Gen Zers, also affectionately known as “Zoomers,” are the largest generation of consumers today. These young adults, born between approximately 1995 and 2010, represent almost a third of the US population and account for $29 billion in direct spending.
Even the youngest members of this group have growing influence as consumers; 93% of parents say their Gen Z children influence household purchases. With all that buying power, it’s no surprise that figuring out how to market to Gen Z is at the top of many brands’ to-do lists.
To stay on top in today’s marketing industry, it’s key to understand how Gen Z consumers use digital media, what they want from companies, and who they trust most to recommend products and new brands.
Our experts are sharing their insights on how your brand can use the power of social influencers to connect with, learn from, and better engage with the complex, digitally-immersed Gen Z consumer.
Marketing to Gen Z Means Prioritizing Authentic Digital Connection
The first rule of marketing to Gen Z: authenticity is king. If your brand voice is contrived or tries too hard, you’re unlikely to get far with this generation. To get past this barrier, you first need to understand what makes Gen Z tick.
What traits define Gen Z as consumers?
Let’s start by looking at some of the defining traits of Gen Z and their consumer habits.
- Highly online, but conflicted: These younger shoppers spend more time on social media than any other generation, with 45% of Zoomers online “almost constantly.” However, there are also some signs of an anti-tech backlash, with many reporting that they prefer in-person communication.
- Pragmatic: The Great Recession hit right in the middle of Gen Z’s childhood, and as a result, they’re a practical generation known for doing more with less and being wary of long-term debt.
- Hungry for knowledge: Gen Z has never known a world without the internet. They’re the most engaged in social media of any generation and are constantly on the hunt for new information—but, crucially, they obtain much of it through social signals rather than through traditional “trusted” news sources.
How Gen Z’s digital habits shape their brand interactions
Gen Z consumers seek out what feels authentic to them, and often, they find that content through their carefully curated social media feeds.
Gen Z behavior is rooted in connecting digitally:
- 85% of Gen Z consumers use social media to learn about new products and brands
- 48% of Gen Z is most influenced by a brand’s social media activity when discovering a new brand
- When making a purchase, 80% of Gen-Z consumers conduct research, evaluating a brand’s website, costs, social media pages, and lastly, their values
Influencer Marketing to Gen Z Builds Trust Between Your Brand & The Consumer
It’s no coincidence that Zoomers are the most resistant to advertisements relative to all other generations. Over half of Gen Z is believed to have ad-blocking software, and less than a quarter respond positively to the four major ad categories (online search, online display, desktop video, and mobile video).
That’s why you’ll see so much of Gen Z marketing leaning on influencers, which can mean anyone from athletes to podcast hosts to social media personalities who exemplify a lifestyle Zoomers find appealing.
How influencers reflect Gen Z’s values and preferences
The good news for advertisers is that, despite being resistant to many forms of digital ads, Gen Z social trends indicate that they’re generally on board with influencers, with 50% reporting that they trust influencer recommendations. Gen Z values honesty and human connection, which is why they connect with influencers in a way they often don’t with traditional advertising:
- Influencers hold more sway than celebrities for Gen Z consumers (36% vs. 24%), but both carry more weight for Gen Z than they do for millennials
- Almost half (44%) of Gen Z consumers have made a purchase decision based on a recommendation from an influencer, compared to only 26% of the general population
How influencer marketing creates a sense of community among Gen Z consumers
Influencers build their own brands around community interaction, modeling the lifestyles that are popular in their communities and speaking on topics that matter to their followers. A hair and makeup influencer might encourage their followers to try a specific style, while an auto tech influencer might drive their followers (no pun intended) to purchase certain engine parts. These trends emerge, perpetuate themselves, and then feed into new trends that get picked up by other influencers.
Your brand can harness this power by working with influencers who have powerful voices in their online communities. But this strategy will only work if you choose the right influencers and work with them the right way.
Best practices for choosing and collaborating with Gen Z influencers
It’s easier than ever to work with influencers, thanks to platforms like TikTok Creator Marketplace. But how can you choose the right influencers to reach Gen Z?
These are some basic best practices to keep in mind:
- Make sure you understand your audience and have vetted, reliable audience data. Knowing who you’re talking to is a prerequisite for collaborating with the right messenger
- Partner with influencers who have active, relevant, and targeted Gen Z audiences. Look at relevant metrics like follower count, post engagements, and audience overlaps
- Prioritize data throughout the influencer marketing campaign process. From influencer identification to measurement and reporting to selecting the best partners to re-engage for ongoing campaigns, data will help you create campaigns that deliver ROI.
- Remember to keep brand safety in mind. Consider doing a deep dive on any influencer you hire to be the face of your brand. This can help avoid brand safety risks like hiring influencers with a history of comments that don’t match your values.
Making Purchase Decisions Based on Brand Values
Advertisers also need to understand how Gen Z operates differently when deciding which products to purchase. Overall, Gen Z shows less brand loyalty and more interest in socially conscious shopping—so how can marketers work with these trends?
Is Gen Z loyal to favorite brands?
A McKinsey study found that 62% of Gen Z consumers were happy to check out another option for repeat purchases—even those who came into the search with a preferred brand.
To keep Gen Z’s loyalty, marketers must offer the right product to the right audience. But there’s another secret ingredient to connecting with Gen Z audiences: their values.
Why brands need to speak to Gen Z’s values
The immense number of products and services marketed to Gen Z consumers via various forms of digital media has made them skeptical consumers. They’ve also come of age in an era when social movements like #MeToo have rocked the popular consciousness. The result is a generation that cares deeply and authentically about social issues.
For brands, interfacing with Gen Z requires speaking honestly and breaking free of standard marketing platitudes. Instead of sticking to the status quo, you need to consider what your brand stands for and how to represent that effectively. Those can be tough tasks, but brands also have a powerful new tool to accomplish them: influencer marketing.
How Gen Z’s social consciousness affects their purchasing decisions
For Gen Zers, shopping and connecting with their favorite brands is a way to assert their values. These consumers are more concerned with social activism than any group before them, with 75% of Gen Z respondents saying political or social engagement is very important to their identity.
When it comes to putting their money where their mouth is, Gen Z’s buying power is inextricable from their values:
- 95% of respondents in a survey of college students said that they were less likely to skip a brand’s ad if it was promoting a partnership with a cause
- Gen Z is three times more likely to say that the purpose of business is to “serve communities and society”
- 43% of Gen Zers say a company’s efforts online can impact issues they care about
To reach a generation so focused on charitable causes, sustainability, activism, and truth, it’s important to align your brand with the causes that are important to this generation (as much as it makes sense to do so). Influencers are a great way to showcase that alignment by shining a light on your brand’s unique stance and providing necessary education from a trusted source.
Focus More on Community Building and Less on One-Way Messaging
Zoomers are inclined to engage with and purchase from brands that make them feel part of something bigger than themselves, online and offline. Because they’re digital natives, they’re drawn to digital communities, including those built around brands.
But, as ever, the need for authenticity reigns supreme—which is why it’s important to reorient your brand toward community building and reduce your reliance on traditional one-way messaging.
Why community-building resonates with Gen Z
Loneliness is a major problem for Gen Z, which might be why they seek out community wherever they can find it. These days, that often includes online spaces such as subreddits, Discord servers, and group chats.
Influencers often drive the discussion in these communities, so partnering with the right ones can introduce your brand’s story in a way that doesn’t feel forced.
Tips for engaging Gen Z with two-way communication
To get communication flowing both ways with your Gen Z customers, consider:
- Exploring community-focused shopping experiences, such as live shopping, which can help you maximize the power of influencers to convert customers
- Encouraging customers to post user-generated content (UGC) that shows your products in action, and consider making UGC a part of your campaigns
- If they don’t already exist, creating discussion forums for your brand on platforms like Discord and Reddit, which focus on community engagement
- Engaging your brand’s social media followers in the comments on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, or wherever the conversation is happening
- Using social listening tools to track the conversation surrounding your brand and address customer questions
Influencer Marketing Is Key to Reaching Gen Z
Building communities around Gen Z’s core values and beliefs through trusted influencers will help your brand inspire influential conversations, develop brand advocates, and create a space for younger consumers to learn about and interact with your brand.