In the past decade, the spotlight has been on millennials for the most part, and almost every conversation about digital marketing is focused on the trends they follow. And while this may have worked in the past, it’s time to welcome some new kids on the block—Generation Z!
Generation Z is basically everyone who was born somewhere between 1997 to 2012, i.e., youngsters between the ages of 10 and 25. And while, of course, the youngest of these aren’t our focus for this blog, as modern digital marketers, we have to start giving attention to the older ones, many of which are our potential audience. In fact, 70 per cent of them also believe that they influence their families’ purchasing decisions.
Needless to say, traditional digital marketing strategies that helped us win over millennials aren’t going to work on these realist zoomers.
So, as one of the best SEO marketing companies, we’ve put together some tips that might help.
Start Selling Experiences
Hard sells just don’t work with generation Z—they grew up knowing exactly how typical marketing campaigns work. So, instead of telling them how great a product is, you have to define the experience that the product promises or how it will benefit them.
If we were to put it in more numerical terms, we’d have to borrow from Mention, saying that everything you’re selling is 25% product, and 75% is the feeling attached to it. This is exactly why branding and brand story are important. You need to use your social media platforms to tell your story and market in indirect ways.
Remember, it’s all about aesthetics and experiences. Build a marketing campaign around these concepts with positive engagements, interactive content, unboxing reels, transformation videos and so on.
Be A Mobile-Friendly Brand
It wouldn’t be wrong to say that Gen Z was pretty much born with phones in their hands. According to one study, most children today have their first phone by age 7. As crazy as it sounds, it is a very helpful statistic for marketers.
Generation Z is always scrolling through their phones—not necessarily using laptops and desktops. So if you have a website for your business, it needs a mobile-first approach in its design. Also, if you don’t have an app yet—you need one of those too! Offer content that’s specifically made for a flawless mobile experience.
Embrace Social Media Marketing
A lot of people talk about Generation Z’s obsession with social media. However, not many people like to discuss the reasons behind this obsession. The fact is that social media allows most kids to be who they truly are, which explains the high usage.
For brands, this is an opportunity to meet Gen Z in their space. So, for starters, you need to build social media profiles that these young customers would actually want to follow. This way, you can build a strong presence on some of the most popular platforms, including Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and others.
Also, you may have to use each social media platform differently. For instance, you might want to put out more informational content on Facebook, while you might want to be more aspirational on Instagram and creative on Twitter. Read the room and act accordingly.
Don’t Overlook Video Marketing
Currently, TikTok has more than 1 billion active users monthly, and the application was only launched about 6 years ago. The application is primarily designed around creating and sharing short videos—and 1 billion people are interested in doing that, and several others are consuming the content they’re putting out!
If there’s one thing that tells us, it’s that people are consuming a lot of short-form video content. This also explains why YouTube has started shorts while Instagram has introduced reels. The bottom line is that nothing reels in Gen Z, like videos, so make sure you market with these. Also, almost no winning marketing videos feature products; they showcase experiences—exactly what you’re supposed to be selling, remember?
Give Them Chances To Engage And Interact
When you’re creating marketing content for social media, you need to make it creative and interactive. This generation loves to swipe, tap, click and possibly even comment! So, use everything from polls to hashtags to encourage your young audience to engage.
Also, Gen Z’s FOMO is real, and as digital marketers, you have to tap into that! Focus on time-sensitive content, and eventually, this will lead to them subscribing to your profiles. And also, have you heard of Drops? It’s one of Instagram’s latest features that allows brands to create hype before a product launch that’s only available for a short time.
Be Fun
While you’re trying to boost engagement, it might be a good idea to try and be fun and entertaining. Generation Z like brands that have a personality, and since we live in a meme-centric world, humour should be your go-to approach.
As a brand, you need to give your marketing a human touch, get personal and authentic and show your audience that your business isn’t run by bots but by actual fun humans who genuinely love interactions!
Get Those Influencers On Board
There are about 500,000 active influencers using Instagram right now, and a lot of them are either Generation Z or have a large number of Gen Z followers. So, you’re lagging if you’re not making them a part of your digital marketing campaign.
About 80% of marketers believe that influencer marketing is very effective, while 71% also claim that the quality of traffic that comes from influencer marketing is much better than what they receive from other marketing approaches and sources.
So, the bottom line is you need to get some influencers on board. Of course, we’re not talking about celebrity influencers but rather micro-influencers with a significant reach.
Show Some Social Responsibility
Believe it or not, Generation Z cares. They are a sensitive and thoughtful generation that is growing up in testing times, and they worry about what’s going around them in terms of climate change, political instability and other social problems.
This is why a lot of these young consumers prefer buying from businesses that show ethical and social responsibility. So, through your marketing, you need to show them that you care more about just the profits. Be loud about how your business plays its part in building a better future.
If you need more with your digital marketing strategy for generation Z, let our marketing experts at X Times More help you out. We’re a sales funnel digital marketing agency, and we can help you with social media marketing and web design services and a lot more.
Get in touch with us to discuss it all further.