A Guide to Generation Z Marketing

The tech-savvy minds of Generation Z are the future. Read on to see the world through their eyes and understand their marketing needs.

Who are Generation Z?

Gen Z’ers make up over 25% of the world’s population, consisting of young people born from 1995 onwards. Naturally, the majority of this population are students. Therefore, you will need to know how to market to this group as they become a key demographic to win over.

Generation Z’s DNA

Society has labelled them screen addicts, lazy and having the attention span of a goldfish, but this is far from the truth. Nearly half of all young people in the UK are enrolled in some form of higher education, whether it be university or an apprenticeship, and the number is growing. On top of this, they’re one of the most politically active collectives for a generation, with the mission of reversing climate change and saving the planet on their shoulders.

Gen Z’ers have an attention span of 8 seconds, which is a third slower than a Millenial’s 12 seconds. Although, they have powerful minds that can ingest Snapchat stories, tweets and Buzzfeed quizzes at lightning speed. It’s in their DNA to power through a 12-page report or even read through an 8,000-word research paper to find a single quote for their dissertation.

Marketing for Gen Z

So what does this all mean for your marketing? It means you have to be smart. Gen Z’ers decide what they want quickly. Whether it’s a billboard they see on the side of a bus or an advert between their favourite TV shows, you need to catch their eye in a small amount of time. So if you want to attract their attention, you need to get to the point in an intelligent and user-friendly way.

The Values of Generation Z

This generation cares a lot about ethics. Before they build a relationship with a business, they quite often want to know their values. And with easy access to technology, they know how to find it. Things such as whether a business is eco-friendly, if there is a relaxed working environment or even how much holiday their employees get are all important to them. So these are great things to promote in marketing or CSR campaigns.

Online reviews and engagement with generation Z also go a long way. To build trust with your marketing, you have to engage and respond to your customers. Whether it is positive or negative feedback, responding to everyone shows you are acknowledging their feedback and doing your best to resolve issues.

The product accounts for 25% of business sales. The remainder refers to the intangible feeling. Businesses nowadays need to connect with their buyers and create a brand that means something. They thrive on anything that tells a story, so another point worth noting is their dedication to experience over product. They care more about something if they can capture it on Instagram or Snapchat.

How to Think Like a Gen Z’er

The average Gen Z’er spends 10.6 hours every day online. 5.9 hours of this is on a mobile phone device, which highlights the importance of mobile optimization to make a successful campaign. 

Social media is their pride and glory, with YouTube, Snapchat and Instagram being their most popular. Keep that in mind the next time you’re thinking about an Instagram Story campaign. Push notifications are also 3 times more powerful than emails.

Recruiting the New Generation?

Recruiting the young generation isn’t the easiest thing to do. Knowing the ins and outs of business, generation Z know which companies they want to work for and which ones they don’t.

If you’re interested in recruiting Gen Z’ers, or “the digital natives”, there’s a handy recruitment guide on StudentJob UK. It explains everything you need to know, from how to attract top talent to your business to onboarding and writing vacancy descriptions.

Written by Rebecca Hart, an Online Marketer at StudentJob UK.