will browse and impulsively buy something they did not necessarily need.... [Read Full Article]

Sometimes known as the Millennials, Connecteds and Unreachables, Generation Y is compromised of individuals in their 20s and younger, or born in 1982 or later. They are an important generation to understand because they are comprised of 71 million Americans who spend over 200 billion dollars annually. They're taking over the Baby Boomers as the largest percentage of the working world. Gen Yers are hard to reach as a whole, yet one of the largest markets to make purchases. The best way to market to Generation Y is to not market to them, instead, establish a connection.As a Gen Yer, I can tell you that we are a very unique group to understand, and an even more complicated group to know how to market to. Gen Yers are a product of Baby Boomers, and we were raised in a different way than any other generation. Baby Boomers raised us to be optimistic, live our lives first and work second, and that we can do and be anything we want to. Ta... [Read Full Article]

Tips from January 28, 2010 The Small Business tips today discuss marketing to Generation Y via word of mouth. Generation Y wants an "experience" when they try out a new product. This can be done easily with a street team handing out free samples to promote your business and product. Get them involved than simply trying a new product and get them talking. Gen Yers want the new, trendy, cool thing to have. Once they get something that they think is cool or new, they will talk about it and spread the word. Create the angle that YOUR product/service is something that everyone wants to have. Gen Yers are likely to accept something that is sprung upon them. A street team who approaches Gen Yers are likely to try a product and be involved. Interact with them, and make the first step to reach out to them. Social media is a big channel for word of mouth marketing. Tweets and Facebook statuses are crucial for spreading popular trends and... [Read Full Article]

Tips from January 27, 2010 The Small Business tips today discuss marketing to Generation Y via print media. Generation Y is unique, as in they are attracted to those ads that are wild, unique, and catchy. Something typical but with a catchy slogan will not grab their attention. The action and focal point needs to be BIG. Gen Yers are more likely to listen to ads that involve people of their age or generation that they can relate to. Try to tie in the sense of "I understand you" when targeting Gen Yers. Forget newspapers for Gen Y. Magazines are the most popular print media that they will connect with, read, or even care about. Magazines tend to have celebrities on the cover and lure Gen Y with fashion, advice, and trends. Advertisements in this medium are likely to be seen.  Gen Yers value their technology and computers. Remember this when printing your ads. If possible, make your ads formatted to be able to work online as... [Read Full Article]

Tips from January 26, 2010 The Small Business tips today discuss marketing to Generation Y via mainstream media. Generation Y follow celebrities. When they see their favorite actor endorsing a product or service, they will pay more attention. Keep this in mind when you are trying to reach them through mainstream media. Familiar faces mean more attention. Gen Yers don't watch the news as much as other generations. They news get their news from MTV, websites, social media, or others. If you're going to market to them via TV, make sure it is on a channel that appeals to the younger generations.  To market to Gen Y, it is important to have an emotional connection with them. You need to create a sense of belonging to attract their attention. Use Gen Yers in your ads to depict your product/service as trendy, hip, or that "everyone is doing it." Gen Yers go see movies frequently. Check out your local movie theater and see if they... [Read Full Article]

Tips from January 25, 2010 The Small Business tips today discuss marketing to Generation Y via social media. Generation Y is always online, always connected, and always involved. Their primary form of communication is online and they would rather connect with each other through gadgets than in person. Gen Yers are heavily into Facebook and MySpace. They update their page frequently and visit these pages often. This is where to start when targeting Gen Yers in social media. Chat rooms are another place that Gen Yers are found. They communicate frequently online via computers or other gadgets, like a cell phone. Chat rooms are a great place to get Gen Yers buzzing about your product or service. Gen Y is the first generation to grow up with social media and the Internet at their fingertips. They know the Internet the best. Gen Yers hate being sent garbage email, spam tweets, or Fa... [Read Full Article]

Tips from December 2, 2009 The Small Business tips today discuss Generation Y (those in their 20s and younger). Social involvement and sense of empowerment are important to Gen Y. Working together and being connected is important to this generation, especially to students. Instant gratification is crucial to Gen Y. They are used to spending money freely receiving rewards or reaping the benefits immediately and not having to wait. Market to this group with outstanding deals. Social media is KEY to Gen Y. They are on MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, instant messaging, blogs, and more. It is very important to this group to link to their friends. Use social media to promote the newest deals and the sense that "everyone is doing it" to reach this audience. Gen Y doesn't trust very easily. You need to earn their trust with your brand or business. They follow trends and follow the media closely to see what is popular and what is... [Read Full Article]