Marketing to Gen Z: Strategies for Success

As marketers, we’ve been trained to chase millennials as the holy grail of demographics. We’ve analyzed their habits, preferences, and psyches inside and out. But you know who’s been quietly emerging as the TRUE audience to obsess over? Gen Z.

This new crop of digital natives aged 25 and under are flexing their purchasing power and cultural influence. And if you think your same old millennial marketing playbook will work on this crew, you’re in for a harsh reality check.

Gen Z moves at lightspeed, has a sixth sense for inauthentic BS, and masters trends before they even happen. Reaching them requires a total strategic reset, using new channels and radical transparency. It’s time to level up our game.

From my experiences marketing to this enigma of a generation, here are some key tactics that can actually break through the infinite scroll and get Gen Z to pause, engage, and develop an authentic affinity for your brand:

MASTERING SHORT-FORM, SNACKABLE VIDEO

You know those addictive 15-second videos plastered across TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts? That’s essentially Gen Z’s primary language. Bite-sized, visually-stunning videos loaded with personality are absolute musts.

We’re talking raw, behind-the-scenes looks at the brand rather than overproduced ads. Ditch the script and polished veneer for off-the-cuff, entertaining clips with meme-worthy moments. Think charismatic employee creators, silly challenges, instructive product demos, the whole nine.

It’s a rapid-fire video blitzkrieg aimed at constantly keeping your brand’s story and offerings front and center on their feeds. Consistency is everything.

HARNESSING FULL-FUNNEL INFLUENCER PARTNERSHIPS

Gen Z is fluent in spotting over promotional marketing ploys from miles away. That’s why smart brands are turning to influencers, those highly trusted gateways into this audience’s world.

But not those cringey influencer giveaway posts we’re all numb to. Go full-funnel by weaving influencers into your entire marketing strategy, from awareness all the way through to conversions.

I’m talking about long-term partnerships with relatable creators to produce everything from top-of-funnel edutainment to authentic product features, reviews, and endorsements. Bring them into the brand family as advisors, collaborate with them, and give them creative control over how they promote your products their unique way.

Gen Z demands relatability and authenticity. So put the human element and creators they admire at the forefront.

“The power of youth is the common wealth for the entire world. The faces of young people are the faces of our past, our present, and our future. No segment in the society can match with the power, idealism, enthusiasm, and courage of the young people.” – Kailash Satyarthi

UGC CONTENT COLLABS AND CHALLENGES

In case you haven’t noticed, Gen Z is downright obsessed with internet fame. Lean into that obsession by putting them in the spotlight and galvanizing them to create content for and about your brand.

Fan contests, creative challenges, and user-generated content campaigns tap into those desires for notoriety while driving ridiculous amounts of inspired engagement. Maybe it’s a TikTok dance or video challenge for your new product launch. Or perhaps a contest for the most outrageously creative way to use or repurpose your product, with the winners’ UGC content boosted on your channels.

Whatever you cook up, the key is channeling Gen Z’s creativity and competitive energy into an irresistible reason to shout out your brand and shower you in consumer-made content. It’s free publicity powered by their voracious need to create.

ALIGNING WITH SOCIAL CAUSES (FOR REAL)

This pragmatic, socially-conscious generation holds brands to the highest ethical and moral standards. They can smell empty cause marketing from a mile away.

But seamlessly weaving your brand’s values and ethical initiatives into creative campaigns? That’s marketing they can get behind. We’re talking complete transparency into your sustainability efforts, diverse and inclusive representation, or grassroots community giveback programs.

It’s about earning credibility and respect by standing for something bigger than making money. You have to be the change you want them to get behind. Video diaries giving raw inside looks at your team’s volunteer efforts, user challenge contests with donations as prizes, street team meetups sparking change – those are activations they’ll organically galvanize around.

Gen Z is undeniably the future and their influence over culture and spending will only keep growing. Ditch those outdated millennial tactics and meet them in their arena with radical authenticity and value. Speak their language and you’ll be stunned by their engagement and loyalty.

For brands struggling to resonate with this powerful cohort, let’s talk about a full-funnel Gen Z strategy guaranteed to turn them into evangelists. After all, the future is theirs – we’re just guests.

You’ve slaved over creating amazing content that shares your expertise and provides value to your audience. But now what? How do you ensure that content actually reaches the eyes and feeds of your ideal customers amid the dizzying sea of online noise?

The answer lies in the often overlooked art of content optimization. It’s the special sauce that can take your content from invisible to superstar status – driving a steady stream of organic traffic while ensuring visitors stick around and take your desired actions.

As a marketer in the trenches, I can’t overstate how pivotal content optimization is to any successful content strategy. When you purposefully optimize every piece of content, you maximize its potential for higher search rankings, increased user engagement, and ultimately, more conversions and revenue for your business.

Want in on this success secret? Here’s my step-by-step guide for whipping your content into prime, optimized condition every single time:

Step 1) Do Your Keyword Homework

Before putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard), research relevant keywords that your target audience is using to search for topics related to your content. Identify high-volume terms with low competition to target – these will be your content optimization guiding stars. Tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, and kwfinder.com are super helpful for this.

Step 2) Craft Content with an SEO Backbone

With your keyword targets set, infuse your content with a strong SEO framework by:

Using your primary keyword in the title and repeatedly (but naturally!) throughout
Including related secondary keywords and semantic variations
Structuring content under helpful subheadings with keyword-rich titles
Optimizing images with descriptive file names, alt text, and captions
Linking out to other authoritative, relevant sources

Step 3) Obsess Over the User Experience

While technically optimized content fuels rankings, you also need to create an awesome, engaging experience to keep users hooked. Optimize for human beings by:

Kicking things off with a magnetic introduction that grabs attention
Using simple, conversational language and breaking up text with images/visuals
Including persuasive calls-to-action to guide users toward your goals
Allowing seamless sharing to social platforms to amplify reach

Step 4) Shout Your Optimized Content from the Rooftops

Don’t let your brilliant, optimized content go to waste in the abyss of the internet! Promote that puppy through strategic channels like social media, email newsletters, online communities, influencer outreach, paid advertising, and more. Squeeze every ounce of potential from the content you worked so hard on.

Step 5) Make Content Optimization an Endless Cycle

Content optimization is a continuous process, not a one-and-done endeavor. Always be iterating and refining by revisiting your older “greatest hits” content and freshening it up with new sections, updated information, re-optimization based on evolving best practices, and a fresh promotional push.

With a blend of technical optimization and obsession over serving your audience’s needs, you’ll create an unstoppable force of content gold that keeps ’em coming back for more…and your business flourishing.

Still feel like you need a content optimization lifeline? My team lives and breathes this stuff. Shoot me a message and we’ll get your content primed for total domination.

Posts tagged ContentStrategy

Cutting Through the Chaos: Marketing Tactics to Captivate Gen Z