Marketers everywhere are shifting attention to Generation Z. These are people born after 2000.
It’s understandable why. Although still in their teens, Gen Z comprise a quarter of the US population. By 2020 they will form 40% of the country’s consumers.
The above stats represent huge buying power (now and in the future). But Gen Z is already influencing $600 billion in annual family spending in the US.
Here’s a simple guide on how to target your video marketing to Gen Z.
Gen Z wants video
An obvious point within this blog, but one that needs stating. Gen Z wants video.
The Acumen Report – Youth Video Diet – describes Gen Z’s video appetite as around the clock. Social media-based video is fuelling the hours watched says the report. On average a Gen-Zer consumes 12.1 hours per week of ‘free’ digital video.
Unsurprisingly, Sharethrough also found Gen Z is more likely to watch video on a phone. Seventy-one percent reported that they use their phones to watch video daily. This is versus 52 percent on a TV.
So, getting your brand in front of Gen Z is going to involve mobile-friendly social videos.
Just don’t tell Gen Z to watch video!
According to Sharethrough, Gen Z is a self-directive generation. Not being told what to do is a core characteristic. It’s a generation that will click when ready and not because an ad wants them to go somewhere.
[bctt tweet=”It’s a generation that will click when ready and not because an ad wants them to go somewhere” username=”TellyoTV”]What’s evident is Gen-Z’s fast-paced, highly selective and decisive filter. This is something many marketers will not have encountered before suggests author Deep Patel.
Be relatable
Gen-Zers have naturally learned to decipher what matters. They’ve been bombarded with hundreds of thousands of marketing messages before their teens.
With their decisive filter in mind, you should find a connection with Gen-Zers. It is vital you do this through content that makes them feel at ease. A way to do this is to be relatable – what Deep Patel describes as the ‘authenticity of today’.
The key to being relatable is to showcase the personality of your brand. If you come across as some faceless, corporate company, you won’t have much of an impact. Gen-Zers will filter you out. They want brands they can genuinely connect with.
[bctt tweet=”The key to being relatable is to showcase the personality of your brand” username=”TellyoTV”]Focus on ‘edutainment’
The whole concept of ‘edutainment’ is huge right now. Edutainment content is both educational and entertaining. It is the kind of content that Gen Z will go out of their way to find and filter out.
As a brand, you can produce relatable edutainment. Think behind the scenes videos and ‘inside’ information about players, actors, TV characters. An interview with a football player at the training ground is something a young fan could relate to. Sharing snippets of TV show rehearsals can help fans see the human side to their favourite stars.
Your message needs to be quick
Gen-Zers have remarkably short attention spans. Bloomberg reports that this is around eight seconds. For Sharethrough, 79 percent said a video’s first three seconds affected whether they watched the rest.
Sharethrough’s Chris Schreiber commented: “In some ways, I’m starting to think three is the new 30,” referring to the assumed length of TV commercials.
Our quick message here: Create and share brief video clips. Maximise shorter form content.
For example, a sports club might share goals as they happen. Or a news publisher short videos summarising a major event.
So, that’s Gen Z in a nutshell. It’s a generation that wants bite-sized chunks of video content. This needs to relatable, educational and entertaining. All which they can access via a smartphone. That’s the challenge, so get creating.
Sources:
https://www.fastcoexist.com/3045317/what-is-generation-z-and-what-does-it-want
http://www.defymedia.com/acumen/acumen-report-youth-video-diet/
http://tubularinsights.com/social-video-generation-z/
http://www.thedrum.com/news/2016/08/31/gen-z-loves-mobile-video-just-don-t-tell-them-watch-it
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/deep-patel/5-tips-for-marketing-to-g_b_11228510.html
https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2014-06-18/nailing-generation-z
