The ultimate guide to marketing to Gen Z [Infographic]

As marketers, we know that it’s not always the wisest decision to use the same marketing strategies, tactics, and messaging to reach audiences with completely different backgrounds.

It’s just not effective.

When creating content it’s important to craft messaging that relates to your specific customer’s goals, needs, values, and demographics overall. 

We might not realize it, but the generation that someone is born into is a big part of this. It significantly impacts their purchasing decisions and behaviors. 

Those born after 1996 make up the latest age group, known as Gen Z.

Gen Z makes up more than 40% of U.S. consumers as of 2020 according to Fast Company.  Sparks & honey also reports that Gen Z also has an estimated purchasing power of $44 billion annually.

This information shows that younger generations are becoming bigger decision-makers in the U.S. and as more and more enter the job market and generations like baby boomers retire, they will only become more powerful. 

If your brand is not currently marketing to Gen Z, you could be missing out on a significant revenue stream.

To target specific generations, like Gen Z,  we can use dedicated generational marketing tactics. 

An infographic created by Campaign Monitor surveyed over 300 members of Gen Z to break down exactly what marketers need to know to target this new generation. 

Online presence

The way that Gen Z consumes information has truly changed the way that we need to produce and promote our content. Gen Z, and the majority of millennials, get all the information they need through smartphones and computers.

The youngest generation is online the most out of any other generation with 44% saying that they’re online most of the day. 

Social media

Online means also on social media. Each of the major social media platforms, however, is used for very different purposes.

• Twitter - used for getting important news and real-time interaction
• Instagram - shows off their ambitious, trendy lifestyles
• Snapchat - keeps all of their followers up to date on their daily lives
• Facebook - used for general information

As a millennial, I use those social media platforms in basically the same way, but because I am not a big Twitter fan, I follow news stations on my Facebook page and often get most of my news by reading the articles that those stations post to my feed.

What does this mean for marketers? 

First off, social media marketing should be one of the most important focuses of your overall marketing strategy. Use the breakdown of social media platforms above to determine which platform would be best for your brand when trying to reach Gen Z. 

If you’re a clothing brand or promoting travel experiences, for example, Instagram would be your best option because this is the platform that Gen Z uses to show off their taste and type of life they live.

Email

Email marketing isn’t dead! 58% of Gen Z checks their email multiple times a day and 37.4% say that they receive 1-5 emails in a single day.

They also prefer to receive emails from their favorite brands several times a week and use their accounts mostly for personal communication.

68% of this generation opens emails for sales or special offers and 60% open emails for relevant content.

If your brand sells to Gen Z and uses email marketing tactics, you need to ensure that you build a true connection with them through the content you create and include some sort of special offer. Don’t send an email unless there’s something truly in it for your audience. 

Habits and engagement

The majority of this generation says that they’ve purchased something they’ve seen in an email 1-5 times per month. 

29.8% say that they’ve made 2-5 purchases after seeing content on social media.

What does this mean for marketers? 

You can increase your revenue through email and social media by using the right messaging and visuals. Consider setting up ads on social media that have a clear call-to-action and make the purchasing process very simple.

I know that I’ve personally bought many things that I’ve seen on social media through ads, influencers, and my friends posting about something knew they’ve bought. The easier and more simplified the buying (or conversion) process is, the more likely I am to actually go through with the purchase.

Going along with the information above, the majority of Gen Z prefers to engage with brands through social media and email. They also love to receive promos and special discounts.

Brand loyalty is also very important among this generation. 55% say they’ll stick to a brand they like and 42% say they’re brand conscious. 

Unlike older generations, what the brand stands for and famous influencers that promote the brand have a huge influence on Gen Z’s engagement with a brand. 

They really value brands that are authentic in their messaging and brands that have an impact on society. This article by the Digital Marketing Institute dives deeper into why this is important to our youngest generation.

Takeaways

A connection is an important part of Gen Z’s purchasing decision. 

Be sure to portray the lifestyle you are trying to promote through video and imagery, connect with them on a human level, and utilize data to deliver the most personal experience possible.