After carefully combing Generation Y and Millennials, it is Generation Z’s turn to be scrutinized. They were born after 1995 and grew up in a connected world, and social networks, streaming, and smartphones are part of their daily lives. Like Generation Y, this new generation of young people is regularly singled out for their laziness, smartphone addiction, and confusing relationship with work and management. Generation Z can, therefore, seem elusive when you just have to grasp their codes to understand them and reach them better.
Who Are The Young People Who Make Up Generation Z?
Their Character Traits
Within the study “La grande invasion” framework, the young people looked at their faults and strengths. They admit to being impatient, scattered, stubborn and stubborn. They are aware of being connected, they are somewhat allergic to constraints, and things have to go quickly, very quickly. Fortunately, Generation Z also has qualities. Having grown up surrounded by the Web and new technologies, they master these tools and show a solid ability to adapt to new developments. They are more ambitious, creative and uninhibited.
Their Habits On Social Networks
For these digital natives, social networks hold no secrets for them. They are also the ones leading the dance. They appropriated Snapchat, and we saw Facebook and Instagram launch into Stories. However, we notice that they use social networks differently. If they are present on Facebook, they tend to abandon the social network in favor of Snapchat and Instagram, which they consider “cooler”. They will post more on these rather than on Facebook.
For them, social networks rhyme with fun, instantaneous and fleeting. This last criterion is crucial for them because, surprisingly, they seek a particular form of anonymity on the Internet and social networks. They mainly use them to watch videos and communicate with their friends and not to share content, as can be done on Facebook and Twitter. Big video consumers also spend a lot of time on YouTube, which they consider very calm on the “coolness” scale, according to a ranking by Google.
How Do You Communicate With Generation Z On Social Networks?
To reach Generation Z, you inevitably have to be present where they are, namely social networks. Although they have low purchasing power, young people of Generation Z attract brands. And for good reason: they are permanently connected, present on numerous channels, and have a particular influence on social networks.
On Which Social Networks Should I Communicate?
Communication through images has much more impact on them than on other generations. Your Social Media strategy should then focus mainly on Snapchat, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook to a lesser extent. New additions like Musical.ly and its little brother Live.ly also appear in India. These are video applications similar to social networks. They use the same codes (subscribers, like, comment, share, etc.). By positioning themselves on the philosophy of music and live streaming, it is not surprising to see their success with young people, which attracts brands. Coca-Cola was the first brand to launch on Musical.ly with its #ShareACoke campaign.
Which Formats To Favour?
Your ads must be short, called snack content, to capture their attention. This generation Z, also known as the zapping generation, has a lower attention span than its elders. It went from 12 seconds in 2000 to 8 seconds today.
Therefore, the Bumper Ads format on YouTube, a 6-second sponsored video format, lends itself well to this new trend. The short and interactive designs offered by Snapchat are also perfect, especially since they allow much leeway for brands. Our “Top 9 Brands that have understood everything about Snapchat” is here. Here, it could, for example, be enjoyable to use:
- Snap Ads broadcast between Stories
- Sponsored Geofilters
- Sponsored Lenses.
Here is an example of the beauty product brand Benefit. The ad must also be very visual and creative. Generation Z is much more creative than Generation Y in terms of content. They create more content, while theY are more likely to share publications. Faced with more innovative and demanding young people, it is better to use imagination to create a short, impactful, original announcement to attract attention and arouse curiosity. Finally, we must favor a multi-channel strategy. Millennials own and use multiple devices, and sometimes at the same time. Therefore, Your ads must be adapted to each screen, especially to mobile.
Target And Personalize Your Ads!
Generation Y is not very receptive to traditional advertising and mass marketing. On the other hand, they are not refractory to publicity. They are only more sensitive to targeted advertisements that directly concern them, exceptionally unobtrusive ads that do not hinder the user experience. In a targeting logic, it can be interesting to use retargeting on Facebook and Instagram to target young people who have already shown interest in your brand.
Content They Like
Apart from sponsored ads governed by social media platforms, you can consider promoting your offer via influencers. Influencer marketing works very well with this generation, primarily through videos on YouTube. Highlight your products through tutorials, advertorials, sponsored events, etc., but always in style. To help you, here is an excerpt from an interesting study by Kantar Millward Brown. It highlights the types of content that positively impact Gen Z.
As you have understood, faced with a more demanding, unfaithful and impatient Generation Z, you have to be imaginative to attract their attention and arouse their curiosity. It would help if you conveyed things that speak to them immediately via social networks where they are most active. Also, it would help if you cared about the visuals and music used in your ads, tone, and message conveyed.
