Yes, you heard that right. Despite the cost of living crisis and the UK housing market surge, many millennials are putting down deposits on their first homes, according to Moveable. But how should councils communicate best with them?
by Emily Wareing
With this new audience becoming council tax payers, communications professionals may need to adjust their strategies, so here are some top tips from a millennial communicator.
1. Do some research
There’s no point in adjusting your communications strategy if your town, borough, city or county’s demographic is the same as it was a few years ago. Council’s have data spewing out of they eye sockets, so have a chat with your colleagues and see what the picture of your area is.
Don’t run the risk of isolating your target audience with use of memes and a different tone of voice if millennials aren’t council tax payers in your area.
It’s also worth delving in further to see other statistics of your area, if you haven’t already. The picture of our demographics is changing constantly, so make a note to sit down regularly to assess the make up of your area to ensure your communication strategy is aimed at the right audience.
2. Don’t be cringe
Ok, you’ve established that millennials are in fact council tax payers in your area. Great. At this point, you might want to browse social media to see how you can make a joke about bin collections that ties in with the latest viral meme. I want to stop you right there. Don’t do that.
There’s a fine line between creating content aimed at millennials and sounding like your dad trying to be down with the kids on social media.
Jumping on to the band wagon of a viral tweet every now and then isn’t going to consistently engage your audience. Instead, it’s going to cause your current audience to tune you out and waste your precious time.
On top of this, many still see millennials as kids that are busy buying avocado on toast and oat milk lattes, but we’re adults in our 30s, so treat us seriously!
Yes, we do love documenting our lives on social media and references to our 90s childhoods, but that doesn’t mean we only tune in to this sort of content.
3. Use your voice
Instead, think about the tone of voice your organisation is using on your platforms. Where you can, try to be colloquial but professional.
Explain clearly how to apply for a council tax rebate and what a tax rebate is! For many, this is the first time, or the first time since university, that they are running a home, so explain terms that you and your older audience are used to hearing a lot.
Not all of your audience will automatically follow you on social media so ensure that content on your website and other platforms follows this rule too. If you’re a homeowner, think about how daunting running your first home was for you. Use simple language and make sure you’re not going into information overload.
Don’t be afraid to make jokes on your platforms, but always stay professional. There’s nothing worse than an organisation trying to seem cool and taking it way too far. Not everyone will share your humour so choose your moments wisely.
4. Switch the channel
This one is obvious, but it’s worth saying again. Take some time to research the platforms that millennials in your area are using. For most, it isn’t snapchat or TikTok, it’s instagram, Twitter and Linkedin. Yep, Linkedin. We’ve joined the corporate world and we’re on a steady income, so take that into consideration when you’re creating content.
Don’t share everything across all of your channels. Again, you run the risk of turning off your other audiences with content that just won’t engage them.
If your audience is largely on Instagram, then make sure you’re on there and consider creating content like reels. These platforms are also trying to keep up with the changing audiences so make sure your content fits with the changing picture of social media.
Above all, treat us like council tax payers. Millennials are sick of being treated like clueless kids that don’t know how good we have it. We’ve worked hard to get where we are now and there are still many that can’t afford to join the property ladder, especially now.
And if you’re ever in doubt, keep your message simple and on the right channel. Chances are, if they’re a council tax payer, they’ll need a bit of help and will come to you. Make sure you’re easy to find on your platforms and ready to help.
Emily Wareing is a communications officer at Wyre Council. You can say hello on Twitter at @WareingEmily
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