According to Bloomberg, Generation Z is the largest cohort in the United States and is playing a critical role in shaping our country’s economy. Brands that are taking the time now to understand Gen Z and tweak their marketing efforts to appeal to these younger consumers will reap sizeable benefits.
With Generation Z playing an increasing role in driving our country’s economy, brands need to be aware that loyalty is more fickle than ever. The process of the consumer discovering a product or service, developing an affinity for it, and dropping it for something else is happening faster than ever. However, businesses that are able to anticipate what this younger generation of consumers wants and use the right marketing tactics to continuously engage them will be the most successful in retaining loyalty.
How to Start Conversations with Generation Z
If you’re targeting Gen Z consumers and want to know how to earn their loyalty, you must understand how to successfully start conversations with this group. In order to have a good conversation, you need to know what makes the other person tick. Here’s how you can grab the attention of Generation Z with your digital marketing efforts:
Tap Into Shared Values
According to a recent survey, more than 60 percent of Gen Z members are socially conscious and use these values to drive their purchase decisions. This younger demographic is passionate about supporting companies that incorporate a charitable, environmental, or social cause into their overall branding. For example, TOMS shoes encourages people to “join the movement” and purchase a pair of shoes. In return for making a purchase, TOMS will donate a pair of shoes to a child in need. TOMS is also generating a lot of buzz with Millennials and Gen Z-ers with its recent stance on ending gun violence. This brand has essentially built its entire marketing plan around connecting with its target audience on shared values, and this strategy is paying off well.
Stay Away from Conventional Online Advertising
With so much data available to today’s marketers, younger consumers have less tolerance for being served an irrelevant online ad. Also, Gen Z is far less forgiving when their user experience on a website is interrupted by a pop-up ad. To avoid such disturbances, this generation is more likely to use ad-blocking software and tools, such as the Brave web browser. To be able to succeed with reaching the younger generation online, brands need to use platforms that Millennials and Generation Z prefer (Snapchat and Instagram, for example) to serve them with personalized, highly targeted, and relevant messaging.
Don’t Halfway Attempt to Be Culturally Relevant
We’ve talked about how powerful it can be for your brand to use its values as a way to connect with an audience. However, some businesses think they can spark conversations with members of Generation by associating their brand with a popular hashtag or a trending news topic. If your business is tempted to take this approach, you should know that younger generations are marketing savvy and can easily detect halfway or non-authentic attempts to be culturally relevant. A botched attempt to link your business with something that matters to your target audience will ultimately do more harm for your branding than good.
In summary, with Generation Z coming of age and gaining buying power, it’s imperative that your business adjust its digital marketing strategy if you’re trying to reach younger consumers. Even more so than Millennials, members of Generation Z are digital natives, which makes the way they research and purchase products and services different than other generations.
How New York Ave Can Help
Our creative team at New York Ave can help your business to tell its story in an authentic and meaningful way that will resonate with your audience. By aligning your branding to a greater purpose that your business is genuinely passionate about, we can help you to spark more conversations with younger consumers.
We’re focused on helping our clients build personalized digital marketing strategies. While most generations find personalization appealing, members of Generation Z and the Millennial generation have come to expect it in marketing. In addition to advertising, our team looks for opportunities to insert personalization into all aspects of digital marketing, including website design, social media, search engine optimization, and content creation.
If you’re looking to tweak your branding and digital marketing strategy to appeal to Generation Z and Millennials, we can help. Contact us at New York Ave to learn more about our unique approach to digital marketing.
