By 2020, millennials are predicted to hold $1.4 trillion in purchasing power, and as they enter the real estate market they will account for the greatest percentage of home sales. Being that millennials were the first generation to be raised in the “Information Age,” they are more technologically advanced than any other generation. Their acute knowledge of technology vastly changes the way businesses, in particular real estate agents, must communicate, service and sell to this generation.
Millennials are constantly on the go with their mobile devices in hand. Therefore, reaching them through the channels that they access on their mobile devices is crucial. According to The Center for Media Research, 90 percent of millennials spend time on mobile devices sending and receiving text messages. This is an extremely effective tool for agents to use and communicate through as open rates exceed 99 percent. In addition, 51 percent of millennial home buyers find it important for agents to send information and communicate via text message. So in a market where timing is everything, no other form of communication will reach millennials as quickly.
According to a study conducted by Annalect, 57 percent of millennials prefer an app experience over a mobile web browser experience and 66 percent of millennial home buyers used a mobile or tablet application in their home search process. Apps (and properly formatted mobile websites which offer an app like experience) make it quick and easy to find exactly what you are looking for without having to sift through a lot of information on a website. This convenience is extremely appealing to millennials.
Social media is another top channel that is very appealing to millennials and therefore a great way to reach them. In a survey of 1,800 millennials conducted by SDL, those between the ages of 18 and 36 check their Smartphones 43 times a day on average. With 87 percent of millennials on Facebook, 53 percent on Instagram, 37 percent on Twitter, and 34 percent on Pinterest, they are easily the biggest audience on social media. Social media drastically outranks online news feeds and search engines, making your content easily findable by millennials. Providing short, specific, sharable content, which is exactly what social media was made for, can be a successful way to reach this sought after demographic.
Millennials are the next generation to greatly impact businesses in every aspect. If you plan on reaching people of this powerful age bracket for what will ultimately be the single biggest purchase of their lives; communicating, marketing and servicing them via the tools and technology they are ingrained with is a must. Those who don’t will certainly miss out.
For more information contact Jennifer Horowitz at jennifer@lifeinmobile.com or visit www.lifeinmobile.com/.
