Talking Money with Millennials

Financial institutions marketing to millennials isn’t groundbreaking. The truth is, the ones that don’t are likely to die off with their current customers. The challenge has always been getting the attention of the largest age demographic in the U.S.

One of the favorite communication tools of this demographic is Facebook. So when the social media goliath recently came out with a study called “Millennials and Money: The Unfiltered Journey,” it makes sense for financial marketers to pay attention. The study examines how working-age millennials (21 to 34) view financial success and their financial partners by looking at real conversations that Facebook users have on the social platform.

Four out of five millennials define financial success as being debt free (46%), purchasing a house (21%), or being able to retire (13%). That’s good news for financial institutions – a whopping 80% of 83 million people truly value paying down debt, buying a house and saving for retirement. The bad news is that only 8% trust financial institutions for guidance. At 11%, the U.S. Congress has a better approval rating than that!

While that news might damage the ego of financial institutions everywhere, it actually represents a huge opportunity. Financial marketers who learn how and where to talk with millennials can earn their trust and their business.

Just like millennials love crowdsourcing decisions like how they should style their hair, financial institutions would be wise to engage with them on social media platforms by asking for their opinions through hashtags. Customer Think recently shared some interesting stats on how brands are smart to let their customers do the talking – nearly two-thirds of people consider user-generated content on social media to be more honest and valuable than brand posts.

One of these conversations could be about a charitable organization. Considering that a Forbes/Daily Elite study found that three quarters of millennials believe it’s fairly to very important for companies to give back to society. It’s a place to start, especially since financial institutions can be seen as businesses of high profits and corporate greed.

And, for the love, respond quickly to current customers who post questions or complaints on your official Facebook and Twitter pages. Millennials expect quick responses on these channels. If you do it right, they’ll probably tell their friends about it, too.

So go forth and build trust with the millennial populace. Maybe stay out of their hair style conversations, but please respond quickly to questions related to their house-buying queries.