We all have read the articles. Millennials killing motorcycles, Millennials killing Applebee’s (R.I.P Hillsborough Applebee’s), and Millennials killing mayonnaise (I wish I were joking). We all poke fun at the titles and make memes out of them, but most of these articles claim that businesses are dying because millennials live differently compared to previous generations.

Although it might be true that millennials live differently compared to Gen X and the Baby Boomers, it is not their lifestyles that are killing businesses: it’s the marketing.

Companies and advertisers expect them to fall for the same advertising tricks that captured our parents and grandparents. According to Wordstream, 84 percent of Millennials don’t trust traditional advertising. Currently, the millennials are the largest generation in America, consisting of around 87.5 million people, so it is imperative that companies must market toward this age group to survive.

Communications and marketing majors at NC State should take note of these trends. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are 249,600 jobs in marketing as of 2016, and it is expected that the job sector will grow by 10 percent in the next 10 years, which is higher compared to other sectors. Since the marketing industry is growing, it is important that you know how to market towards Millennials in order to secure a job.

Before dissecting the best methods to market towards millennials, we have to understand why traditional advertising doesn’t work. Chron defines traditional marketing as advertisements on billboards, newspapers, magazines and the radio. While this method of marketing may work towards Gen X and the Baby Boomers, it is not an effective way to communicate with millennials.

According to the University of South California, millennials watch the least amount of TV daily (around 2.4 hours) and compose only 31 percent of radio listeners, less than Boomers or Gen X. So, how does one market towards millennials? The answer is both simple and yet complex: the Internet.

One way to engage millennials is through short advertisements. Contrary to popular belief, millennials aren’t bothered by commercials. Forbes reports 46 percent of millennials don’t mind watching ads, and if the content they are viewing is free, that number skyrockets to 75 percent.

So, it would be smart to put short advertisements, around 30 seconds or less, on free-content websites like YouTube, to appeal to a mass audience. By using free-content platforms like YouTube, millennials will most likely watch the commercial, which ensures a company that their product is being advertised to a broader audience.

Another effective mechanism, and probably the most important, is social media. Forbes notes that through social media, companies can engage with their audience, and thus form a connection. Art Plus Marketing reports that millennials are much more likely to buy a product after it has been marketed through social media.

Art Plus Marketing also states that 38 percent of millennials think brands that use social media are more trustworthy, compared to traditional advertising. Additionally, millennials tend to share brands that they trust or love. By using social media, not only will a company seem more trustworthy with their product, but their audience will promote their product through social media as well, essentially creating free publicity.

Overall, it is crucial that companies know how to properly market towards millennials, as they are currently the largest generation in America. NC State students have an advantage in this field. As millennials ourselves, we have a stronger intuition as far as what kinds of marketing tactics will be effective. Students interested in marketing should play to this strength as they pursue jobs and help shift companies’ focus to meeting millennials where they are.