8
While they may not be your current target audience, Generation Z will be one day, especially as the oldest members of this generation are already firmly into adulthood with their own disposable income. Of those who haven’t yet reached adulthood, with an average $16.90 weekly allowance, this generation controls $44bn per year of buying power already and are expected to command 40% of consumer shopping by 2020. This generation has a huge influence in spending power and so will be undeniably influential to future purchases of products and services.
Generation Y, Generation Z’s predecessors and commonly known as ‘the millennials', are often seen as the ‘target market’ for new products and services, and so a lot of marketing effort has been geared towards them. Yet, this approach fails to encompass the most enigmatic, fast-moving and lucrative generation that came after them. By marketing to Generation Z, we also capture Generation Y as they tend to use many of the same social media and technology channels, but this relationship only works one way. Target only Generation Y and you risk losing business.
Different Channels and Platforms
Generation Z are concerned most of all with identity. Through the technology they have been surrounded by since birth, they have created new personal identities, championing every aspect of their life from fashion and food to political and social activism. They have grown up amidst instability; economic recession, terrorism, school shootings and climate change are just a few of the threats and challenges that this generation has to contend with. Most importantly, for them, technology remains at the heart of both problem and solution.
Unsatisfied with government reports and official statements, this generation are empowered by the click of a button. They know how to self-educate and find relevant information, with majority turning to social media and YouTube for research on current events. This is the world’s first truly global generation, linked up and logged in to other people anywhere in the world, any time of day or night. These channels can be websites, blogs, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Whatsapp, LinkedIn, Yik Yak, Pinterest, Tumblr or many many others.
Generation Z are ambitious. They want to have successful careers, they’re socially conscious and due to concern they have developed about humanity’s impact on the planet they want to effectively save the world, whether participating in political, social or environmental activism. Technology and social media allow them to do this. They project their own views and absorb those of others. They’re more concerned with the quality of the product, service and information rather than the brand or individual it comes from.
Being Relevant & Capturing Gen Z
The result of their lack of loyalty to any particular brand is that attracting the attention of Generation Z can be a real challenge. The best way to do this is to be relevant, both in terms of content and where you market your products and services.
Generation Z spend an inordinate amount of time online, typically operating from around five screens: TV, smartphone, tablet, laptop, computer and smartwatch are all household staples. Wearable technology, like the Apple Watch or Google glass are also increasing in popularity. They multitask across all of these devices. While sat watching TV it’s more than feasible to imagine they are also looking at the screen on their phone, tablet, laptop or even all three. Your products need to be marketed across all of these mediums, with responsive websites and marketing campaigns targeted at all social media channels. With a 44% of Generation Z checking social media hourly, they are the largest socially connected generation ever, and so the relevance of this channel for marketing cannot be ignored.
This multi-tasking also means that they all have short-term thinking. The content of marketing campaigns has to capture attention especially if the attention span of Generation Z is around 8 seconds and millennials is 12 seconds. How? Visuals. Generation Z communicate via images, often replacing text in their own messages with emojis and GIFs. These are a part of their everyday language so it’s important to know what they mean and when their use is appropriate. A striking image is easier to consume than a paragraph of text. You need to sell a visual ideal before you start explaining what it means. ‘Too Long, Didn’t Read’ might be considered the slogan of this generation. To win their attention, you need to act fast. This means complicated instructions or explanations should be re-envisioned with video, animation or even an infographic. Otherwise it’s all about the focus on bite sized, high quality, memorable content that is real, not artificial.
The importance of the visual impact extends to your branding. You need to ensure consistency across all channels and so when considering marketing to one, you have to consider how you will use and communicate your brand to them all. A fully responsive website is now almost non-optional. It’s a good idea to take a mobile first approach to all marketing as this is most likely going to be the first place you encounter Generation Z. This joined up approach is essential to interacting and engaging with Generation Z. If your product and service is functioning or visible on a channel they prefer to lose, you’ve lost their custom. With short-term thinking comes short-term patience. They want things to work for them then and there or you’ve lost them.
The joined up approach also has other benefits: your website gains higher ranking in Google search results due to social engagement. This short-term social gain provides long term results for your website. Social engagement does, however, have strings attached. You need to be relevant and communicate in real time. A marketing campaign that was successful only six months ago, may no longer be relevant.
Even social media channels can come and go. Myspace is the perfect example. From 2005-2008 Myspace was the largest social networking site in the world, but following the dawn of Facebook it sunk into the shadows, only to be resurrected on nostalgic 90s & 00s Buzzfeed posts. Technology constantly and consistently evolves. Even more recent social media developments like video sharing platform Vine have seemingly had their day. It’s imperative that you keep up to date with the latest platforms, particularly those that function through smartphones.
Smartphones manage and control the entirety of Generation Z’s lives. It’s their alarm, their to do list, their notepad, their calendar, their personal trainer, nutritionist, fashion adviser, personal shopper and so many other things. Targeting their phone is the most effective way to communicate with a generation of smartphone addicts, but don’t just focus on text message. Facebook messenger, Whatsapp, Viber and Kik are just a few messaging platforms, with Facebook being the ringleader.
But what do you send them? To capture Generation Z you can’t think in traditional marketing terms. They don’t care about who can shout the loudest. They want a story, a person or a product that they can get behind, something that satisfies their open-mindedness. Stories of developments, innovation and creation are how to win this group. By engaging ambassadors in schools, universities or even in the street you can better understand how to approach them, target them and communicate with them. The more you focus your marketing approach towards their behaviours, the more they’ll appreciate your brand.
Influencer Marketing
It doesn't stop there, because now we have influencer marketing which is big but is due to explode, why? Because it has gained so much popularity for younger demographics, it is seen to carry more value as an influencer appears genuine, trusting and already hold and maintain a huge following. Let's put this into perspective, as a customer or follower of a brand like Adidas or Nike, you would be more especially inclined to buy a pair of trainers or sneakers worn by an endorsed athlete or famous person in general right.
Let’s go with a real example…you probably already know who Burberry are, a long established, respected British apparel brand with a massive client base. And now you must know who Brooklyn Beckham is, son of famous sport, fashion and music power couple David and Victoria Beckham. Well he is a big deal, especially to the huge following he influences on social media which consists of the Generation Z audience too. Burberry spotted this and decided to incorporate him into a marketing tactic to reach a new market by simply getting him to do some photography for their brand which successfully generated significant press coverage, however it was essential they did not ignore their core client base. Like Burberry if you choose to target Generation Z, be sure to plan out how you can continue to engage with your current client base to ensure they do not feel neglected.
These famous figures act as leaders and educators, people who you'd want to aspire to be like or learn from and this is why platforms such as YouTube have become so popular. The video platform offers a range of different industries that offer tips, advice, information or simply entertainment which is highly popular amongst younger audiences like the Generation Z involves. It is very successful as you will also find that there is a lot of competition for companies to get ad spaces, find influencers to review and promote their products or simply grow their own channels. You need to find out which influencers have a real impact on Generation Z and how they have high engagement with them, especially if you want to get involved in driving brand experience to target Generation Z audiences.
They use the most digital platforms all together at once, juggling difference types of content and devices means they are harder to reach, this is why using influencers has become a more effective path of communicating with them.
Be Realistic
Obviously there is so much out there in terms of social media and technology that it would be almost impossible to be active across every platform and channel, unless you have a multi-million-dollar marketing budget. It’s far more effective to focus on one channel at a time and master it. By embracing change and accepting that the tools of traditional marketing are no longer effective, your marketing strategy can be hugely improved. You need to understand Generation Z, identify who within that generation you’re targeting and then identify the channels you will use to communicate with them.
Once your marketing plan is in place, measuring your success is easy. Applications like Google Analytics are essential for all websites, offering more traditional data analysis. Click through rates, shares, re-tweets, likes and other tools particular to social media can also show success in other channels. Compiling this data together you can gain knowledge of geographical, cultural and other demographic success rates for various campaigns.
The most important thing for Generation Z is to talk to them. They’re a generation that likes to be involved. Recruit ambassadors, assemble focus groups, whatever it takes to communicate with them directly to find what it is that they want and need. When thinking Generation Z, you need to think different.