Who is generation Z?
The Generation Z are people born between 1996 and 2010. The oldest here is 21 and the youngest, 7 years old. Now you should know that if you are trying to attract the younger generation, generation Z is your target audience.
Of all the generations, generation Z is the most pragmatic. They understand that their future depends on them. Therefore, it is up to them build themselves and even the world to the standard they would be proud of.
Talking about the use of technology, the millennial are considered to be the “digital- native” generation because they grew up with the internet. Generation Z however was born into the internet which why they are described as the “social media natives”.
According to Michelle Pruett from criterio the generation Z are more engaged with visual contents which makes them more present on YouTube, Snapchat and Instagram. Therefore, if you want to market to generation Z visual contents are very important.
Here are the 7 keys to reaching the generation Z:
Be Authentic
If you want to get the hard-earned money of Gen Z even the one that was “dashed”, you must earn their trust. One of the most effective ways to market to these set of generation is not to market in the usual traditional sense. That way they will think you just want their money and eventually make you unable or difficult to earn their trust.
You have to specifically work on earning their trust. This in turn means you need to give top-quality products and services.
For the generation Z, content marketing is very effective, as long as the content you provide is valuable without making it so glaring that you want them to come and patronize your brand. Because this generation is technologically inclined, they can tell a mile away that you are pushing them to buy your product.
Also, you have to show your authenticity by pushing for relatability. This means that in communicating with them, especially in video content, use strategies that they relate with just like Calvin Klein did with their #mycalvins commercial even though the target was all generations. They also used relatable influencers.
Generate loyalty through meaningful interactions
Customer retention is very important to every business. It is actually easier to acquire a new customer more than it is to retain existing ones. Because the generation Z can be described as one with short span of attention or interest, retaining them as long time customers can be quite tricky.
The graph below from statistica shows how Gen Z views brand loyalty when compared to the millennials. Unlike the millennials generation Z is less concerned with brand appeal. Also, they are less motivated by loyalty programs than millennials, reason being that loyalty programs may not birth meaning interactions.
This means that you need to work extra hard to retain them. One of the best ways to retain them is through creating meaningful interactions. And to do this you have to create contents that will be fun or educating to participate in.
Find out what they like to do online and offline that way your marketing strategy becomes easier.
42 percent would participate in an online game for a brand campaign, 38 percent would attend an event sponsored by a brand, 44 percent said they’d be interested in submitting ideas for product designs, 36 percent would create digital content for a brand
Therefore, host competitions and events, then ask for ideas and feedback on product and brand designs.
Use the Right Technology and Platforms
Marketing works well when you are able to get your messages in front of your primary target audience. This means that you should find out where they hang out and put your contents there. Move beyond facebook ads because this kids may have facebook account but hardly hang out there.
The truth is that if Gen Z encounter you online, it’ll probably be on a mobile phone so you have to try as much as possible to make your contents mobile friendly. A research by IBM states that 75% of generation Z use mobile phones and smartphones more than they use other devices.
This result makes sense because an average teen today get their first phone when they are 12 or 13 years. As compared to the millennials who received their first phones when they were 18 to 20 years old.
Also, because this generations are so much into visual content, you have to endeavor to post your contents on platforms that are visually optimized.
Think fast
Generation Z has an attention span of 8 seconds compared to the millennials attention which is 12 seconds. What this means is that when it comes to marketing to generation Z every moment is important. So you to be sure to use your time quite carefully.
With so many demands and competition everywhere, this generation have a lot of options to choose from. Therefore, you have to do your research to find out what would engage them, then think fast on how you should execute your plans to avoid losing them your competitors.
You need to get to the point quickly when communicating with Gen Z. Use concise and punchy captions on social media posts. Like when you’re watching a content on YouTube you notice that you have to watch an ad for 5 seconds. As a brand you have to make use of that opportunity very well because it could be only chance you get.
Highlight Your Dedication to Privacy
Gen Z is very specific when it comes to their privacy. According to research by NGen, 88 percent of Generation Z agreed that they value privacy with the statement “protecting my privacy is very important to me.”
Because this generation is technologically inclined, they understand that what goes on the web, stays on the web. Survey by IBM further states that less than one-third of teens say they are comfortable sharing personal details other than contact information and history of their purchase.
This same study revealed that 61 percent would feel better sharing personal information with brands if they could trust that it was being securely stored and protected. Therefore, whenever you want to collect information from Generation Z make sure you do so with transparency and endeavor to state your commitment to keeping their data safe.
Partner with micro-influencers
Influencer marketing is a very strong way to build your business and with generation Z, it works well especially when the influencers are not the traditional celebrities. Google found out that 70 percent of gen Z YouTube subscribers relate more with micro-influencers rather than traditional celebrities.
One of the reasons they relate more to the micro-influencers is because they are far more accessible than celebrity influencers who may not respond to their enquiries. They also believe that celebrities are paid hugely to promote a product even without trying the product.
Now this is great news for small business because micro-influencers are usually relatable and they do not charge much for sponsored ads. Some of them just require a sample of your product. They use your products and are able to convince your target market to patronize your brand.
One of the ways to get this influencer marketing to work is by offering the influencer three product or service sample. One for themselves, two for giveaway or competition to their followers. So reach out to micro-influencers in your niche and get the ball rolling.
Be consistent
Consistency is very important aspect of an effective marketing and without it all your marketing strategies will not work. Fast pace of information make consistency even more important. Because there’s a lot of information going around and if you are not there to provide the information your competitors will.
Just like Seth Godin says, “If you want to win the hearts and minds of your customers, you have to show up every day”. You need to be at the places where generation Z is and you need to be there regularly. If not you will lose them to your competition.
Also, you need to be consistent with your messaging, that is the tone of your messaging and the focus of your messaging. That way they’ll know that you are an authority in your niche.
Conclusion
If your target audience is Generation Z, I hope this article helps in your marketing strategies.
What strategies would you implement and which have you been using. let me know in the comment section.
The post If your target audience is the generation Z: here’s how to reach them appeared first on NATIVEDGE.