Millennials are a prized demographic for communicators – they’ve been analyzed and overanalyzed as companies adjust to millennials having more purchasing power than before or simply joining their workforce. But, it’s time to think about the next generation as they could be even more influential in changing the face of marketing communications.
I recently came across this article in PR Week, Generation Z is changing the face of marketing, and found the following insights important for us to remember as PR professionals seeking new ways to engage consumers:
- The new trend is using social media to expose youth to new brands, products and content. But it is increasingly common to find the success of this method is dependent on the kind of content being advertised (i.e., Youth go to news sites to learn about news, social media to learn about celebrities and gossip).
- Influencers are the bridge between a brand and the audience they target – they will be more important than ever.
- What attracts Gen Z to Influencers? Commonalities. Many influencers share the same interests, opinions or style as their followers.
- Instagram and Snapchat are considered the most rapidly evolving media platforms to reach Generation Z, with 38 percent of teens spending most of their time on the latter and 28 percent on the former, according to a survey conducted by PRWeek.
The lesson is that social media and influencers can be effective so long as they remain original and are not scripted to change the personality of the influencer.
Your target audience may be comprised of mainly millennials, but don’t count out Gen Z and the influence they will have in the future. My advice would be to start developing strong relationships with influencers now.
