I recently spoke with a group of ninth-grade students at Lewiston High School, and one thing struck me. Most students have never read a newspaper or watched broadcast news. Just imagine!
file photo
Nancy Marshall, Marshall Communications
Newspapers such as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Portland Press Herald may also be in foreign languages. Cable news networks like CNN, Fox News, and News Center Maine are an afterthought.
This is another reminder that young consumers are very, very different from previous generations, including myself.
Hello, Gen Z
This is important for businesses looking to acquire new customers and clients. The purchasing power of Generation Z (those born between the late 1990s and early 2010s) is growing by the day, adding millions of new consumers.
In 2021, Gen Z had approximately $360 billion in disposable income, and that was three years ago.
How will you target Gen Z this year? How will you market to them over the next five years? The goal is to move them from “prospects” to clients and customers. And to get there, companies first need to understand where young people are most active.
Skiers chase snow. When you go fishing, you go where the fish are likely to bite. The same logic applies to marketing your business. Whether you want to share recent news articles with your target audience, advertise to a specific consumer demographic, or simply conduct market research.
TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram are the most popular social media platforms among Gen Z users. If you aren't using at least one of these platforms, you're missing out on a huge opportunity. These platforms probably won't disappear for another decade.
If millions of Gen Z consumers continue to use them, they're likely to carry those habits into their 30s and 40s.
So even if you're successful in courting younger Instagram users today, they may remain loyal over the long term. Contact us today and let them get to know you, like you, and trust you. If you do this, they may become important brand ambassadors for you over the long term. That's the best branding, branding that stands the test of time and inspires loyalty.
YouTube is another platform to consider. For example, short video content is very popular among his teens, so creating a pitched message for YouTube can have a huge impact.
Don't underestimate the 30-second or 1-minute videos that convey a short, engaging message. This is especially true if attention spans are decreasing (even among older consumers). A single video can be more important than a front page article in the Washington Post.
Once you know where the fish live, what bait do you use? Messaging involves more than just finding the right platform. Your message should also be to the point. That means understanding young consumers.
Reliability, transparency
There is one thing to consider here. Gen Z places a high value on authenticity and transparency, and is drawn to brands that are upfront about their products without coming across as shameless advertisers.
Gen Z consumers don't want to feel like they're being sold a bagged product. They want to feel like the bag of goods really matters, that it has some deep meaning or higher purpose. To their credit, young people care about the values brands bring to the table, including sustainability, innovation, and diversity and inclusion.
Many young buyers are orienting their purchases around impactful consumption, ideally in ways that contribute positively to the world around us. Therefore, companies would be wise to position themselves as honest marketers who are open and honest about their products and services, while at the same time claiming that those products and services truly make the world a better place.
For example, if you're trying to sell skis to young shoppers, it might make sense to sell the value of recreation, exercise, and the big idea of ”connecting with nature.”
If your business is struggling to seem authentic and transparent, brand partnerships often make sense. In other words, even if Gen Z doesn't know if your brand is right for them, by connecting your brand to influencers they already know, like, and trust, you can , can make a big difference.
Gen Z is known to monitor social media influencers on a daily or weekly basis, so finding the right influencer to sell your product (for a fee, of course) can help you avoid skeptical buyers. can turn into active buyers.
There's a reason why brands go after Kim Kardashian, and there are countless influencers who are cheaper than “Kim K.” Companies should always be on the lookout for influencers in their field that resonate with their target audience. If one influencer (for example, a YouTube skier) can reach her 100,000 followers, then over time he will be able to convert 10,000 of them into paying customers.
Yes, marketing to Gen Z is possible, and targeting these young consumers has never been more important for businesses. With a little effort, the fish will start biting.
