How to market your app to millennials?

First, you need to know and understand who you are addressing. Put yourself in the shoes of a millennial (brand new Stan Smith sneakers longing to travel the world). Identify the need you want to meet. In a way, you’re in luck, in the sense that information revolving around millennials is everywhere. 

For instance, take one recent article by Forbes author Caroline Beaton "8 habits that make millennials stressed, anxious and unproductive ". One key takeaway? "The risk of anxiety increases as sedentary behavior increases". 

As a result, if you have a health or fitness app you know that you’ll most likely be meeting a millennial’s need. That is where your marketing strategy kicks in, by encouraging them to identify exercise / your app as a need. 

Another need dear to millennials? Ideas / services / solutions to make their lives better. They might work crazy hours to make their way up, but self-improvement and fulfillment remains a motivation, something they will strive to make time for. If you can accompany them on that journey while being a time saver, for example, a podcast app they can use for meditation during their daily commute, you have a good shot at becoming an essential.

That is where usability is key. No matter how good your idea is, if it doesn't come across clearly and / or your app isn’t easy to navigate, your application will be deleted shortly. To avoid this pitfall, focus on User Experience and intuitivity. Your app needs to be self explanatory and a real time saver.

Millennials gravitate around all things social. In real life or their virtual realm, socializing is big among millennials. The rise of social apps, instant messaging in particular, is proof of this trend. In that sense, adding a community dimension to your app might be a smart move to market your app to millennials. 

Enable a Submission section to retrieve User Generated Content, a Chat Add-On to build a community inside your app. The more social, the better.

Finally, millennials might be more stressed and anxious than any other generation before, but they also probably value entertainment more than any other age group. When creating your app you need to stay clear of the word boring, this can also be extended for the overall communication. 

Engage in conversations where there are most likely to be: use Instagram for your business, or Snapchat. Track hashtags that will most likely spark their interest. Craft inspiring boards on Pinterest , share beautiful quotes and infographics . When using push notifications, be innovative and witty.

In the end, what will win them over is authenticity. If this generation is often teased as being materialistic, it is actually craving sense and purpose and quick at discerning fraud. Incorporate the art of storytelling when marketing your app to millennials. They will be more likely to resonate with you if they can identify with your story.