How to Market to Millennials on LinkedIn

So, it’s LinkedIn we’re talking about, right? I bet you might guess that all the users are over 40, mid-level execs, college educated—that sort of thing, right? And that if you sell products, run a business, or otherwise want to cater to a younger crowd, well, you probably should go to either Instagram or Twitter. If you were to think such a thing… well, you’d be kinda right and kinda wrong.

Okay, you’re mainly right. But probably not in the percentages you think. Here’s a startling fact put out by Hootsuite. One-quarter of LinkedIn users are ages 18 to 29. Under thirty! One quarter. One in four users are essentially millennials! Who knew, right?

Let’s say that you do run that company (or at least work for it) that caters to a younger crowd. One quarter of the half a billion users on LinkedIn are, as far as age is concerned, right in your target market. And being that they’re on LinkedIn, they’re relatively easy to find, connect with, and message. One-quarter of 500 million (half a billion) is 125 million. That’s a lot of people under the ages of 30. Not only is that a lot of people, but if they’re on LinkedIn, they probably either have jobs or are at least looking for them. They’re serious about their careers. They might be exactly who you’re looking for. The only question now is: how do you market to them on LinkedIn?

Well, to figure this out, let’s take a look at platforms that specifically cater to this group. How about Instagram? According to SmartInsights, about 60% of Instagram users are under thirty. So, how are businesses marketing on Instagram? It’s more than just showing pictures. Here are a 3 ideas that I see on Instagram that could easily translate to LinkedIn.

Idea #1: Make your LinkedIn marketing more “fun”

Idea #2: Break the rules — at least the ones that won’t get you put in LinkedIn “jail”

Idea #3: Cross-promote to other platforms like YouTube and Instagram, drawing visitors back to LinkedIn

Take each of these ideas and roll it around. Choose one that you can implement fairly quickly and start creating around that idea. Get your team (or your millennial kids) involved and have a brainstorming session about what you could create for your market.

LinkedIn is a goldmine of millennial. Don’t let it go unprospected!