How to Market to Gen Z: TikTok and Instagram
If you want to effectively sell your product or service, you need to first have a solid understanding of your target audience and their mindset. With Gen Z being the newest consumers to enter the market, many businesses are struggling to create effective marketing campaigns directed towards this new generation of shoppers. Since Generation Z makes up a whopping 27% of the population, not accounting for them in your marketing strategy means you’re missing out on over a quarter of your potential consumer base. With Gen Z being the most tech savvy generation yet, marketing on social media platforms has exploded recently, and is the most effective way to reach this younger demographic. In fact, one study found that 44% of Generation Z check in with social media at least hourly. If you really want to capture the Gen Z’ers, Tiktok and Instagram are currently the two largest platforms that you should not be overlooking.
Marketing to Gen Z with TikTok
Some people warn that Gen Z has a short attention span, but growing up in a technological world has allowed them the ability to rapidly filter through information. This means that catching and holding their attention is extremely important. TikTok is the perfect platform for doing just this, in that you can market to your Gen Z consumers in short videos that don’t have to follow the typical boring commercial format. Instead of trying to convince their audience with just dialogue, the best Tiktok influencers know how to quickly grab their audience’s attention while creating an effective visual demonstration of their product or service. TikTok Influencers get their point across in demos of products, funny skits, and most importantly by interacting with their audience. Creating your own hashtag or audio is a way to organically market yourself or your business. Other TikTokers can then respond using these hashtags and audios, which if you’re lucky, can potentially result in that viral effect we are all chasing. Because over 60% of TikTok users are Gen Z, having a solid understanding of these TikTok marketing strategies is one of the most direct ways to reach your target demographic.
Marketing to Gen Z with Instagram
According to recent studies, Instagram is the most actively used media platform by Gen Z, with nearly three quarters of Gen Z reporting that they are “frequent” users. The interactive nature of the platform helps keep the audience engaged and up to date on the latest promotions. It’s a great platform for marketing in part because Instagrammers can use their Explore Page to discover new brands and find Instagram influencers who promote products that interest them. Instagram influencers therefore have the ability to share their business and interact with their audience in a way that most other platforms do not. Top instagram influencers post relatable content that encourages audience interaction through the use of stories, hashtags, comments, Instagram Live, and video posts. Popular Instagram influencers also commonly use exclusive online promotions to help market their product or service, as well as gain and retain followers.
Because of the countless ways these platforms can be used to spread awareness and gain followers, understanding the current marketing tactics and becoming a TikTok or Instagram influencer is a great way for you or your business to market directly to the younger generation.