Historically, marketing to younger consumers like Gen Z has been challenging as the playing field is constantly evolving. Traditional mass marketing often struggles to keep pace and rarely works to target this audience, as trends are always changing.
Because of this, demographic numbers can be difficult to track. Looking at Gen Z as a single marketing entity, as opposed to the diverse group it is, can make you appear completely out of touch when targeting this segment. As simplistic as those sounds, understanding the characteristics of this group starts with looking at their online and social behaviors and movements.
Understanding the different generations and discussing their dramatic differences is something I love to discuss with my kids. I try not to break out the “when I was your age” commentary, but the differences are startling. The simple act of listening to music was a recent topic of conversation. I told them I remember having to call into a radio station and beg whoever answered the phone to play a song I wanted to hear. The kids looked at me like I was an alien from another planet. We literally had two choices to hear music; go buy the album at the local record store or hope to hear your song on the radio.
Talking to my kids about this makes me realize how important it is to have the right people in place to market to this younger generation. I like to think I keep track of the latest and greatest marketing techniques for Gen Z. Still, so many segments change so frequently that you need to have Gen Z represented on your team to adequately market to them.
Gen Z defined
As a quick reminder, demographic researchers have designated the current generation to be called Generation Z (Gen Z). The people in this group were born between 1997 and 2012. At the high end are those in their mid-twenties. Some are done with college and entering the workforce, while others are starting to marry and become parents. They are generally progressive and more ethnically diverse versus previous generations.
Gen Z is often considered the first generation born into the digital age. They have known the internet and social media for the majority of their lives, so you will more often than not find them online.
The Gen Z group has become a crucial audience for brands, businesses, and marketers, especially as they get older, join the workforce, and make more money. I found this Morning Consult graphic interesting to see what Gen Z adults are into from a brand perspective.
Gen Z and their emerging subcultures
Drilling down a little deeper into Gen Z, you need to take a hard look at subcultures and how they impact their world. Many experts agree that Gen Z is not just 18- to 25-year-olds. Instead, 12 different subcultures within that age range, each with distinctly different characteristics, as shown in one recent study.
Within these 12 subcultures are 5 different categories. They include:
Understanding these subcultures is crucial in your targeted marketing efforts. Knowing where your target audience spends time has always been important, but this generation introduces even more challenges due to varying differences within these subcultures.
Keep in mind this is just one study, though. There may be many other cultures that aren’t even on experts’ radars yet.
Shift in marketing strategy
To market successfully to this generation, you need to spend more time drilling down into these subcultures that highlight their more personalized interests. Many of these trends are changing so frequently that marketers are avoiding the more traditional mass marketing efforts they may have employed in the past.
Gen Z consumers desire specific content (geared toward them) that makes them happy, laugh (entertaining), and want to share it with their friends. They don’t want to be labeled and prefer to explore different content subject matter across social media. And this is part of the challenge for marketers.
In the same way that Gen Z does not appreciate being labeled, marketing campaigns and efforts geared toward them should not be predictable. When creating ads, it’s imperative to dive into what motivates this target group. Knowing what type of content, they are consuming will help your efforts, especially in ad placement.
As I touched on a bit above, what makes targeting Gen Z so challenging is that they. Have so many options for where they spend their time online. The typical Gen Z consumer could be into Instagram or TikTok one week and YouTube the next. Their tastes are continually changing and evolving to avoid downtime or boredom.
How influencers impact Gen Z
If you want to dig into the Gen Z culture, look no further than their engagement with influencers. Brands that really want to engage in a meaningful relationship with them employ many different types of influencers. To a certain degree, social media influencers are the rock stars among Gen Z.
Depending on the subject matter or area of interest, Gen Zers are tied to these influencers. They are looking for thoughts on almost anything, including learning more about products and services the influencer may be promoting.
While Gen Z looks to influencers for many things, they don’t offer their support without conditions. They need to get some value out of it. And they won’t tolerate things that go against their personal views, like prejudice, racism, sexism, homophobia, and many others. If influencers partake in those types of behaviors, they risk getting canceled.
Members of Gen Z can be very particular and won’t respond to just anything influencers put out there. The traits that Gen Z is looking for from their favorite influencers include:
Honest Content
Gen Z is looking for honest content from their engagement with influencers. If it involves promoting a product, fans realize the influencer is most likely being paid. So, they want to be sure it is something the influencer truly believes in and would use themselves.
Catchy Visual Content
When it comes to visuals, Gen Z loves influencers that utilize memes, videos and graphics that catch their attention. In an online world where the influencer has seconds to grab attention, using visuals to stop the viewer and get them to engage is critical to their success.
Humorous Content
Using humor is one-way influencers cut through the online clutter. Threading the needle between being edgy but not offensive is a balance that you must strike.
Mobile-first Content
Think about every Gen Z person you know. What is the one thing they always have with them? Yes, their phone is the epicenter of their world in many instances. So if influencers want to make an impression, it will have to be optimized to be engaged from the phone.
Gen Z is a coveted target for brands as their buying power and influence are off the charts. Understanding as much about them as possible and their always-evolving cultures and subcultures is critical to breaking through with them. This requires marketers to change how they think about Gen Z to reach them where they are. They’re a generation that isn’t afraid to try different things and experiences and will not tolerate being pandered to
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This content was originally published here.
