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The best strategies to market to Gen Z

Gen Z represents the new generation of consumers, which means they should be the main focus of most marketers right now. But marketers have realised that traditional marketing techniques don’t work on Gen Z most of the time. Gen Z is known to hold brands to higher standards and don’t hand out their loyalty easily.

Traditional marketing techniques don’t work for Gen Z because times have changed. In the past, people received most of their content over TV, radio, or print. Gen Z, who were born between the mid-90s and early 2000s, receive most of their content over smartphones or computers. Seeing that social media and the internet have an endless supply of content curated to fit the needs and wants of every individual, marketing communication today has to be curated and individualised as well.

These are some of the best strategies marketers could use to market to Gen Z:

Prioritise Gen Z in your marketing strategy

Right now, Gen Z is either in high school, completing their higher education, or has just entered the workforce. This means that this generation is soon to have a large amount of buying power. Marketers should not delay getting their heads around how to communicate with this generation if they wish to be at the forefront of attracting this emerging buyer. Building brand loyalty and awareness with Gen Z now, could lead to a loyal client base for years to come.

However, please note that changing your strategy to focus on Gen Z, does not mean you should neglect older generations. Gen Z may be the new frontier, but the older generations still have a large amount of buying power and also need marketing strategies that match their needs and wants.

Gen Z needs to see relatable marketing

The Gen Z generation grew up seeing marketing campaigns targeted at their parents. Many of these campaigns were adverts, filled with idealistic situations and paid actors. That won’t work with this generation! Gen Z craves realism and needs to see relatable people and situations in marketing campaigns if marketers want to attract their attention and earn their trust. Fake just won’t make it!

Marketers also need to ensure that the product or service being advertised is going to be of value to their target audience. Gen Z is notorious for taking a stand and is not easily fooled by sales gimmicks for products or services they don’t actually need or want.

The content needs to be fast and punchy

According to research, Gen Z have a much shorter attention span than previous generations. The content marketers create therefore needs to convey the message in under 10 seconds. To get this right, marketers should invest in photo and video content, which is best consumed on Instagram and TikTok. Whether it’s photo or video content for a story or for the actual feed, marketers need to aim to keep it short and straightforward so that Gen Z gets the message at their first glance and in under 10 seconds.

The content needs to be fast and punchy

Different social media platforms need different marketing strategies

Most of Gen Z always has some sort of device close by for them to check and update their social media profiles ‘on the go’. Although the same people have social media accounts on different social media platforms, marketers need to create specific marketing strategies for each channel and not expect that the same conent will work or drive the same engagement across multiple channels. This makes the process of marketing to Gen Z more complex and more expensive.

Gen Z uses different social media platforms for different reasons. Twitter is often used to get information, Instagram is used to post photos and videos, while TikTok is used for entertainment. Marketers should create marketing strategies that mirror these objectives.

Gen Z uses different social media platforms

Businesses need to be leaders

Gen Z is liberal, progressive, and socially aware. Social issues are important to most of this generation which means that they will form a bond with businesses that share their interests. Marketers should focus on this when creating marketing communication strategies but should not exploit it. Gen Z is smart and will easily be able to recognise if the activism or social awareness is forced and being used as bait or as a sales gimmick.

Conclusion

This baby giant of a generations offers marketers a range of opportunities and possibilities which can be extremely lucrative if handled correctly. Gen Z is smart and savvy, which means marketers need to be smarter and savvier than them. To truly earn the trust of Gen Z, marketers need to be authentic and truly care about this generation’s needs and wants. If they are able to achieve this, they will reap the rewards.