While we often refer to members of the millennial generation as digital natives, today’s teens – AKA the elusive gen Z - are truly the first generation of consumers to have grown up in an entirely post-digital era.
From the moment they were born, they’ve never lived in a world where they couldn’t just “Google it” or “ask Siri” from a smartphone via (likely free) Wi-Fi. This immediate availability of information, and ease with which they can access it, has completely shaped the way gen Z engages with brands, makes purchase decisions and connects with their peer networks.
Social media has also had a significant impact on gen Z behaviors in the market. Unlike the millennial mentality of broadcasting anything and everything to these platforms, gen Z is shifting to a mentality of sharing only specific stories to specific people on specific social channels. This is evident when we look at the platforms that teens are most likely to use. Rather than the “over-sharing” platform of Facebook, they use Snapchat and Instagram because they are considered more selective.
Although the number of social media platforms has more than doubled in the past decade, gen Z continues to be choosier when it comes to where and how they are sharing content - making it extremely important for brands to understand social media through a gen Z lens if they hope to reach these up-and-coming consumers.
To get more insight into how brands can approach this challenge, I interviewed four experts regarding gen Z and social media: Joe Cox, Engagement Director at Barkley Ad Agency; Mia Dand, CEO of digital strategy and research advisory firm Lighthouse3; Ramsey Mohsen, CEO of Everhance and former director of social media at Digital Evolution Group; and Travis Wright, marketing keynote speaker and co-founder of CCP.Digital.
Here is what our panel of gen Z digital experts had to say:
Jeff Fromm: How connected do you expect gen Z to be to their friend networks?
Joe Cox: They are hyper-connected. They’ve grown up with a smartphone. It’s not an add-on or an annoyance - it’s part of them. They aren’t to the point where they won’t do things physically because of tech, but it’s getting closer.
Mia Dand: Gen Z is super-connected to their friend networks because of easy access to technology. Constantly connected is their norm. They are growing up in an always-on, mobile-only world with messaging apps that allow them to instantly and effortlessly connect with anyone across the globe in real-time. They might share a common passion or activity like music, gaming or a cause with friends all over the world. My 13-year-old is an activist and runs a support group for LGBTQ+ youth on Instagram. She recruited 14 other teen admins from various locations to help. That’s her tribe.
Ramsey Mohsen: Consumers in the gen Z era are true digital natives, so they have only known what it’s like to live in a world with social media. It’s a social norm to be connected with not only their friends and family but also brands and businesses – essentially the world – at all times.
Travis Wright: They are connected to their friends at all times, in many different mediums. There will not be a one-size-fits-all channel where everyone goes, but more niche areas where they connect with others with like-minded interests.
Fromm: What new platforms are emerging to fuel that connection?
Cox: Snapchat and Instagram are the destination platforms for gen Z’s highly personal networks. They are also major users of what is called the “dark social” – messenger. There’s no way to know exactly how big it has become but it has a major gen Z presence. You can tell by the velocity of which Facebook and Instagram are going after messaging apps that it is one of the biggest opportunities.
Dand: Another hot favorite is Musical.ly, which makes it easy to create and share your own music videos. Online-networked gaming and using alter egos are also very popular with this generation – no conversation about gen Z is complete without Minecraft. This is a worldwide phenomenon where millions of kids spend hours building mind-boggling virtual worlds with building blocks.
Mohsen: Notable ones include Whisper, YikYak, AfterSchool and Bubble. Gen Z flocks to these because of their intimacy and anonymity. It’s only the people they choose to connect with that see what they share. After all, the only way social networks work is to have the people who are relevant to you included and sharing content.
Wright: Snapchat, Musical.ly, Xbox chat and apps like iFunny. Mobile gaming apps with community are also big. The gen Z age group doesn’t really care to do social media entirely publically, but rather publish for their friends.
Fromm: How can brands be appropriately part of cultural conversations on social media?
Cox: Brands need to tread lightly. The same types of social tricks that millennials and boomers found surprising will be completely see-through to gen Z. Unless a brand knows their editorial authority – what they have permission to talk about based on the true beliefs of their brand – they won’t resonate with this consumer group. Brands need to make sure it’s not just marketing but actually what the company stands for; it can’t contradict.
Dand: Unique, humorous and culturally relevant content works really well with this audience. YouTube stars like Lily Singh, Tyler Oakley and others are helping brands bridge the cultural gap and become more relevant with gen Z.
Mohsen: The level of transparency has heightened with gen Z. It will be a very fine line for brands to be genuine and not forced. Brands need to focus on inserting themselves into culture and cultural conversations where it is appropriate and natural for them.
Wright: They need to be organically integrated within the platform. If you seem to be a part of that community, you can have more freedom. If you only try to sell, you will not have success.
Fromm: Where do brands fail on being appropriate?
Cox: There was a time several years ago when brands would chase anything that came up in culture and draft social content on it in real time; we call it ambulance chasing. The ones that continue to do that today are setting themselves up for a major faux paw because they aren’t equipped to insert themselves into these conversations or they aren’t doing it at the right time.
Dand: Many brands use traditional agencies with cookie-cutter approaches to content creation and end up with experiences that are not relevant or interesting to gen Z. In this age of commercial-free video streaming, brand interruptions are not tolerated. It’s imperative for brands to create content gen Z wants to watch and will want to share.
Mohsen: Brands who try to force themselves into certain conversations will get called out for not being genuine or for doing things for the wrong reasons. Those who use specific events in culture to sell a product will be ousted.
Wright: Brands typically look to sell first, and this upcoming generation doesn’t like that at all. They will not hesitate to use ad blockers and eliminate you from their online experience.
Fromm: How do you think this next generation is changing the market landscape?
Cox: Gen Z is changing the market landscape because of their entrepreneurial nature and their extremely high expectations. They prefer to start their own businesses or work for startups rather than join a large corporation. Where the talent pool goes and who gets it is going to have an impact on the market. This group also now has an expectation that the seamless experiences they receive via digital should replace all of the old systems held by brands. If a brand doesn’t ensure this, it’s fubar. That’s an extremely tough place for brands to be and they’ll be required to do a lot of work to quickly get caught up.
Dand: Gen Z has the attention span of a fruit fly, so the content needs to get their attention quickly and hold it. They are prolific content creators, making their expectations for brand content sky-high. They are also hugely influential and drive millions of dollars in indirect and direct purchases. If the brand experience doesn’t deliver exactly what they want, they’ll move on to the next interesting thing before brands can figure out what went wrong.
Mohsen: Brands need to enable mobile capabilities and interactions if they hope to engage Gen Z. This consumer group is also requiring brands to do better than ever before when it comes to proving relevancy and differentiation.
Wright: I think it is based on their individual personality types. Myers-Briggs still applies. But one thing is key across the board: authenticity and transparency is more important than ever for digital natives if you want to earn their trust.
