How to Market to Millennials and Gen Z,

Millennial and Gen Z are currently in the job market. While often lumped together, their behavior is quite different and respond to marketing quite differently.

They have the purchasing power and how do we reach them and convince them to purchase.

Millennial (1980 - 1995)

Millennial are born in 1980 – 1995. Their main form of communication is social media. This generation were allowed to get social accounts from an early age it was accepted. Social media platform is where both their personal and professional lives were demonstrated without fear.

However, they soon learn, while social media were their communication tool and best friend it was also their worst enemy. The Millennial generation learn that the information posted had lasting impressions and positive or negative consequences. It made them more susceptible to cyberbullying.

Described as optimistic, collative and digital pioneers, Millennial love to put their lives (both personal and professional) on display. The most popular social platform is Facebook for the Millennial followed by Instagram. Both of these platforms are visited multiple times a day to scroll through their feeds, share content or even purchase products.

Influenced heavily by their peers, Millennial have a Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO) culture. They follow their friends’ social media posts more closely than other generations. More than ¾ have admitted either being influenced or purchasing products based on the Instagram they follow (both friends and influencers).

Gen Z (1996 - 2012)

This generation is the newest and very interesting. Generation Z is the new workforce who is here to disrupt, by 2020 they will represent the largest group of consumers worldwide.

Unlike Millennial, they have never known a world without social media – 44% check their social media profiles on an hourly basis. Their DNA is digital hence they are referred to digital natives. Where do they go for news, entertainment and communication. Social media is their best friend.

Gen Zer’s are more realistic, independent and private than their predecessors. They have learned from oversharing mistakes of the past and opt for social platforms that are more private and time sensitive.

95% of this generation spend time on YouTube, They spend most of their time on YouTube videos, it is the choice compare to traditional medium such as television. In addition, Snapchat and Instagram is used to share personal content. Generation Z uses social media for entertainment.

Differences between Millennial and Gen Z

The main differences between these generations are how they perceive social media.

• Millennial love to share versus Gen Z who loves to be entertained
• 72% of Generation Z watch YouTube daily.
• However, it’s mostly Millennial who watch and respond to online adds (79% vs 59%)
• Attention spans have shrunk, with a 12-second average for Millennial and 8 for Gen Z
• Millennial are more price conscious than GenZ, but also more brand loyal
• GenZ (along with the higher price tag) also have higher expectations and their brand loyalty can waver. Social media and fast-paced technology is their norm so sites that are slow to load will cause them to bounce at much higher rates
• Gen Z is more open to experimentation as well as entrepreneurial with most having a “side hustle”
• Millennial compare themselves more to peers and suffer from FOMO culture whereas Gen Z values individuality.

Millennial Marketing

Their focus is building trust and relatability. In order to market to this generation is all we have to engage them on their level. What it means is leveraging their peers and celebrity influencers to share our brand messages. Millennial look for acceptance from their peers therefore they believe the suggestion made by their peers. They seek information via Facebook and Instagram.

Generation Z Marketing

Their focus is on entertainment. On a social level Gen Z does communicate more privately eg What's app. This generation preference is YouTube. Because of their lightning fast attention spans and distrust of ads, focus on attention-grabbing grassroots videos. They also spend on average of 11 hours per week on their mobile so mobile-friendly content is a must in order to engage this group.

While both generation is socially and mobile addicted, there are distinct differences between both generation. It is important to know which platform attracts them socially to capture their attention and attract their spending dollars.