Weekly Rewind: Our favorite stories from around the web

Avocado toast-loving, student loan-having millennials are all over the news every day. So, for this Weekly Rewind, we’re going to break down what it means to be a millennial, how PR pros can appeal to them and why a millennial PR pro makes a great new hire.

Defining the Millennial

In October 2004, researchers Neil Howe and William Strauss defined a millennial as anyone born between 1984 and 2004, but typically generations are defined by the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies. The center does not recognize “millennial” as a generation, and instead uses “Generation Y” to cover most of Howe and Strauss’ millennial year range. Confusing? The Atlantic made a handy chart.

Instead of being identified by a set age range, millennials are identified more closely by cultural differences like high student loan debt, technological proficiency and a love for avocado toast.

Appealing to the Millennial Audience

In order to engage with the rapidly growing millennial audience, PR Daily suggests offering experiences rather than just products because millennials would rather spend their money on experiences over things. For example, the Museum of Ice Cream locations in Los Angeles and Miami have generated billions of social media impressions by offering colorful installations that provide content creation opportunities and are the envy of any Instagram account.

Millennial PR Pros

PR Daily says millennials take to technology like fish take to water, and their use of technology is forcing organizations to reevaluate business practices. For many young workers, there is a blending of work and community interaction through Facebook, Twitter and other platforms. This can provide an edge to managers interested in improving their social media operations.