There’s no doubt about it: Gene Z is wired differently.
However, depending on who you ask, the definition of Gen Z varies.
You can’t draw a straight line between Gen Z and Millennials since belonging to a given “generation” is as much about cultural impact as it is about age.
Marketing to gen Z has its benefits. But you have to do it right.
Gen Z consumers make up one-fourth of US consumers, they have a significant spending power of $1 trillion (£847,800,000 at today’s going rate).
The Gen Z audience needs a new approach. So use the latest in marketing approaches, i.e. influencer marketing.
Influencers are people who influence Gen Z.
Period.
Their recommendations a are more highly trusted than those that come from brands themselves.
Table of Contents
Marketing to Gen Z vs. Millennials
Here are the two main differences between marketing to genz versus millenials:
- While their perspectives are similar, Gen Zers are slightly more progressive than Millennials. In general, Gen Z is liberal, and they are more likely to support gay marriage, racial equality, and the usage of gender-neutral pronouns.
- In the United States, Gen Z is more racially and ethnically diverse than Millennials. BIPOC is identified by 50% of Generation Z and 39% of Millennials.
The TikTok Commerce Boom in 2024: How Gen Z’s Obsession Is Reshaping the Shopping Experience
Gen Z’s TikTok Obsession: A Movie-Length Dive into Inspiration
It’s astounding to note that on average, a member of Gen Z spends as much time on TikTok per day as the duration of a movie. This extensive engagement provides fertile ground for businesses and creators to shape and influence consumer choices. More time spent equates to increased opportunities to showcase products, trends, and innovations, ultimately inspiring purchases among the audience.
Creators as Catalysts – Fueling TikTok’s Shopping Culture
The driving force behind TikTok’s commercial influence is the symbiotic relationship between content creators and Gen Z users. These creators curate and present diverse content that encapsulates trends, fashion, lifestyle, and product experiences. By delivering and packaging inspiration into bite-sized, engaging content, they effectively serve as catalysts for consumer interest and purchase decisions. Their ability to seamlessly integrate product placements and endorsements into their content contributes significantly to the platform’s shopping culture.
The Rise of TikTok Shop – Redefining the Retail Experience
The introduction of the TikTok Shop has been a game-changer, offering a seamless shopping experience directly integrated into the platform. For Gen Z, TikTok has become more than just a social space—it’s now regarded as a virtual shopping mall. The ease of discovering, exploring, and purchasing products without leaving the app has contributed to its immense popularity. The TikTok Shop caters to the evolving needs of the tech-savvy, convenience-driven younger generation.
Shaping Holiday Shopping Trends – Gen Z’s Influence
As the holiday season approaches, the significance of TikTok in shaping consumer behaviour becomes even more evident. Studies reveal that a considerable 36% of users plan to utilize TikTok for their holiday shopping needs. Among Gen Z specifically, the figure spikes to an impressive 53% within the 18 to 29 age group. This surge highlights the platform’s increasing impact on holiday shopping trends and solidifies its position as a vital marketplace.
TikTok has evolved beyond a mere social media platform into a dynamic shopping destination. The platform’s ability to captivate Gen Z’s attention and influence their consumer behaviours emphasizes its growing significance in the retail landscape. As businesses adapt to meet the demands of this burgeoning market, TikTok’s role in shaping future consumer trends will likely continue to expand, marking a new era in digital commerce driven by the power of social media influence.
Marketing to Gen Z: Things you must consider
Gen Z Are Purpose Driven
Gen Z are not just customers; they are advocates.
This younger generation values brands that contribute to the greater good by supporting causes and enhancing their lives. 37% of Gen Zers are willing to pay a bit more for a product or service that supports a reason they believe in.
So, what does this mean?
You must put value first.
When it comes to connecting with a new brand on social media, Gen Z viewers are just as interested in the company as they are in the product or service.
Most Gen Zers believe that a brand’s “appearance of trustworthiness and transparency” is a major motivator for engagement. So, instead of focusing just on selling, develop content that expresses your beliefs and shares as much of your brand’s narrative as possible.
Speak their language
Communication is essential. It’s critical to be able to utilise language that Generation Z can comprehend and relate to—and if you’re not fluent, it’s preferable to learn through immersion.
Follow Gen Z creators, study their work, and take note of their terminology, acronyms, and humour. This is essential.
Disclaimer: This takes time, and nothing is more uncool than striving to be cool. Don’t force the language (it sounds unnatural) or go overboard.
Gen Z Value Interactions with Brands
Due to the increased availability of entertainment and media, Gen Z has a high expectation for companies to provide them with experiences that will entertain them. Many share their feedback with minor and major brands after good or bad experiences, making Gen Z a powerful voice in the marketplace.
Also, be aware that the average Gen Z’s attention span is much shorter than previous generations.
Gen Z Are Ambassadors on social media
Gen Z are extremely active and social. They spend a lot of time on social media, with 46% of Gen Z having around 200 Facebook friends, compared to 19% of non-Gen Z. Gen Z are also tech-savvy (a.k.a digital natives), and in turn, they have access to the newest technology.
The bottom line is that Generation Z are incredibly active on social media and spends mass amounts of time online vs other generations. Check out cancel culture to get an idea of just how much effort they put into social justice
Don’t use traditional marketing strategies with Gen Z
Gen Z marketing requirements are too progressive for traditional advertising.
Traditional marketing methods (such as TV ads, email marketing and billboards) are no longer effective as this generation spends most of their time with eyes and fingers literally glued to their screens.
Billboards may as well be written in invisible ink.
However, authentic and natural Instagram stories, Instagram Reels and TikToks (at a fraction of the price of old-school strategies) will better reach and resonate with Generation Z to ultimately persuade them to purchase products that older generations were buying through tried-and-tested means.
Influencers are essential when marketing to Gen Z
Working with individuals they trust is a surefire Gen Z marketing technique.
People aged 15 to 21 are more likely than their elders to follow one or more influencers.
Working with influencers is a very successful strategy to sell to Generation Z. It’s all part of the brand authenticity/speaking the language thing: Gen Z wants to buy from businesses they believe in, and they hear about products they believe in from individuals they believe in.
Why?
Because influencers serve as trusted voices in their specific online communities, and trust is one of the biggest factors in influencing Gen Z behaviour.
Targeting the Gen Z market is a great idea, but you cannot replicate the authenticity and trust gained by sending out your brand’s message through social media influencers. Paired with a successful talent agency, brands far and wide are employing the services of the Gen Z market’s favourite online personalities and seeing tremendous ROI as a result.
Connect to Gen Z through values
Consider what causes or values your brand stands behind, and choose an influencer whose voice will amplify them. You may consider this like the “cool kids” at school, who every youngster wants to be like, look like them, dress like them, and be like them in every way.
Social media influencers can amplify a brand’s voice by communicating its true values and causes to their followers.
Influencers act as role models in 2022, so Gen Z will pay close attention to whatever they wear, do, buy, use and speak.
Why influencer marketing is so effective when marketing to Gen Z
Influencer marketing is a powerful tool for brands looking to reach Gen Z and win them over with their products and services.
Influencers are particularly effective at delivering the brand message in a natural way, making them ideal ambassadors for the Gen Z market.
Also, popular influencers can be highly effective due to the level of trust their audience has in them and the fact that they may not yet be familiar with your company.
On top of that, they do all the work in using the latest digital marketing channels, saving your brand the time and energy invested in understanding new technologies. And many will create content that best suits their audiences to maximise the content’s engagement, reach and potential for virality.
Final thoughts
To market to Gen Z, you must embrace technology, social media and most importantly trust the influencers you have chosen to work with to create content that will best resonate and appeal with their audience.
Allowing influencers and ambassadors to have the creative freedom to produce content will work in your brand’s favour. Trust us, as an influencer marketing agency, we’ve done this a few times.
And not just a casual embrace—you must be active with utilizing them as touchpoints between your brand and consumers.
When you target Gen Z in your marketing plan, you know where they are: social media.
Investing in influencers for your brand’s marketing efforts is a smart long-term investment for your business. The benefits of such an investment include short-term results as well as long-term growth, depending on your goals.
Although brands should not discard their primary consumer focus, they should also not ignore the potential of the newer generations as an audience. Younger consumers have always been a very profitable group of people to target through marketing, which is still true today.
However, since the millennial era, the internet has changed the world and how we live in it.
The new generation’s use of the internet (especially social media apps) has changed consumer behaviours.
This makes influencer marketing the conduit brands should use when reaching this demographic.
Despite all the cultural jokes and stereotypes associated with Gen Z (We know you know them), they are at the future core of the economy, and their dollars are as green as anyone else (if more of an electronic or bitcoin version, that is).
Getting more from campaigns through influencer marketing
Our clients have seen their marketing efforts to gen z yield incredible results when they choose to work with us.
Why you ask?
We work closely with micro and macro influencers who understand young consumers.
They help us to build the customer persona of a particular target audience as well as allowing them to take creative initiative, and we in turn provide valuable insights and guidelines in order to help them make content that engages young people.
So why wait, send us a message!
FAQs
Is Generation Z aware of climate change?
Older generations think that this generation is only interested in fast fashion when in fact the opposite is true.
42% of Gen Zers support brands that value climate change – If you haven’t already noticed, Gen Z are very socially aware and are not afriad to call out brands who pretend to be something they are not.
9 in 10 Generation Z consumers believe companies have a responsibility to address environmental and social issues.
BUT, be sure your brand isn’t ‘Green washing’ – This is when brands promote their most environmentally friendly products or exaggerate the extent of their sustainability efforts.
Gen Z and Millenials can easily sniff out if brands are being inauthentic, therefore, being transparent from the beginning is vital.
What you must do is ensure that you are transparent as a brand – Brands are highly praised if they practice radical transparency in where, how and why they make the products they do.
Does Gen Zers care about their privacy and security?
The insane social media usage and uploading of photos give the impression that this generation doesn’t care about their privacy.
But make no mistake. These tech-savvy consumers are very wary of trusting companies that have not gained their trust and will ditch their favorite brands without any regret.
Should our marketing campaigns focus on Tik Tok?
Ironically not all of your marketing should be on TikTok, despite all the media hype around it.
Instagram is still the favoured social media platform for Gen Zers followed by YouTube.
Tik Tok is a close third, so don’t put all of your eggs in one basket!
Although, we would still highly advise using Tik Tok as part of your marketing strategy toreach Gen Z.
