Monday, 07 September 2020 17:09

Evolving Consumers: How Gen Z is Impacting Denver Marketing Agencies

According to Forbes, Generation Z (people born from 1995 to early 2010s) will make up 31% of the world’s population by 2021. This will make Gen Z the largest generation in the United States. As a business owner, you always want to be in-tune with your customer base. And as your target market continues to change and shift, you’ll need to rethink your marketing strategies. What once worked for Boomers won’t even get noticed by Gen Z. Don’t believe us? Here’s how Gen Z is impacting Denver marketing agencies every day. 

 A strong social media presence is more important than ever

When marketing to Gen Z, a business’s social media presence is their bread and butter. Generation Z is full of exceptionally active social media users who are constantly checking Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter on their mobile devices. 

Given their activity and sheer prevalence in the social space, Gen Z is becoming an increasingly influential and important consumer cohort for brands everywhere. This shift is pushing marketers to adjust their content creation strategies to cater to a demographic that mainly prefers online interactions. While they will still engage with content that millennials consume — articles, blog posts, and videos — Gen Z wants even more. Polls, online quizzes, reviews, user-generated content, and social media influencer marketing are all important in the Gen Z purchasing decision.

An increased need for authenticity 

The surge of social media influencers on Instagram is no accident. Believe it or not, 63% of Gen Z consumers would rather see “real people” in ads, compared to only 37% of millennials. And as a result, working with “influencers” is becoming increasingly important for brands. With large followings, businesses can leverage these Instagram user’s accounts to increase their reach as well as their authenticity. 

Shifting from long-form text to more visual content

In today’s digital age, ads are everywhere you look. Combine that with the fact that the average attention span of a Gen Z-er is only 8 seconds, and it’s clearly important to quickly get your message across to your target audience. 

One way Denver marketing agencies are doing this is by moving away from long-form and plain text-based content to take advantage of visuals instead. Marketers are leveraging plenty of visual resources these days to engage with Gen Z-ers, such as:

  • Memes
  • Emojis
  • GIFs
  • 15-second videos 

Whatever content you focus on, remember that when it comes to Gen Z, brevity is beautiful. 

An increasing need to understand your audience

In the past, defining a target audience was fairly straightforward. That isn’t necessarily the case anymore, especially when it comes to Gen Z. For starters, they’re the most diverse generation in the history of the United States. In fact, Gen Z is made up of 47% minorities.

Not only that, but Gen Z-ers also identify with more “fluid personal identities,” with only 48% considering themselves as exclusively heterosexual. And lastly, Gen Z is considered to be the most progressive generation to date. These kinds of differences can make marketing to Gen Z a little more complicated for marketers and small businesses alike.

The pressure to be a part of something bigger than your brand

According to a study by the American Psychological Association, Gen Z is significantly more stressed about national and international social issues like climate change, income inequality, gun violence, sexual assault, and immigration deportation than any other generation. 

As a result, Gen Zers want to support businesses and brands that share their beliefs and causes. This places increasing pressure on brands to take a stand and to be a part of something bigger than just the services or products they sell. 

Learn more about the marketing strategies of top Denver marketing agencies

So, there you have it! Those are a few of the ways that Gen Z is impacting advertising in Denver and beyond. If your business or brand needs help marketing to this—or any other—generation, reach out to us at FiG Advertising + Marketing. We are a full-service advertising agency that prioritizes market research, strategic creative ads, and data-driven digital marketing to drive high-quality leads to small businesses. 

Contact FiG Advertising + Marketing today to learn more.