7 Marketing Tips To Engage Gen Z Consumers

Gen Z consumers are sandwiched between millennials and Generation Alpha. They are the first to be known as digital natives. Understanding the psychology and habits of this audience is crucial as it shapes how they experience brands.

A Quick Look At Gen Z Consumers

Your growth marketing strategy depends on your ability to identify and understand your target audience. Only after delving into your target audience can you successfully create messaging that aligns and resonates with them. When your audience believes that you “get them,” they will trust you, become loyal consumers, and help you grow your business.

Understanding Gen Z’s behaviors and values will directly influence the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns. As a small business, you must have in-depth insight into this generation to compete in a very crowded digital marketplace.

You’ll want to keep updated with Gen Z’s evolving preferences as this generation rapidly changes its behavior and preferred platforms.

So, let’s take a quick look at the psychographics of this dynamic generation.

Gen Z consumers

• • • spend six or more hours per day on their smartphones
    • depend on the internet for answers and information, including reading reviews before making a product purchase
    • grew up with social media and easily float between social platforms
    • are more sensitive to privacy
    • want more personalized feeds and try to minimize their public online presence
    • favor online communities where they can discuss their issues and interests, creating tight online bonds with online friends.

Gen Zers are also more depressed than previous generations and have a less optimistic outlook for the future. They feel anxious about climate change, civil unrest, and economic challenges. 

Gen Z Consumers Are Social First Shoppers

Gen Zers prefer to do business with brands with a strong purpose and story. Authenticity is key to them. They are social consumers who demand accountability and diversity and are committed to tackling climate change.

According to a McKinsey study, 73 percent of Gen Z respondents report that they prefer to buy from ethical businesses and look for brands that address social and environmental issues.

However, Gen Zers are alert to false statements or misleading copy. If you try to portray yourself as dedicated to these issues without supporting your claims, you’ll quickly lose your audience.

Trust is crucial to this generation.

Experience Over Ownership

Gen Zers prefer access to services and products rather than ownership. They subscribe to streaming channels rather than buying videos or music. They like share services such as clothing rental and car shares.

Gen Z consumers are more willing to spend money on experiences than previous generations, who still invest their earnings in luxury.

For this generation, hybrid is about more than work. Gen Zers enjoy brick-and-mortar stores but still want an outstanding online shopping experience. Simple online transactions and payment options are critical–the more, the better. The key here is to create an omnichannel shopping experience consistent across all customer journey touchpoints.

What Does This Mean For Your Growth Marketing Strategy?

Let’s dive into seven marketing tips to help you succeed with Gen Z consumers.

1.  Make sure your brand is visible where your target market hangs out.

An essential element in your customer persona is identifying where your audience hangs out. You want to be sure that you’re present where they are. So, where does Gen Z hang out?

• • • Around 96% of Gen Zers use YouTube, making it the most popular platform for this generation.
    • 91% are active on Instagram, primarily for connecting with family and friends and for entertainment. (Sprout Social)
    • Sixty percent of global TikTok users are Gen Zers, who use this channel for product discovery and news updates.

2. Create content that your audience consumes.

Successful content creation and distribution depend on several factors, including your time, resources, and ability to be consistent. I always recommend that small business owners, especially those with small teams (or no team), focus on the type of content they like to create. While each generation has preferences, there is usually enough range to find an overlap between what you enjoy creating and what they like consuming. However, as you see from the stats below, Gen Z is visual.

According to an analysis by Neil Patel, Gen Zers prefer

• • • Long-form and short-form videos
    • Images

They’re not big consumers of

• • • Blog posts
    • Webinars
    • Email newsletters
    • Text-based social posts

What does this mean for your content marketing? Your consumer audience most likely includes multiple generations. So, if you have a blog on your website (which you should), repurpose those articles into long-form and short-form videos and memes.

Be sure your social posts have beautiful images or funny videos. 

Create polls, quizzes, and games that allow for interactive digital interactions with your brand. 

Fortunately, today, there are many tools to help you create fun, engaging videos, memes, and images. Canva is my go-to platform, but with generative AI, you can create highly interactive and engaging digital content.

3. Be sensitive to Gen Z’s heightened sensitivity to privacy.

Gen Z consumers grab every opportunity to reject cookies and are extremely sensitive to how businesses collect and use their data. To earn their trust, articulate and publish clear messages about data collection on all your digital interfaces and provide clear privacy policies and easy opt-out options for personalized ads.

4. Mental health and anxiety

Gen Z cares deeply about the environment and the future of the planet. They experience significant stress over these issues and the state of the economy. They are more depressed and anxious than previous generations. As you design your online and in-person customer experience elements, it’s crucial to remember this. You might incorporate mental wellness or stress-relieving elements into your messaging and visuals. Use calming, non-threatening, and compassionate themes, colors, and language. Ensure your CTAs are not high-pressure, using scarcity tactics. Let your audience know that you hear them and care about their issues.

5. Purpose-driven shopping preferences

Gen Zers are willing to spend more for a service or product that aligns with their values. Authenticity and a global outlook are critical elements in their purchase decision process.

If you haven’t already, create a purpose statement and make sure it’s visible on your website and social profiles.

Tell your brand story. Create behind-the-scenes videos to give your audience an inside look at your operations.

If you sell products, provide eco-friendly packaging or source ethically and locally. Highlight this on your social media channels.

6. Be sure your paid advertising campaign meets your ROI objectives.

Because Gen Zers are online for hours every day, they are exposed to ads at every moment as they navigate through their digital and physical worlds. So, you might think that Gen Z consumers are immune to ads or tune them out.

However, strategically placed, interactive, and entertaining paid content can help you reach your business growth goals. When crafting your paid advertising campaign, keep these factors in mind:

• • • 76% of Gen Z follow a CTA after watching an ad – compelling content generates a high engagement rate with this consumer group.
    • 36% of Gen Z have purchased a product because a social media influencer recommended it. Social proof or authentic endorsements have a high impact on them.
    • Gen Zers avoid banner ads, popups, and other forms of traditional advertising. They see these formats as intrusive and inauthentic.
    • With an average attention span of 8 seconds, you’ll need to create concise and engaging content that will grab the attention of your Gen Z audience within the first 2-3 seconds.
    • Mobile optimization is a must. 92% of Gen Zers own a smartphone, so optimizing your content for mobile devices is critical. Be sure your ads are easily accessible and displayed clearly, with the CTA fully visible and not blocked by other content.

7. Leverage social listening.

Social listening tools are the best way to know what your audience says about your brand and competitors. It’s also the perfect way to stay ahead of trends and hear how your audience communicates. Social listening and analytics tools such as Brandwatch, Sprout Social, Mention, and BuzzSumo give you valuable insights you can use to create content and campaigns. Use these tools to

• • • Monitor keywords unique to Gen Z.
    • Identify influencers and micro-influencers that Gen Z follows.
    • Track mentions or analyze trends on video platforms, such as YouTube.

Bottom Line

All the tips discussed above are relevant to any growth marketing campaign. However, if your target audience is Gen Z consumers or includes them, you want to be sure that you address their expectations and are sensitive to their challenges and habits.

You’ll build trust and engagement with this influential consumer audience by

• • • staying authentic
    • aligning with their values
    • and showing up on the platforms they favor.

Focus on purposeful messaging and mobile-optimized content, and use social listening tools to understand and connect with Gen Zers. You’ll develop customer loyalty and a competitive edge in the rapidly evolving marketplace.

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