How to Capture Gen Z’s Attention with Your Marketing

Shopping habits and trends are unique to each generation. For years, marketing strategies have been developed around what motivates and interests Gen X and its predecessors. Now we have Gen Z, whose shopping habits, like most of their other characteristics, are nothing like those before them. 

In an earlier post, we enlarged the characteristics of Gen Z and how those characteristics can be adopted for better marketing. Before we go any further, you might want to learn more about Gen Z here: Gen Z Search Behaviour: How to Understand and Optimise? 

Key Takeaways

• Gen Z values authenticity and love brands with candour.
• They love sharing it when they love or hate a brand with their friends and family members.
• Build a relationship with them on social media and create video content of quality.

What Motivates Gen Z?

Although it seems like it is not easy to satisfy Gen Z and set them in motion when you know what motivates them and project that insight onto your strategies, it is only a matter of time before they take notice of your brand. 

Gen Z values authenticity the most. The brands with candour stand out among the others and give a sense of reliability, which is another thing that motivates them. 

How to Reach Gen Z?

Social Media

Having been born into an online world, Gen Z is native to social media and uses it daily for communicating, socialising, or shopping. Therefore, be where they are to keep up with them.

Instagram

Gen Z makes up 30% of all Instagram users. As well as looking at and interacting with posts they like and exploring new content thanks to the explore page, they enjoy spending time in their DMs and looking at stories. Create short-form videos, try interesting filters, focus on your stories, and collaborate with other brands and influencers.

YouTube

Gen Z loves videos, either short ones on Instagram and TikTok or longer ones on YouTube. Considering that YouTube has become somewhat like another search engine, it’s for your benefit to get your brand a place on YouTube.

Create visually appealing videos of quality. Avoid unnecessary lengths if you can clarify your point in a few minutes. And don’t forget that you have eight seconds to grab their attention. So, make sure the first seconds of the video are well-used. 

TikTok

As one of the most popular social media platforms, TikTok experienced rapid growth during the pandemic when its users increased dramatically. It is a platform more open to any kind of fun and ‘weird’ content. Get a TikTok business account to showcase your brand’s most creative, fun and authentic side within your TikTok videos. 

Read More: TikTok Marketing Strategy Tips

Snapchat

Snapchat is a messaging platform that allows people to send images and videos that disappear after opening. It is mostly used for providing more privacy and hasn’t lost its popularity over the several years. It is great and rich in its marketing capabilities. The key is to create a sense of exclusivity around your content in order to keep your target audience engaged. 

BeReal

Although the app is quite new, it is almost certain that it will be the next popular platform. Its name reflects the atmosphere it offers to its users: authenticity.

BeReal offers a spontaneous sharing of the moment with friends, away from the highly produced content of Instagram and YouTube. You can share a backstage glimpse into your brand and get more intimate with your community. You can create organic and simple, yet powerful campaigns with your daily updates. 

Word of Mouth

Gen Z loves sharing it with their circle of friends or family when they love or hate a brand. They trust their friends’ recommendations and feedback, and they don’t want to miss out when a friend or family member comments positively about a brand, a product or a service.

Loyalty programs and rewards are some ways to carry out this strategy. Still, a more powerful way is handing out promo codes, given at the end of a purchase, which is required to be shared with and used by others for the initial customer to actually gain a discount. 

Known as one of the most powerful marketing strategies, word of mouth is even more powerful on social media. Building a relationship with your customers will make them more likely to interact with your content and reach out to you on DMs or posts regarding anything, which in turn helps you with your strategy.

Influencers

When we say influencers, don’t think about the ones who own million-dollar cars and houses. Gen Z likes to see real people at their realest, so they will not engage with content that is low on authenticity. To capture their attention, focus more on micro and nano influencers. Your zoomer customers already know what you are up to, so instead of people who will exaggerate your product, you will need someone who’ll share their genuine opinions about it and your brand.

User Generated Content (UGC)

It is not only the influencers you can rely on to promote your brand. Gen Z thinks photos and videos help them greatly in their purchasing decisions. Create fun and engaging hashtags that encourage your customers to share your products and their real-time experience with your brand. Enabling customers to share photos or videos of your product, besides the written reviews, also has so much potential you wouldn’t like to miss.

5 Marketing Strategies to Capture Gen Z’s Attention

1. Create a social media strategy

You need to consider a few things while marketing to Gen Z on social media. Being open and clear about your values and the backstory of your brand, rather than using social media for solely promoting your products, is essential to earn your customer’s trust. Don’t limit yourself to formality, speak their language and don’t be hesitant to use slang and emojis, but remember that they’ll sense it if you’re forcing it.

2. Produce video content

It is the age of visual content! With almost every platform making it possible to create bite-sized videos, there are many ways to attract Gen Z. TikTok, on its own, is surely a gem. Still, reels and stories on Instagram and short videos on YouTube are other options to expose your brand to users. Use filters and join trends to take your place among the featured content.

3. Go live on social media

Live broadcasts enable real-time interaction between a brand and a customer. It is a way to invite your customers behind the scenes of your brand so that they will feel included and see that you are more than a brand. 

4. Use emojis and GIFs

Emojis and GIFs may be the most used forms of visual content. Use them to either react or respond to your customers and to jazz your content up. You can also consider using them to make a statement about a currently trending topic or an event.

5. Collaborate with other brands

You have your own language and strategies to reach your audience, which may sometimes limit your voice. Collaborating with brands that are also aware of cultural, social and environmental issues is an opportunity to serve new experiences and expand your reach to larger audiences.

Personalise It!

One of the biggest motivators for Gen Z is personalisation. They love when they feel like a brand knows them and shows relatable content. As much as you care about showing relevant ads, you must care about providing a fully personalised shopping experience.