The spotlight is shifting from the much-discussed Millennial generation to Gen Z—a group that has become the most coveted demographic among marketers. Born between 1997 and 2012, Gen Z is known for its significant disposable income and its status as the first generation to grow up as true “digital natives,” often with a device in hand from infancy.

And by the way, that disposable income is substantial: according to a 2021 estimate from Bloomberg, the spending power of this cohort—which makes up roughly a fifth of the population—is in the ballpark of $360 billion.

The majority of mid-career marketers today cut their professional teeth selling to Millennials. But this new generation is quite different and the distinct character of Gen Z – and marketers are discovering that making headway with this demographic requires an entirely new set of approaches.

What makes Gen Z different

At the heart of this transition is social media. Yes, Millennials were fluent in social platforms too. But there is a big difference between, say, getting a rudimentary Facebook page your freshman year of college versus being immersed in the hyperkinetic world of TikTok from earliest childhood – yes, Gen Zers are the first true digital natives—social media has been the air they’ve breathed from day one.

There are a few key ways that this has changed them as a cohort. One has to do with their beliefs—the fundamental ways in which they process the world. Mental health, for instance, was certainly a priority for the Millennial generation, but it has assumed a place of absolutely central importance for Gen Z. This is a generation for which work-life balance is not a buzz phrase but an orienting philosophical principle. And they apply this principle outwards, to things like environmental responsibility and animal welfare. All of these things, as far as Gen Z is concerned, are connected: you can’t have robust mental health unless the planet, and its creatures, are properly cared for.

Another way this life-long immersion in social media has changed them has to do with how they process information. Put simply: no age group consumes more social media video than Gen Z. Their news, their entertainment, their personal updates—all of it is crafted and consumed in video form, the punchier and more concise the better.

With all that in mind, there are five key approaches that brands should pay particular attention to in attempting to reach Gen Z consumers.

1) Shotform—and impactful—content

Per research on the subject, Gen Zers have an average attention span of about 8 seconds—compared to the Millennials’ comparatively ample 12. What this means is that marketers have less time than ever to make an impact before their target consumer tunes out.

This may seem like a challenging constraint. But as Gen Zers themselves have demonstrated with their prolific cross-platform output, it is actually possible to pack a remarkable amount of information into just a few seconds’ worth of content.

The question then becomes: what kind of information should marketers be trying to get across? As marketers well know, selling something is rarely if ever about the actual thing you’re selling: it’s about communicating a lifestyle, a mood, a worldview.

As mentioned, that worldview centers on environmental and social responsibility. Per existing data, 62% of Gen Z buyers prefer sustainable brands and 73% will pay more for sustainable products. Social messaging matters just as much as the product you’re ostensibly trying to sell. Signaling those sympathies upfront is essential for making headway with this cohort.

Beyond social messaging, it’s important to make sure this content is truly mobile-optimized: a mobile-first strategy is absolutely essential to getting Gen Z consumers on board with your product.

2) Authenticity and transparency

Since the dawn of marketing, each successive generation has been savvier than the last when it comes to detecting insincerity in advertisements. With Gen Z, this tendency has reached a tipping point. It’s not just that no single group of people in the modern era has been as attuned to inauthenticity in marketing. It’s that no other generation has had as many tools at its disposal to tear apart that inauthenticity using their own platforms. Brand loyalty, for this group, is nearly a thing of the past: one glaring misstep is all it takes to send your customers running to another brand.

This, of course, makes social marketing a minefield: no brand wants to wind up the butt of a joke, or (worse yet) a targeted campaign of sincere outrage. But it also means the rewards are greater for those brands that do manage to crack the code. And while there’s no surefire solution here, one thing is clear: raw, unfiltered content is what this generation is looking for. Content that looks like and carries the same affective charge as native content is always going to perform better than something than lavishly produced but emotionally inert.

3) An omnichannel approach

Many marketers conceive of Gen Zers as living exclusively online—but this is a mistake. Yes, online shopping matters to them tremendously—but they value real-life experiences as well.

The upshot, here, is that an omnichannel approach—i.e., an approach that is unified and personalized across channels, both online and in-person—is the only way to cover your bases with this particular generation.

Think of it this way: Gen Z might learn about new products online. They might do their preliminary research on TikTok. But nearly half of their purchases are still made offline, in physical stores. This fact cannot be discounted when tailoring a marketing strategy to this cohort.

Personalization is crucial here: most Gen Z consumers have grown accustomed to a level of personalization in their marketing content, which makes them feel like they’re being treated as individuals (as opposed to faceless wallets). And while you’re at it, don’t forget the metaverse, which also hosts a viable tranche of consumers—plenty of beauty and fashion brands, like Gucci amd NYX Cosmetics, have had success marketing to consumers in hybrid digital/physical spaces.

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4) Influencer marketing

If you spent any time watching the Super Bowl this year, you know that A-list celebrity endorsements still carry significant weight across generations. That said, Gen Zers are arguably equally influenced by lower-profile influencers—who they might view with as much reverence as any “name” star. 70% of Gen Zers, after all, use social media to follow influencers. Collaborating with these people can be a way to siphon some of that credibility for your own brand.

You can accomplish this the conventional way—i.e., paying to collaborate with a well-established influencer. But another, perhaps more effective method is to become an influencer in your own right—to put out content people actually want to see and to cultivate charismatic influencers who are wholly or at least mostly associated with your own product. Kyle Prue, for instance, a TikTok creator with over 1.4 million followers, is now synonymous with the personal finance brand Fizz.

What is important here—what every Gen Zer knows intuitively—is that authenticity can’t be faked: it has to be earned. Yes, at the end of the day, you are trying to sell a product. The relationship here is fundamentally transactional. But that is, in fact, the point: Gen Z knows they’re always being marketed to, and naturally gravitate to those brands that seem sincere and socially committed, and that also (crucially) speak their language.

5) Digital Advertising Platforms:

If Gen Z is a crucial target for a product or service, marketers should consider using digital advertising platforms to enhance advertising campaign performance. These platforms leverage algorithms to direct campaigns to the social media channels that yield the best results for a demographic like Gen Z. While TikTok may seem like the ideal platform, others such as YouTube and Snapchat can also be highly effective. Digital ad platforms help businesses streamline and optimize their social media advertising efforts based on performance data—allowing campaigns to remain dynamic and responsive to the target audience’s needs.

Despite differences in consumer behavior and digital engagement, the effectiveness of advertising for Gen Z has been proven, just as it has for other generations. While video ads, particularly on platforms like TikTok, have been found to be more effective for Gen Z compared to other generations, this group also engages with multiple touchpoints across various channels. Therefore, a comprehensive advertising strategy, including search ads, is now more essential than ever. To efficiently and effectively manage advertising across multiple platforms, the value of automated ad management tools and digital advertising agencies has never been higher.

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