A journalist enquired about millennials & email; the research turned up a few surprises!
Do millennials use email?
Adobe's recent consumer-email survey - surprisingly - noted that millennials are obsessed with email. Nearly half of them check their email while still in bed in the morning; more than half check email at least every few hours. (http://bit.ly/AdobeEmail2017)
Why is it important to market to them with email?
Millennials are multi-channel, but email is a frequent and long-term choice. Forbes says "If brands want to use email effectively, they must make sure the content is both helpful and relevant."
What advice do you have for email marketing to them?
Use visuals, like video & GIFs! A recent Harris poll showed millennials have a 2-to-1 preference for visual communications, compared to Boomers. 70% of poll respondents said they use visuals in their own communication.
Will it work?
Done personally and well, yes; done frequently and poorly, worse than no. While millennials are more excited to check their email (Adobe Slide 19), one-third say they are most annoyed by irrelevant email.
As a parent of 2 millennials, I consciously choose channels & media based on purpose when communicating with them. Email is NOT the act-fast channel; that's text. But rich content - like videos or visuals - is more navigable in email, even on a smartphone. (While mine use their smartphones for many things, they haven't abandoned their notebook computers by any stretch.)
--md