Tap Into The Gen Z Market With These Strategies

We all love Gen Z. Although an unclear line divides millennials from the new generation, no one can argue that Gen Z has character — and they’re quickly becoming an online audience to be reckoned with. With an affinity for wide-legged pants, an addiction to TikTok, and the utmost belief that they change the world, Gen Z is the most prominent new market everyone wants to cater to.

But Gen Z, more than any other generation, is particularly adept at identifying insincerities from online brands. Another thing? They hate paid ads. So how does one reach this audience? We’re here with a few strategies to help you tap into the Gen Z spirit so you can understand how they think, talk, and, behave, and therefore, how to sell to them. We’ll dive into the Gen Z audience, platforms the new generation is actively using, and how to engage without coming off as “cringe.”

Gen Z Cares About The World

So what makes Gen Z different than other online audiences? Growing up in a time of pandemics, societal changes, and technological booms, Gen Z believes that everyone is responsible for making the world a better place, and brands are no exception. Use your platform to talk about social issues and the environment, and make a stance when the time calls for it. Show the world that you are actively working towards your aims and trying to make meaningful changes with your brand’s mission, values, and goals.

Gen Z has little tolerance for people who ignore the environment and don’t care about issues like racism, class inequality, and casteism. Gen Z also appreciates companies that are clear about brand values only if they try to implement them. It’s not enough to have goals and then never work toward them, which gets to our next point: performative allyship is out.

Performative Allyship Is Out

Putting on a performance during times of social crisis and then ignoring these issues for the rest of the year isn’t going to work anymore. For example, if you aren’t LGBTQ+ friendly in all months other than June, Gen Z will ignore you (at best) and block you (at worst). If you’re going to be an ally—which you absolutely should—be an ally all year round, not just when everyone else is doing it. How? Get involved with your community, aim for grassroots upliftment, and have an internal meeting to narrow down the causes your brand will actively work towards improving. In this new digital era, it’s no longer enough to just say you believe in something — you must have the action to back it up. Doing so will build loyalty, admiration, and trust among your Gen Z audience.

Find Who Gen Z Trusts

Speaking of trust, collaborating with creators in the space that have credibility with your audience will boost your brand’s awareness and mission. Influencer partnerships have been around for a while now, but to really get through to the Gen Z market, you have to figure out exactly who your audience trusts. An influencer who is huge in the millennial market will likely be different from the one you approach for a Gen Z-oriented campaign. Some examples of influencers that Gen Z trust are Emma Chamberlain, Charli D’Amelio, Wisdom Kaye, Alix Earle, and Molly-Mae Hague. Figure out who this generation’s big artists and actors are so you can move beyond internet personalities to create more extensive marketing campaigns. Some other examples include Billie Eilish, Sadie Sink, and Millie Bobby Brown. 

Use Certain Platforms, And Ignore Others

A key step in creating a digital marketing campaign is choosing the platform, especially when targeting a specific audience. Your approach for YouTube, TikTok, or Facebook will all be different, and this will affect who sees it and how they react to it — and ultimately determines the success of your campaign. Gen Z is the most active on TikTok and Instagram and, according to a 2021 Statista study, least active on Twitter and Facebook. Many now turn to TikTok as their primary search engine, so it’s important to keep that in mind when creating and launching campaigns that target this younger audience. Other than social media, keep in mind that product placement within TV shows will garner their attention, but print ads on billboards or newspapers probably won’t, so decide which platform to use carefully.

Be Less Polished

Long gone are the days of a hundred people working on a single three-minute video ad. Gen Z is big on lo-fi, a term that describes something low in production quality (usually music). The rise of TikTok and viral videos of people putting on makeup, dancing in their living rooms, or choosing outfits for the day show how this new younger audience values the organic and authentic parts of online presence. The imperfections in lo-fi add to the ultimate appeal, resulting in something that feels homemade and natural rather than forced and obviously branded. Use this strategy in your own digital marketing to really connect with a younger audience. 

For example, suppose you’re making a series of promotional reels. You might have hired a videographer and chosen locations that are movie-quality sets. But there might be better approaches for Gen Z because the result, although beautiful, will have an artificial and edited quality that doesn’t appeal to this particular audience. Instead, consider using a hand-held camera or your phone and keep the setting natural, like a messy bedroom or an everyday coffee shop! Selfie videos have become hugely popular with Gen Z and beyond by promoting qualities with a natural feel far from the perfectly curated ads older generations are familiar with.

Engage, Engage, Engage

Engagement is essential for all brands, no matter what age group you’re targeting. However, just like they enjoy casual content, Gen Z appreciates a more laid-back and conversational engagement style. Think of the fast-food restaurant wars on Twitter or embarrassing brand replies on TikTok. The more human a brand seems, the more likely they are to attract an organic audience. And after all, since there is a social media manager behind the brand, breaking through the fake scripts of a brand voice to show some personality will do your brand good.

Remember to also move beyond just engaging with your comment replies. See what your competition is doing, engage with their content (be positive!), find other influencers or creators in your area, and start building authentic relationships. Brands often need to remember that there are just as many eyes on the comments section as on the actual post, so make this work in your favor. Engagement is a crucial part of building your brand’s community, and keeping it human will go a long way with a Gen Z audience.

With all of this, it may seem like Gen Z is hard to impress, but they’re just a unique audience with a unique style! They want to move beyond having fun on social media to find causes they care about and make a tangible difference in the real world. This is an ambitious and exciting goal, so every brand should feel lucky to be a part of it and deliver content that resonates with such a powerful, action-oriented generation.

Always in your corner,

The Content Queens