As a marketing agency, we’re guilty for preaching the importance of creating content for the younger generation as they’re often some of the most engaged. Not only that, but they’ll grow up with your brand, meaning that keeping Gen Z happy could also be like future-proofing your brand – if you have the right products/services, of course.
However, do we know who Generation Z is and what they stand for? There are plenty of myths around on what Gen Z think, like, dislike, and how they spend their time, but the only thing we can ever know for sure is that they’re people aged 16-24.
Global Web Index have released stats saying that Gen Z are:
- 68% more likely to be following vloggers.
- 25% more likely to be swayed by the opinions of others.
- 51% more likely to value brands that make them feel cool or trendy.
- 80% use the internet as the first place for seeking information
- 6/10 spend an average of 2 hours, 57 minutes per day on social media
While this is all good to know and make great stats for throwing into meetings and pitches to Gen Z brands, people aren’t so simple. Like most people, this generation is complex, diverse, and they don’t want to be stereotyped or put into a category. They are savvy shoppers, fashion-conscious individuals who are after authentic marketing and value the opinion of their peers (or followers).
With that in mind, how do we make sure we’re creating content for an audience that can be so different from each other and ourselves?
From one Gen Z to another…
At a recent MarketED Live talk, Timothy Armoo from Influencer agency, Fanbytes, spoke about his winning formula when it comes to advertising on Snapchat – known for its popularity within Gen Z.
This involves using the target audience to create and distribute the content. For example, a 17-year-old creating content specifically for an audience of 17-year-olds. It just makes sense. 17-year-olds understand other 17-year-olds – let’s tap into that.
Fanbytes delivered a campaign for Deezer, the streaming brand to target a 13 to 17-year-old demographic. They enlisted a 16-year-old to create an AR lens for the brand that users could interact with on Snapchat and share their own videos. In just 24 hours the videos received 1.1 million views and 46,000 people had used the lens in their Snapchat stories.
Another example of recruiting younger minds to help create is Voxi, a mobile network owned by Vodaphone targeting people aged under 25. For the network’s launch the brand enlisted 50 young creatives to create the content for their social channels, meaning that young people were at the heart of the proposition, as opposed to the norm of a marketing team dictating what young people are interested in. The truth is that we just can’t always know.
Summary
There’s so much information out there on who ‘Generation Z’ are, and while there are a lot of interesting stats and insights, the most successful Gen Z-focused campaigns have enlisted the help of younger mind to truly understand who they’re speaking to and create relevant and powerful messages.
Next time you’re looking to reach 16-24-year-olds, make sure there are some around…
That’s what we did for this article on tips for reaching Generation Z.