Thomas Jones, founder of NewBingoSites.net, says millennials present a huge opportunity for affiliates but they must overhaul their propositions to engage this lucrative demographic

Online bingo is enjoying a resurgence in play among UK consumers and is proving to be particularly popular with younger players and millennials.

A recent survey by Wink Bingo found that 65% of UK bingo players are under the age of 44 with 35% of them falling between the ages of 25 and 34.

These players are drawn to the simple nature of the game, the community aspect it offers

and it being a natural fit for smartphone and tablet play.

Unlike other casino games such as blackjack and poker it requires no skill and while it is a game of chance, it is not held in the same regard as slots.

Indeed, many put bingo in the same category as lottery, which also enjoys mass market appeal.

The simple nature of the bingo – much of which is automated when played online – is combined with a sense of community and entertainment.

Most operators offer live chat and forum facilities, and the various themes and brands mark out bingo as an inclusive and fun pass time.

The opportunity presented by this resurgence in online bingo play is not going unnoticed by operators; 888 recently snapped up Costa Bingo from Jackpot Joy Group for £18million.

This perhaps unexpected trend also throws up tremendous upsides for online bingo affiliates who now have a new demographic of player to go after.

But millennials are a savvy bunch, and affiliates will need to really up their game if they are to engage them and build the trust required for them to make a buying decision.

This is going to mean taking a new approach to the design and layout of their sites, via the content they create and publish and the channels through which they communicate.

These are some of the things they must consider and deploy:

Sleek and stylish design:

Affiliates provide the information, insight and entertainment that helps players to decide where and what to play.

With this in mind, it is important to look at other affiliate publishers that have high levels of millennial engagement outside of the gambling sector to see what does and doesn’t work.

This could mean prioritising content over bingo sites listings; this has not been the case in the past but could prove key to engaging younger audiences now.

Consideration must also be given to how easy it is for users to navigate and explore the site, especially from smartphones and tablets (more on this later).

High value content:

Affiliates must also overhaul their content strategies – it is simply not good enough to publish a handful of reviews and a small library of bingo guides.

Millennials wish to be educated and entertained, so the content created and published must reflect this and include things like news, features, interviews and reports.

It is also important to take into account the type of content that is being created – this should go beyond the written word to video clips and even audio blasts and podcasts.

The content itself needs to be of the highest quality and provide significant value to the reader. If it doesn’t, affiliates will fail to build trust with younger audiences.

Ramp up activity on social media:

Affiliates spend a great deal of time, and money, on ensuring they rank highly in the SERPs and while this is still important, there are other ways of tapping into millennial audiences.

Social media is hugely important in this regard, and affiliates must have a presence on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

But they must do more than share links back to their articles and reviews.

To truly win on these channels, they should become part of conversations and have something meaningful to contribute.

In addition to this, they should also think about working with social media influencers as they provide easy access to younger audiences and have a huge impact on their decision to buy.

Mobile, mobile, mobile:

It goes without saying that all of the above must be deployed with a mobile first mentality, from design to content via being active on social media.

Millennials and younger audiences live their lives via their smartphones and tablets and products and services (such as affiliates) that don’t work on mobile will not be engaged with.

This means affiliates must think about how their sites are designed – no excessive swiping and scrolling – as well as the approach they take to content – short and snappy.

For social media, think about new ways of creating content – perhaps video reviews for Instagram stories – and ensure it still engages, educates and entertains.

Doing all of the above is no easy task, but given the increasing popularity of online bingo, particularly among millennials, the rewards for those that get it right are set to be huge.