In terms of marketing, for years, the generation of Millennials has been ruling the parade. Born between 1980 and 1995, Millennials were the predominant generation and also the largest focus of marketers since a huge part of goods and services consumers could be found specifically among the representatives of this generation.

However, as time flows, representatives of new generations are growing up and overtaking the market. According to the New York Post, in 2020, people from Gen Z have already outnumbered the share of Millennials. That is, they are now going to be the major driving force for marketing, and we ought to prepare!

Gen Z Profile

Generation Z is also known as Gen Z or Zoomers. This demographic group follows Millennials and precedes Gen A (Alpha). Different media and researchers tend to use different birth years to identify people of Generation Z. However, most often, representatives of this generation are believed to be born between the mid-to-late 1990s and the early 2010s.

The main thing that makes this generation different is that its representatives are the first ever to grow up with access to portable digital technology and the Internet from a very young age.

Since early childhood, people from Gen Z know how to interact with all sorts of gadgets. They are pros in social media and internet search. And, as they grow up, they learn to use various technologies to make their lives easier. For example, Gen Z makes up the largest share of users of essay writing services. If they need to boost grades or free up some time, they go straight to custom writing service and get the help they need. Long story short, they are digital natives, and you can’t take it away from them.

And, due to the same reason, they have a very different outlook and understanding of this world.

As was mentioned earlier, by this time, Gen Z has already outnumbered all the preceding generations, and most representatives of this group are already about to step into their adulthood. That is, the largest part of consumers these days belong to this group. With that being said, it becomes clear that marketers should really start keeping an eye on Gen Z in order to learn how to market to this consumer contingent right.

Gen Z and Marketing: 5 Tips to Reach Out and Engage Them

Here are five tips to help you start marketing to Generation Z and make the most of it:

Social Media

We already told you that the lives of Gen Z take place online. Unlike preceding Gen X and Millennials, people from this generation don’t know the world without social media and the Internet in general. So, they tend to use and trust the web much more than anyone else.

What does this mean in terms of marketing? Gen Zers spend lots of time using social media and the Internet, and they expect brands they buy from to do too. They want to be able to access brands and their products via different channels throughout their buyer’s journey.

How to use this in your strategy? Get active on social media! Your brand should be present in all popular channels and be active there. But, most importantly, don’t use it only as a marketing tool. Think of social media as an opportunity to communicate with your prospects and use it to provide them with funny, engaging, or valuable content instead of making only marketing posts.

Here is an example of how a popular essay writing service EssayService is balancing marketing and non-marketing content by posting student and college-life-related memes:

Focus on Visual Content

Since Gen Zers love social media so much, they perceive the information provided in the visual form much better than in the text form. And they crave high-quality content.

What does this mean in terms of marketing? There are two things you need to know about creating visual content that will catch the eyes of Zoomers.

First of all, they are very confident users of social media, so they see tons of visual content every single day. That is, your content has to be high-quality and eye-popping to drive attention.

Secondly, since they are digital natives, their attention spans are much shorter. Namely, an average attention span for Gen Z is only 8 seconds, which is much shorter compared to 12 seconds for Millennials. This fact explains the striking popularity of TikTok among younger users.

How to use this in your strategy? Invest in visual content! Provide eye-popping images with your posts and, also, try integrating bite-sized videos with music, effects, and overlays – these are proven to be effective for marketing purposes.

To give you an example of great visual content, look at how stylish and bright is the Instagram feed of Guess. Or check out the Fenty Beauty brand’s TikTok page to see their entertaining unpacking videos, makeup tutorials, and other eye-catching content.

Higher Purpose

The second one of the top characteristics of Gen Zers that we mentioned earlier is “They want brands to really care.” This generation cares about the world. Unlike many other people, those who belong to Generation Z tend to be well aware of environmental, social, economic, political, and other issues that the world faces these days.

And they want to see that you care about these issues too.

According to a study on Gen Z relations with brands conducted by IBM and The National Retail Federation, over 50% of Gen Zers would choose socially responsible and eco-friendly brands.

What does this mean in terms of marketing? This consumer contingent wants brands to represent their values and beliefs. Thus, the best strategy to market to this generation is to define a higher purpose of your business that can make our world a better place.

How to use this in your strategy? Find a way for your business to contribute to the world and society, and then communicate your purpose to consumers.

A great example of social responsibility as a business asset is shown by Levi Strauss. The company is committed to addressing the issue of water scarcity by reducing the amount of water used to produce its products, and consumers love it!

Build Loyalty Through Communication

Unlike other consumer contingents, Gen Zers won’t keep buying from you for no reason, just because they liked a product. They don’t want to deal with voiceless and faceless brands. Instead, they want you to interact with them. Thus, to gain their loyalty, your brand needs to talk to them.

What does this mean in terms of marketing? According to the study by IBM, three-quarters of people from this generation want brands to respond to their feedback and comments. Moreover, they want to receive timely and personalized responses.

How to use this in your strategy? If you want to attract consumers from Generation Z, you need to keep communication at the core of your marketing strategy. To do this right, you should adopt commonly-used social media listening practices and tools that will help you keep track of all mentions and respond ASAP to all consumer comments.

A great example of a brand that constantly communicates with its customers and prospects is Too Faced.

Team Up With Influencers

Generation Z tends to trust the Internet much more than any other generation. And they spend much more time on the web and social networks than, let’s say, watching TV. That’s why they value the opinion of so-called influencers much more than the opinion of traditional celebrities.

What does this mean in terms of marketing? According to a report by Morning Consult, about three-quarters of Gen Z users are following digital creators, also known as social media influencers. They trust them and their recommendations. Moreover, that’s how most of them learn about new services or products. That’s why influencer marketing is a big thing these days.

How to use this in your strategy? Look for influencers whose audience matches your idea of a perfect customer and collaborate with them.

Today, many brands are collaborating with influencers to expand their outreach and drive new customers. For example, here is a shot from a recent partnership with Mercedes Benz by Zach King, a famous American filmmaker and illusionist.

The Bottom Line

To market to Generation Z, it’s crucial to understand what they are craving. And to understand that, you need to understand what is driving them and what values they have. Simply put, you need to know their personalities.

Hopefully, after reading this article, you have a better understanding of this consumer contingent and its needs and interests.

To sum up, here we’ve discussed the top five strategies that are proven to work in marketing for Gen Z. These are:

• Active social media use;
• High-quality and eye-catching visual content;
• Finding a good purpose;
• Timely and effective communication;
• Influencer marketing.

Try integrating these practices into your marketing strategy, and you will win the hearts of Gen Z!

Author’s Bio:

Written by LinkxSeo team. This is a team of marketing professionals with over 10 years of experience in marketing. The blog of this team will tell you about useful tricks of the world of SEO and Marketing. Click here to learn more – https://linkxseo.com/