Marketing Strategies For Gen Z
Marketing Strategies for Gen Z
Gen Zers, or those born between 1997 and 2012, have different needs, wants and interests than other generations.
To effectively reach this target audience, it’s important to think outside the box with your marketing strategies.
Gen Zers are all about self-expression, being creative and engaging in meaningful conversations.
Here are some marketing techniques to keep in mind when targeting this generation Z:
1. Social Media - It goes without saying that social media is a must for Gen Z marketing. With the majority of the demographic using various social platforms multiple times a day, your brand should have an active presence on all main sites such as Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat.
2. User-Generated Content - Gen Zers are all about ‘authenticity’, so encouraging user-generated content (UGC) is key. This could involve hosting competitions or providing incentives for customers to post about your products or services on their social channels.
3. Visual Content - Visuals are a great way to capture the attention of your target audience. With the rise of Instagram, it’s important to focus on creating and curating aesthetically pleasing visuals that will stand out from the crowd.
4. Live-Streaming - Live streaming is a great way to engage with Gen Zers as it allows for an immediate connection between brands and their customers. This could be in the form of Q&A sessions or hosting product unveils and tutorials.
The importance of marketing to Generation Z can’t be emphasized enough for growing businesses.
By investing in the right strategies, your brand will have a greater chance at reaching new audiences and enhancing relationships with existing customers.
To get you started, here are two successful examples of brands who have successfully marketed towards Gen Z:
1. Nike – Nike is a prime example of a successful brand that caters to Gen Z’s needs for self-expression and to be creative. Their social media campaigns are centered around inspiring athletes and encouraging people to take risks in order to reach their goals.
2. Apple – Apple has been marketing to Gen Z for years by leveraging their unique brand identity and product offering. By creating campaigns that combine digital elements with old-school advertising techniques, Apple’s message reaches its target audience in a meaningful way.
By taking into account the tips and examples mentioned above, your business will have a greater chance at reaching a larger audience and building relationships with Generation Z.
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Target Audience: Gen Z
First off, who is Gen Z?
They might also be referred to as:
Post-Millennials
Homeland Generation
iGeneration
This generation proceeds after Millennials. There isn’t an exact start or end for this generation, but the mid-1990s to early 2000s is where the date range is. To be more specific, 1995 to 2010 (plus or minus a couple of years) is where the date range usually is. No chronological endpoint has been set.
Now that we’ve covered the basics of their different names and date range. Let’s look at their characteristics and what Gen Z is like compared to Millennials.
Bold, trendsetters and true to their word, the Gen Z generation scales the markets with their influence. Ninety-three perfect of parents state that their Gen Z children have a huge influence on household spending.
That is a lot of spending power.
Here are some values that Generation Z holds:
Loyalty: Gen Z’s are more prone to look at your brand’s core mission and values. They want to see if your brand ethos aligns with their beliefs. They want to know if they can trust you. Keep this in mind during your search for marketing strategies for Gen Z.
Personalization: Because they are raised in a world of personalization, they will be more interested in brands that offer this. It could mean a personalized experience or a tailored marketing strategy catered to meet their individual needs. Personalization results in Gen Z feeling valued as consumers.
Privacy: compared to their older sibling, Millennials, Gen Z is keener in keeping their privacy and personal information to themselves unless they trust the brand. This doesn’t mean they don’t like to share, they are pickier with who they share their information with.
Authenticity: Gen Z’s are influenced by your business authenticity. Brand authenticity is important to your business because it’s a form of connection. Gen Z wants to see if you are who you say you are by your business actions. Does your business tell an authentic brand story?
For businesses to reach Gen Z, building relationships and trust is a must. Creating personalized and content targeted towards them is key.
Here at The Branded, we take into account the marketing strategies that we offer to our clients. We are always keeping in mind their target audience, too.
Now that we know who they are and what they stand for, let’s look further into the importance of marketing strategies for Gen Z.
The Importance Of Gen Z
Generation Z has the buying power of 143 billion (direct and indirect).
Other research says that they have 44 billion in buying power, but if you factor their influence it’s close to $200 billion. That’s a lot of influence and power!
To add to the importance of marketing strategies for Gen Z, they are more confident to speak up about topics that matter to them. What does this mean for your brand?
It means having to understand their buying power and influence on the outside world. Creating marketing strategies for Gen Z shouldn’t be something to glance over, it should be prioritized in your business development plans.
Being digital natives, Gen Z is more racially and ethnically diverse than any generation and is on the track to be the best-educated yet. They are more so enticed by your brand if you have a set mission, clear brand pillars, authentic values and are inclusive in every way. Having this noted in your marketing strategies is of importance as you want to make sure who your target audience is and the value that they offer.
The value being their influence, buying power and who they are as the new kids on the block.
The main takeaway? Invest your time in creating marketing strategies targeting Gen Z because undervaluing them and counting their influence out would be a mistake.
It’s time to talk more strategies with examples from The Branded Agency.
Strategy for Marketing to Gen Z: Be Community Minded
Community is at the core of Gen Z's behaviour.
Brands need to understand that marketing strategies for Gen Z involve a community mindset.
Positioning your plan towards creating a brand community is essential. A digital community is a fundamental brand strategy that should be included in your plan. This means honing in on your brand values to reflect your goals to build a community.
Brands can create an inclusive space for like-minded people, and it’s an opportunity to not just showcase your brand as is but a way to help provide a space for connection. Community building could also be tapping into other business communities that have the same values as you.
Brand collaborations can present the opportunity to widen your audience and reach other people outside of your community.
A great example of a brand community is Living by Lex. It’s a lifestyle blog that is dedicated to teaching others how to live well at home and around the world. Emphasizing travel, wellness, luxury and style, Lex from Living by Lex has created a travel lifestyle community that seeks out visual inspiration and blog posts with valuable information.
The website design was done by The Branded, but we offer other services, too, like creative branding, marketing campaigns to strategy services.
We also have a blog section filled with tips on how to brand your business to attract more of your target audience like Gen Z and information on how to create more income to keep your business on the right track.
Community is an integral part of your brand development but it has to fit your company as authenticity should also be a priority since it is of high value to Generation Z.
Marketing Strategy for Gen Z: Create A Brand Personality
Your brand should have a personality and a form of personalization targeted towards Gen Z.
Personality is needed since this generation is built on highlighting their individuality. It's a must. Engaging with Gen Z is different compared to their older sibling. Gen Z wants more of an honest take, a stance behind their online presence and a less perfect aesthetic.
Gen Z is more so willing to invest in luxe products or services that will highlight who they are all about. So, creating a brand personality that is transparent about personality and values is more likely to garner the support of this generation.
You need to have a cohesive brand personality that’s honest, authentic and true to your core objectives and vision.
This generation was born and raised in the digital space. A brand personality is not only important, it should already be the norm in any business for Gen Z.
An example to look at for creating a strong brand personality is Sneakertopia.
Sneakertopia is an immersive, interactive, cultural brand that offers curated art exhibits dedicated to the sneaker culture, hip-hop, sports, entertainment and fashion. As a brand they value self-expression, and they show this through their different art installations.
Their brand personality reflects who they are and what they offer in their space. This is important as you want to make sure everything in your brand lines up.
We’ve created a brand guideline, logo, provided copywriting and more for Sneakertopia.
Another thing to keep in mind is that when it comes to different marketing strategies for Gen Z, we should note that they aren’t scared to use their voice, speak their opinions or call out brands. They are known to challenge the system.
We need to not only create marketing strategies for them but to use those strategies to appeal to their values.
That’s how businesses can thrive in the long run.
Gen Z is a powerhouse. Personality and personalization can be the catalyst to your revival, survival and success.
Strategy for Gen Z: Maintaining Transparency
Transparency? That's important, too, when you craft your marketing strategies for Gen Z.
When you build your business up, transparent communication with your stakeholders, customers and public should be direct and clear.
Upholding your values and matching them with your brand actions is something to be accounted for as well. In connection to transparency–it will be appreciated by Gen Z.
As you highlight your commitment to transparency within your company internally and externally, you create brand loyalty.
An example of a transparent company that caters to Gen Z is one of our clients, Savvy Kids. They are a playful, friendly web app that encourages a learning environment through gamification to improve young people’s financial literacy.
Their brand is built on transparency with their online platforms filled with honest and informative communication. As a company that targets Gen Z, they make it a point to understand that market, and it’s shown through their design, blog posts and overall mission to educate with a purpose.
Having a transparent purpose is needed when it comes to your marketing strategies for Gen Z.
In addition to transparency, upholding those same values should be aligned with your company's actions. In light of the Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) movement, lots of brands took it to their social media to stand with them. To a degree, offering public support and effort.
An example of holding values connected to transparency is the brand Better Off Alone. During the height of the social unrest and protests, they’ve announced on their Instagram that with every purchase of the #stopasianhate mask, they will donate 50% of all net proceeds to AAPI’s GoFundMe page and grassroots AAPI organizations.
This is not only a good strategy to market the 100% cotton masks, but to show transparency and accountability in that businesses are listening and trying to connect to Gen Z–while taking a stand with them.
This creates a sense of understanding and brand relatability.
Gen Z Strategy: Make It Clear
Let’s look at sticking to your mission and making that clear. In connection to accountability, this is needed.
You have to share your brand values and mission. The ones that they connect to will entice them more in interacting or joining your community.
They consider brand value which leads to brands that have implemented marketing strategies for Gen Z successful. Socially-conscious brands are what drives Gen Z to do a deep dive research to see if the brand fits with their values and aligns with their beliefs as an individual.
Here is an example of how this company made their vision and mission clear and tied it to its target audience of interest: Lights of All, an ecocentric clothing brand. They even feature a statement of commitment to ecocentrism.
Sharing these brand values is just as important as creating them. You want Gen Z to know what you care about and what you stand for.
It’s also important to note that making your first impression is important to them as they might only glance once and never again if you don’t catch their attention with your authentic brand integrity and brand personality.
Make sure you establish your values and mission. That is an open door to connecting effectively with Gen Z.
Strategy for Generation Z: Provide Value And Entertainment
Our last marketing strategy for Gen Z tip is to provide value and entertainment.
Generation Z likes fun that provides something of value.
Take Pianu, for example. They are a client of ours. We helped them with branding, marketing plans, customer persona, web development and more. They make learning to play the piano fun. Their mission is clear, direct and shared on their website.
Pianu provides both value and entertainment! It’s the best of both worlds. It offers people an easy, accessible but fun way to learn their favourite songs on the piano. They also have badges for you to collect because Pianu rewards your progress as you advance.
This is a great digital incentive for one to work towards, and you’re not only getting to play, but you’re also learning music, and you’re learning how to play your favourite tunes.
Pianu has succeeded with this concept as they understood what Gen Z would want when it comes to learning to play the piano.
There are lots of information and entertainment online, and finding a way to stand out can be a challenge. This is also why it’s important to be on platforms Gen Z is at so that you can create tailored content towards them.
Finding the sweet spot between entertainment and value calls for content brainstorming.
Gen Z Is A Powerhouse
There is no question that Gen Z is a powerhouse. What you implement in your marketing strategies for Gen Z will speak to your success.
Let’s look at these quick stats from Facebook for Business:
68% of Gen Z expect brands to contribute to society,
61% say they would pay more for brands that are produced ethically
77% say they feel more positive toward a brand when it promotes gender equality on social media
45% say they feel represented in the ads they see when it comes to diversity
Crafting a marketing strategy dedicated to Generation Z involves
being community-minded
creating a brand personality
maintaining transparency
making your missions and values clear
providing value and entertainment.
These tips will not only help your business profits, but they will help you maintain business longevity. For more, tips check out our blog posts! We have one on PR Campaign Ideas, How To Make Money On The Side and so much more.
Remember that Generation Z wants to build these relationships with brands, but you have to put in the effort to reach them. When you do that, you’ll be sure to see your brand grow.
What other strategies have you tried that worked? Leave a comment below!
If you need help writing a business plan for your startup, checkout our guide here https://www.brandedagency.com/blog/writing-a-business-plan-guide
Looking for PR Campaign Ideas? Checkout our PR Campaign Idea blog post.
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