What do Gen Z know about them? Have you built a demographic-specific marketing segment for your 2023 marketing campaign? If not, drop everything and do it now. These are students at Cal Poly Humboldt and our high schools, 98% of whom own and use a smartphone. If your business doesn’t sell to them, maybe you should hire them because they will soon make up more than 25% of your workforce, so you need to understand them.
They are under 26 years old, they are the first true digital natives, using up to eight screens at once and have a very short attention span (8 seconds). Over 86 million people are the largest group of buyers in America. They don’t like email marketing, their preference is social media.
As a group, they are aligned with social issues, sustainability and concerned about racial equality. This makes sense because their group includes the highest percentage of people of mixed race in the United States
They are also concerned about the environment and sustainability. Their biggest fear is climate change. Gen Z wants to know that your company shares their values and is doing something about issues they care about, such as the environment and eco-friendly products.
Gen Z people typically don’t trust ads! 97% learn about services and products from friends and influencers on social media! So your brand needs to create strong word of mouth online through your brand pages, CEO pages and influencer campaigns.
A look at Mad River Beer, Los Bagels and Blue Oaks provides clues as to how they are marketed.
Your Gen Z marketing focus needs to be precise. Talk about your employees, satisfied customers, and the nonprofits you support. You want to explain how your business recycles all the office paper and buys lunches for the kids at the local school.
The good news is that attention spans are short, so your content, posts and messages need to be quick and informative. Think Instagram Stories, a few slides with candid messages from real people.
Generation Z is a values-oriented group of individuals who seek equality, seek product recommendations from their social media, and demand authenticity from the company they sell to. In order to successfully communicate with them, it is in your best interest to find a way to stay on top of your marketing.
Emanuel Rose is the founder of StrategiceMarketing.com, author of “AUTHENTICITY-Marketing to Generation Z” and has over 20 years of business experience in sales and marketing, including how to leverage LinkedIn and Lead Generation. He has extensive experience in designing, managing and optimizing marketing campaigns to drive sales growth and is driven to deliver results by focusing on the customer first. Emanuel is a fly fisherman with an obsession with your market results.
