Feel like you’re just now starting to get a handle on Millennials? We’ve got some bad news. There’s a new generation lurking in the wings, and they’ve got money to burn.
They’re called Generation Z, they account for about a quarter of the US population, and they have $44 billion in disposable income. For your brand to stay relevant, you need to begin taking steps to adapt your strategic marketing and advertising to engage Gen Z. Below, three tips to help you get with the times.
Hey Shorty. Born starting in the mid 90s to early 00s, Gen Zers are the first generation to grow up at a time when the average attention span has sunk to eight seconds. Keeping it short and simple has always been a marketing mantra, but now you have to keep it really really short.
They Are Their Own Brand. Before the rise of social media, the media that advertisers used were the sole domain of those advertisers—customers weren’t creating their own TV spots. But on Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, etc., advertisers and customers are using the same media in similar ways. And Gen Z is just as savvy about marketing as brands are: they’re creating their own personal brands every day. Which means that instead of creating new content, brands just need to help facilitate the content that Gen Zers are already creating, content that’s already Gen Z-approved.
YOLO? FOMO? PLZ. It’s best for brands to stay away from slang, memes, and whatever else you think Gen Zers are saying these days. There are three reasons for this. One, what’s cool today isn’t cool tomorrow. Two, chances are you don’t have an intuitive grip on how to use them. Three, Gen Zers can easily sniff out a phony ploy. Make any one of these three mistakes—and it’s not hard to make all three simultaneously—and you’ll have damaged your brand’s authenticity, which is a big priority to this generation.