Gen Z won’t wait: how to speak the language and stay relevant in their digital world
In our latest blog Kaizen’s new Associate Consultant, Flora Campbell, analyses what businesses, charities and other organisations need to do to win over and connect with Gen Zs…
Generation Z – ‘digital natives’ – are the first generation to grow up with the internet, so their media consumption is unsurprisingly quite different to other generations.
Born into an era of fast internet, streaming services, digital tracking tools and instant messaging – Gen Z generally wants communication that is authentic, but provides instant gratification.
So how can brands cut through the noise and sharpen their strategies to connect with Gen Z?
1. Values over the ‘hard sell’
Gen Z are generally, socially aware on issues such as racial justice, inequality and the environment, and make conscious efforts to spend their time and money on companies that align with their values.
This means that Gen Z values genuine connections, which can be borne out of interactive (and perhaps more importantly) authentic content. Businesses can publicly parade their values all day long – but by highlighting the real, tangible impact they are making, brands are far more likely to connect with their Gen Z audiences. This is perhaps why user-generated content is so popular. Content that comes from the audience rather than the brand itself is viewed as more authentic and trustworthy, and can therefore enhance a brand’s reputation via association through an external, seemingly ‘non-biased’ source.
2. Location is everything
Social media isn’t a side channel for Gen Z – it’s their newsfeed, shopping mall, community hub and research tool. With two thirds of Gen Z using social media as their main news source, and a drastic increase in podcast popularity, brands could be invisible to this generation unless they adopt new methods to show up where Gen Z hang out.
The Labor Government recognised this during the recent federal election campaign. Anthony Albanese appeared on Abbie Chatfield’s ‘It’s a Lot’ podcast amongst others with a large following among younger audiences and adopted Gen Z language when referring to the Coalition’s energy and economic plan as “delulu with no solulu”. This demonstrated a strategic effort to connect with younger audiences on their platforms, and in their language.
3. Speak their language (and move quickly)
Gen Z has arguably the shortest attention span of all generations, so formats such as TikToks or short Instagram reels need to be attention grabbing – every word is valuable.
Media is absorbed through vertical content designed for smartphones – ditch the corporate tone and lean into the latest trends, humour and even irony, and Gen Z are more likely to respect your brand for its down-to-earth tone and ability to move with the trends that define their culture.
Even professional social networks such as LinkedIn are trying to appeal to Gen Z as they become a growing proportion of the work force, incorporating a ‘reel style’ feature allowing users and organisations to share casual, lighthearted clips not typical of a platform centred around the corporate world.
One brand particularly well versed in Gen Z language is Ryanair, whose presence on Instagram and TikTok has been a huge driver of engagement.
4. Don’t dismiss the influencers
Amid growing mistrust in traditional institutions, Gen Z are turning to influencers for information and inspiration. This has opened up a broad and dynamic space for influencer marketing. Because Gen Z have autonomy in who they follow, every post comes with a built-in layer of trust – and Gen Z have opted to hear these voices and opinions, with one third of 18-24 year olds citing celebrity and social media influencers as sources of their news content.
Independent Federal MP Allegra Spender snapped up this opportunity during the federal election, collaborating with influencer Milly Bannister on Instagram in a bid to cut through with younger voters. As Bannister pointed out, “traditional media critics seem uncomfortable with our presence, and I understand that this represents a shift, but we’re here to add more layers to the national conversation”.
5. Visual and bite-sized content is key
Images, graphics, and digestible videos are essential to capture the attention of Gen Z - this is the language which they speak. Having grown up surrounded by exciting and ever-changing multimedia, my generation is visually driven. High quality videos, graphics and images are a no-brainer if you want to influence the generation who are due to make up 27% of the workforce this year. Keep it simple, to the point, not overly polished – and always keep in mind Gen Zs’ desire for authenticity and values-led approach.
Gen Z are reshaping engagement.
They are a large proportion of your current and future customer base, audience and workforce – so organisations who listen, adapt, and cater to their desire for authenticity and values-led messaging will thrive – but they need to do it soon, because Gen Z won’t wait around.
