Why isn't Gen Z interested in my content?

What can you do to catch the eye of young people who are constantly craving something new and are bombarded with ads of every kind?

Gen Z is seen by many as the “pleasure generation” — optimistic, mobile, with an entrepreneurial streak. Businesses tend to dread this generation, since so many of them have been stuck in the same advertising lane for years and have no idea how to speak to this new audience.

But what should we really make of a generation that lives only for the present moment? What can you do to catch the eye of young people who are constantly craving something new and are bombarded with ads of every kind?

Get the perspective of a content marketing specialist who belongs to this very generation — the one giving advertisers so many headaches.

“Gen Z” are, in fact, today’s teenagers and young adults. They were born between the mid-90s and the early 2000s.

Let’s look at a few highlights from those years:

In 1998, the Dreamcast kicked off the sixth generation of video game consoles.
Groups like the Spice Girls, the Backstreet Boys, and Simple Plan had their moment in the spotlight… then their decline.
Toward the end of the 90s, the mobile phone went mainstream, thanks in part to companies like Alcatel (France), BlackBerry (Canada), and Nokia (Finland), which would eventually give way to Apple’s iPhone starting in 2007.
The September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York shook the entire planet.
Hurricane Katrina struck the southern United States in 2005, in a period marked by numerous natural disasters.
In 2008, Barack Obama was elected the 44th president of the United States.
Social media made its appearance. Veterans remember Myspace, which opened the door, followed by MSN, Facebook, Twitter, and then Instagram.

So what does all of this reveal about Gen Z?

First, the rise of video games, along with the growth of mobile phones, Wi-Fi networks, and social media, has had a major influence on this generation. It’s now possible to communicate with people anywhere in the world, at any time. The connection is instant and constant.

Digital marketing has also taken off, and the sheer volume of ads has skyrocketed. According to a piece on habilomedia.ca, young people today are exposed to an average of 3,000 ads a day.

Advertising is everywhere in every corner of “Gen Z” life. These young people are also a key target audience for marketers, since they hold their own purchasing power.

At the same time, we’re seeing the rise of anti-racism and anti-homophobia communities and groups. Figures like Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey, and Ellen DeGeneres are growing in popularity.

Scientists are increasingly alarmed by the many natural disasters occurring around the world. As a result, environmental protection has become a top priority — one highly valued by Gen Z youth. Think of Greta Thunberg, the young Swedish climate activist who delivered a major speech on climate change in 2018.

With all of that in mind, it’s time to answer the big question: how do you get Gen Z interested in your content?

You need to ditch the old playbook — the pushy ads designed to drive sales the way they used to. Young people today have a remarkable ability to filter out the information they receive. In fact, you only have a few seconds to convince Gen Z that your ad, your post, or your content is worth their attention.

So how, in just a few seconds, do you capture the attention of this volatile and complex category of consumers?

Here are my 10 tips, which I hope will help guide your approach:

1. Support a cause

As mentioned above, Gen Z has a real thirst for social justice. Whether it’s racial equality, the environment, human rights, or gender equality, any business hoping to connect with this generation needs a clear message or a cause to stand behind.

Take the example of Bell Let’s Talk, which has raised nearly $122 million to support mental health initiatives in exchange for shares, likes, and comments on social media. It’s a great example of a company supporting a cause while getting people talking about its brand, securing itself a prime spot in the smart mobility market.

Another good example of a company that regularly supports social causes is the multinational Nike. These days, you can see it using its Twitter account to back #BlackLivesMatter and #StopAsianHate.

2. Build brand loyalty through a sense of community

An advertiser who wants to stand out needs to build genuine excitement around their brand. But how? Partly by strengthening the target audience’s sense of belonging to that brand.

Gen Z has a deep need to feel part of a community. For a business, it’s therefore crucial to really know its target audience and understand what content should be front and center.

Interacting with your audience matters even more when it comes to making people feel like part of the community. Instagram Stories or open-ended questions posed to your audience are techniques worth prioritizing to boost young consumers’ sense of belonging to the brand.

3. Prioritize content focused on entrepreneurship

According to a survey of 3,000 Canadians aged 13 to 37, 37% of respondents have a strong inclination toward entrepreneurship, while 50% of young adults aged 18 to 34 say they hope to one day become a manager or be their own boss.

Indeed, Gen Z is highly drawn to posts featuring success stories. A short profile of someone from your organization, or a figure who has left their mark on history, and you’re set! “Gen Z” is hungry for knowledge that will help them on their entrepreneurial journey.

A fairly recent movement putting “girl bosses” — women who’ve achieved entrepreneurial success — in the spotlight is gaining momentum and resonating with both girls and boys in Gen Z.

Here’s an example from LinkedIn, one of the companies offering a wealth of knowledge and success stories through its social channels:

4. Communicate in a way that reaches them personally

Gen Z is exposed to an extremely high volume of ads every day and has become very good at filtering out what it sees. It’s therefore essential for businesses trying to reach them to avoid overly aggressive ad campaigns built around a message that pushes consumption.

Young people don’t respond well to overly invasive messaging, and they’re very protective of their privacy.

A post or ad that manages to include young people in the sales and marketing process is the best way to reach this audience.

It’s also essential to personalize the shopping experience and be very human in communications aimed at “Gen Z.” Online conversion rates can increase by around 8% thanks to personalized online experiences.

Sending personalized emails or promo codes are examples of customer experience personalization that often work better than you’d think.

Here’s an example from Caféine Pushers, which offers a fully personalized experience to its customers:

5. Stay on top of popular platforms

It goes without saying that the platforms young people use keep multiplying, and it can sometimes be hard to keep up with new trends.

Still, it’s essential to have a solid understanding of the popular platforms and how young people actually use them.

Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, TikTok… how do you make sense of it all?

It’s important to stay on top of trends by reading, staying informed, and testing out the different platforms.

Here are a few statistics from Natifs.ca on social media use in 2020:

Facebook is the most-used social network, with 2.4 billion monthly active users and 1.6 billion daily active users.
Facebook usage, however, drops considerably among Gen Z, who prefer platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.
For 41% of Gen Z (born from 1997 onward), Instagram is the favorite platform for following brands.
YouTube has 2 billion monthly active users.
TikTok users spend an average of 52 minutes a day on the app. Gen Z’s use of the app has been steadily climbing since the start of the pandemic.
At the start of 2019, only 0.8% of businesses said they used TikTok as a marketing platform.

6. Optimize the mobile experience

Gen Z is gradually moving away from the computer in favor of the smartphone.

It’s essential for any business hoping to reach young people to optimize the mobile experience — whether on its website, in its ads, or in its social media posts.

This also means using a website theme optimized for mobile, making checkout possible on mobile, and creating content with mobile devices in mind (for example, using vertical videos and adjusting the size of the content you present).

It’s important to understand how your target audience actually uses each social network.

For example, for Gen Z:

Facebook is more often used to get news from friends and family or information about a specific page, event, or group.
Instagram is a platform where people show off highly polished, idealized content. On Instagram, everything has to look like the best possible content, belonging to some perfect world.
TikTok is a place for lighter content, still very much centered on the individual. It’s full of pure entertainment content that can be filmed at home and doesn’t require standing on a beach in Hawaii or in a heavily edited dream landscape.
Twitter is used to get news and follow current events.
Snapchat is used to capture the present moment through images that are less polished or perfected than on Instagram. Snapchat is also a platform where young people communicate a lot with each other.
Pinterest is used, among other things, to organize and plan purchases. Pinterest is a highly visual platform that’s increasingly used for online shopping.

Knowing this, and staying informed, will help you figure out which channels deserve your focus.

8. Communicate a commitment to protecting privacy

Gen Z places a very high value on protecting their privacy. This concern is shared and valued by the majority of young people today.

Feeling increasingly watched, influenced, tracked, and located, Gen Z won’t be interested in your content if they feel they have to hand over too much personal information in exchange.

If you want to gather information about your consumers, simply ask for an email address or a newsletter sign-up. Consumers will feel like they’re making a choice rather than being tracked, and will be more likely to engage with your content.

If you do want to collect information, do it transparently. Openly highlight your commitment to keeping personal data secure and respecting privacy.

9. Collaborate or partner with influencers or micro-influencers

Ah, influencers! Both criticized and appreciated by businesses when it comes to getting their products in front of Gen Z. Still, they’ve become key players in marketing campaigns.

Collaborating with influencers can sometimes feel like a waste of money, but these partnerships are often far more profitable than people think. A single appearance on the page of an influencer with a strong engagement rate can be quite pricey, but it can also deliver excellent results depending on the campaign.

Take the example of Kandju, the Quebec candy company whose brand ambassador is influencer Catherine Peach, and which became widely known thanks to this partnership.

Another compelling example is Princess Polly, an Australian clothing boutique that uses influencers from around the world to talk about its brand. In Quebec, we can see several influencers talking about clothes bought at low prices from Princess Polly’s online store. Cassandra Bouchard, among others, made a YouTube video that racked up more than 50,000 views showing a package she received from the Australian boutique.

10. Get straight to the point!

Finally, my last piece of advice: get straight to the point! Create content that’s simple, quick, and effective!

Avoid posts or ads that run too long. Since the average Gen Z consumer spends only a few seconds on your content before moving on to the next thing, a few punchy words and a visual that stands out will be far more effective at grabbing their attention.

Sources:

https://www.oberlo.com/blog/marketing-strategies-generation-z