Millennials have been blamed for market woes for industries like cereal, golf and paper napkins. But will their relationship to social technology ultimately bring about the downfall of email?
Here we observe a millennial in her natural habitat.Millennials are the latest demographic to be lauded as the best generation while simultaneously being criticized for being the worst generation. Each generation tends to be shaped by history and technology. So, whereas baby boomers tend to be loyal to their company and Generation Xers are more loyal to their careers, millennials’ loyalties lie with their communities. Millennials are generationally different, but their wants, needs and goals are not too different from other generations.
Millennials also prefer quality over quantity. More than any other generation, millennials are aware that things like analytics and data tracking are happening while they’re online. If brands want to be effective in their email marketing, their content needs to be helpful and relevant. Millennials aren’t afraid to mark unwelcome emails as spam, seriously hurting sender reputation.
According to Inc., millennials are the most brand-loyal of any previous generation. The more you can build an identity, community and sense of something bigger than what you sell – something revolutionary even – the more millennials will come on board.
Millennials use email differently, but are they killing it?
A study from Adobe found that as a group, they’re more likely to check email outside of work hours; in fact, 70% of millennials check their email from bed (vs. 52% of the general survey population). Millennials are also the least likely to not check email until they get into the office. Millennials ages 25 to 34 are far more likely than every other age group to check email during other situations like watching TV or even vacationing.
Email provides a relevant channel to provide the personal, relevant experience millennials crave.
Millennials are not killing email. Email is killing it and millennials are a big reason why. Millennials and their $200 billion in buying power are constantly connected and all over social media, but they’re always connected to email as well. Social media, for millennials, is for friends first and brands second. Email provides a relevant channel to provide the personal, relevant experience millennials crave. Research from Adestra points out that 73% of millennials prefer email, because it’s “part of everyday life.”
So, if anything, millennials are the least likely to kill email and email marketing. They are the most likely to reshape what email looks like.
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