Marketing to Gen Z – Your Strategy to Impress New-Gen Customers

Born between 1997 and 2012, Generation Z or better known as Gen Z is coming of age and living in a dynamically changing digital world. As 74% of Gen Zers spend their free time online, they are in a position to influence how business is done on digital platforms (hubspot.com). Driven by the core values of pragmatism, equality, and creativity, they are, however, not so easy to please. If you think you can take them lightly, you’re probably mistaken. With a combined purchasing power of over $ 40 billion annually, they can decide the fate of your business.

And to win over them now is the time to go the extra mile in your marketing strategy. While you may engage professional digital marketing services to chart your path to success, it is still that out-of-the-box planning that can give you an edge and improve your chances of winning over Gen Zers.

So, how do you reach out and engage Gen Z customers the right way? We tell you all that and more in the next section.

Humanise your brand

Your marketing campaign needn’t be all pomp and show to be effective. Something as simple as adding real-life people to your advertisements can do wonders and impress the audience. Don’t believe us? See what Gen Zers think about it. Over 63% of them like it when ads feature ordinary people instead of star celebs or fancy animations (forbes.com).

As a result, we see top brands like GoPro, Spotify, Dove, and Bumble portraying their customers in ad campaigns. If you are not afraid of trying out new stuff, you can also dig behind the scenes and share them online to show that you care about your employees. That works well to strike connections with Gen Z. Now, while consumer-facing brands are moving ahead with their influencer marketing strategy, B2B companies need to buckle up faster as their future buyers will be Gen Zers as well.

So, with that in mind, they can leverage user-generated posts, video contents, and personalised marketing for impressing the Gen Z. Overall, keep it real and simple when marketing to the new generation of customers as they have little affinity for extravagance.

Enhance your social media presence

Gen Zers are born into a world that has seen several technological tipping points, one of them being the ubiquitous presence of social media. No wonder you will need to elevate your social media game to tap into this community. So, build or optimise your presence on channels like YouTube, Instagram, and Snapchat that are popular among Gen Z.

Once you are done setting up your presence, plan on how to create and post content for engaging this interactive demographic. You can continue posting long-form contents like blogs and articles, however, diversify your strategy by relying on polls and quizzes that allow the customers to voice their opinions. Coming to interaction and communication, try to reply to as many comments as possible because doing so will help you earn customer trust.

And like mentioned before, you may want to get your message, products, or services endorsed by social media influencers, for they have emerged as the central driver of consumer decisions. Wish to explore various other interesting social media marketing ideas? To have a detailed discussion on the same you can contact the experts, say from any top digital marketing agency in India.

For now, you may read our blog ‘Drive Business Growth with Top Digital Marketing Trends in 2021’ and keep adding to your knowledge reservoir.

Show what you believe in

If you want to impress Gen Zers, highlight the values and beliefs your brand stands for. That’s because 68% of Gen Zers want brands to be socially conscious, while 71% of them wish to see more diversity in marketing (forbes.com). Simply put, you have to be more authentic and compassionate to wow Gen Z. Remember, being human is not just a projection, but it is a practice to gain acceptance among the new generation of customers.

A few years back the ice cream manufacturing company, Ben & Jerry’s launched its ‘Save Our Swirled’ campaign to highlight their support for cleaner energy sources for the world. Think B2B Brands are lagging? Not at all. Microsoft launched the ‘United for Change’ initiative to fight against racial discrimination in workplaces.

Taking a stand for social values and environmental issues, also known as cause marketing in marketing jargons, will help the youngsters appreciate and align with your brand. Would you risk not utilising this opportunity? Think and evaluate before jumping to actions.

Prepare for mobile marketing

On average, Gen Zers spend 11 hours on mobile phones every week. In fact, according to a report by Global Web Index, Gen Zers prefer mobiles over desktops, whether they are searching for brands or making online purchases. What does this mean for your business, you think? To deliver the seamless experience your customers expect, you sure have to harness the power of mobile marketing.

First things first, building a mobile-friendly website should be your top priority because your website is what impacts buyers’ decision and builds trust among your audience. From implementing a responsive web design to accelerating the load speed and optimising the overall content including CTA buttons, you can take a number of steps to make your website mobile responsive and convert leads into customers.

Now, after you have sorted your website, you can curate your ad campaigns targeting mobile users. For example, in case of Google ads, you have to adjust your bid to show your ads to a greater number of mobile users. And since mobile phones have got an upper hand over PCs among Gen Z, you should make your landing page mobile-friendly as well. For a detailed discussion on the same, you may talk to a marketing professional and proceed accordingly.

Lastly but more importantly, we suggest you get an app built for your business. Given Gen Z’s growing engagement with mobile apps, you can reach out to them and grow your business by investing in this area. Personalisation features, social media integration, push notifications and in-app messaging can elevate your marketing efforts and increase customer acquisition and retention. Interestingly, based on your industry and budget, you may also consider in-game mobile marketing wherein ads are shown within mobile games in the form of pop-ups or full-page image ads, thereby improving your brand visibility.

Liked the ideas we discussed here? So, get in touch with a team of professionals and start acting on these suggestions.

Speak their language not yours

Coping with this fast-paced world, Gen Zers have a short attention span that lasts between eight to twelve seconds (hootsuite.com). Hence, to put your message across to them, you must utilise every moment carefully and thoughtfully. But how do you go about it? Speak the way they want you to speak to them. Yes, that’s what they expect.

To start with, you should leverage the power of visuals the most. Be it videos, GIFs, memes, images or infographics, visual contents are engaging and quick to go through. Also, succinct and impactful writing (you may add hashtags for expanded reach) can take your marketing strategy a long way in terms of building trust with Gen Z customers.

Also, ditch that professional and grim tone of communication because Gen Zers are all for openness and being forthright. Whether it’s your post or reply to a comment, liven it up with thoughtful words, subtle humour, and a smiley! See, not that difficult, right?

Do you know video consumption is the highest among Gen Z? So, why not create video content to attract them? Here’s our blog ‘Video Marketing: Why is it So Effective and How to Get Started’ that shares helpful insights on how to start.

Closing Thought…

No doubt Gen Z has disrupted digital marketing, but the disorder they have brought on will usher in innovations for this realm. And if you want to prepare an outstanding marketing plan, you should know how to cater to changing customers effectively. We are yet to see how Gen Zers’ characteristics and behaviours change in years to come. But what should remain constant is your determination to keep your marketing strategy relevant and appealing to Gen Z. Wishing you luck and perseverance!