There is a common misconception among marketers that Millennial loyalty is notoriously fickle. The right content strategies can mean life-loyal, highly engaged audience.

In May, my new book, Marketing to Millennials for Dummies will be available online and in-stores. (You can also pre-order the book today!) While the idea of marketing to Millennials can be more broadly understood as marketing to a modern consumer, there are certain traits that have been established with the Millennial demographic specifically, and have slowly begun to expand to other cohorts. As such, I am publishing a five-part series discussing the strategic use of content in the pursuit of building loyalty with Millennials (and modern consumers, in general). This series will run over the next few weeks as we prepare for the launch of our new website and the book. We will begin first by looking at the reality that marketers face when it comes to reaching Millennials and getting them to buy into both a product and, perhaps more importantly, a brand.

Understanding Millennials

Contrary to what many think, Millennials are actually more loyal than any generation that came before them. Moreover, Millennials have the potential to be worth more on an individual basis over the course of their lifetime. This goes against another common misconception that Millennials are price sensitive and hesitant to spend any money. While they might be price sensitive in some regards, they will spend their money and stay loyal to a brand if: a) they feel as though there is a significant degree of economic utility in their expenditure, and b) they have developed a relationship with a brand on a personal level.

You might only need to achieve two conditions in order to build that sought-after loyalty from Millennials, but they are not necessarily all that easily reached. You might read about campaigns or initiatives that have succeeded at driving Millennial engagement and conversion, but when it comes to loyalty, there is one strategic asset that will stand out above the rest: content. Developing effective, objective-oriented content strategies will help you connect with your target Millennial audience on a personal level, which will build those long-lasting relationships that lead to conversion, high lifetime value, and long-term loyalty.

Content is a fairly broad term. It comes in many shapes and sizes, and it differs from one medium or communications avenue to the next. While some aspects of your content might change, the strategies outlined in this series are designed to build strong relationships with your targeted Millennials, regardless of the platform on which these strategies are implemented. There are a few keys to remember when it comes to Millennials, however, and keeping these assumptions and realities top of mind while reviewing the strategies in the upcoming series will be very helpful in developing effective loyalty strategies for your target Millennial audience. Those points are as follows:

• Millennials are not interested in being sold to aggressively on conversational media
• Your audience is more interested in a relationship and an experience than a one-off sale or offer
• Don’t take the last point to mean that a one-off sale or offer is not a valid option to drive initial engagement; it is
• Millennials are interested in access over ownership
• Millennials will spend money, but they want to see how utility factors into the transaction over superficial value
• A loyal Millennial is worth more than a high-spending passive customer

With these assumptions top of mind, you will be in a better position to make the most of the loyalty-building strategies covered in this series. Be sure to keep an eye out next week for the first content strategy I cover. And don’t forget to pre-order your copy of Marketing to Millennials for Dummies on Amazon today!