Wow! It’s been a crazy last few months and we can see the impact that the younger generations have on today’s landscape. Global mass coordinated efforts done within a matter of a few days to a week to achieve extraordinary results. This is the power of the digital age. With life-altering events constantly in our news, we can lose sight of those that can really effect change as they become the most adaptable among us.

With general awareness and education in constant reach with instantaneous results, marketers within companies must have a keen sense of what the company’s “authentic voice” is because consumers want education versus the push of promotional marketing in deciding their purchases. Content marketing needs to become a large part of your consumer’s entire experience with your brand than just being seen as another transaction.

Generation Review

Let’s have a quick reminder of the breakdowns of what ages each younger generation are:

• Gen Y (Millennials) are those born between 1981-1994, ages 26-40.
  • Although it is broken out in to two segments (Y.1. & Y.2.), Millennial has become a common term that lumps the two together.
• Gen Z are those born between 1995-2012, ages 8-25.
• Gen Alpha are those born between 2013-2025, ages 1-7.

Thinking about it on a personal level – I, myself, fall within the middle of Gen Y, with children in Gen Alpha, and with Boomer parents. Got that?!

In terms of buying power, according to Business Insider, Generation Z alone has an estimated worth over $140 billion in buyer power. For a group that is working part-time, while going to school, that is hefty pocket change that marketers should pay attention to. For Millennials, they will spend over $1.4 trillion in 2020 alone, as they are starting to make up more of the workforce and finally able to maintain a steady lifestyle after many Millennials lives’ were delayed with the Great Recession.

These numbers are definitely not ones for companies to ignore as Millennials and Gen Z have largely influenced the way companies all together have altered their marketing tactics as they have grown up immersed in technology and understand how to make it work for them.

Personalized Content

As mentioned above, the young consumer is increasingly becoming highly engaged and educated and they can distinguish between being disingenuous and authentic.

By utilizing dynamic content (personalization) within your marketing pieces, you are showing your users that you understand their purchasing behavior and by providing suggestions relevant to the user to increase their transactions. It can be done by adding specialized messages that can be sent out to a larger group by segmenting your data strategically to touch the largest amount of people with efficiency.

An overall unique experience is what the youth is looking for. How that unique experience can be done for a larger group is a point of discussion for your marketing team and brand.

Interactive Content

Although, consumers are more aware and informed, attention spans are still very limited. Engagement with your brand is what the younger generations want to be a part of and that can be done with quizzes, surveys, polls, and highly engaged visuals – such as infographics are great ways to engage and interact with your consumer, while having the opportunity to educate them about your company’s products or services.

Interactive content also speaks to the users that want to create their own content. Mobile apps like TikTok and Snapchat allow for the creativity from individuals to shine through more than what the companies put in front of them. Allowing for space in your company’s strategy to allow for individuality will be key to boost the interaction between you and the consumer.

Video (specifically short-form)

Videos are highly effective and a frequently used tactic for the younger generations. Whether this is found on social media platforms or on a blog, they offer a personal element that can’t be found in just words, as you can see expressions and hear emotion from what is being showcased.

Video marketing used on social platforms allows for your brand to be positioned in a way that allows for full user interaction. They can view, re-watch, like, comment and share all within minutes. This not only increases your social media awareness, but will drive engagement and sales from having one or several small clips of valuable brand-boosting tools.

Live video is a large part of how companies are engaging and keeping their users engaged in what the brand has to offer. Q&A sessions, event updates, and/or special announcements are all part of how your company can generate excitement, awareness and knowledge for your consumer base to encourage them to complete a transaction.

Data-driven Content

Data should be the driving force when it comes time to strategize and create your content marketing plan. So much of what marketers develop should be formed by what data has been gathered and analyzed, specifically when geared at different ages of your audience.

With free tools that are available, it provides an easy way to see traffic and the entire consumer journey. If your company is able to, finding a software that is capable of seeing a holistic picture of your marketing data in a centralized place will only allow your team to make more informed plans from past performances.

Conclusion

Community is what the youth want to be part of, whether it’s in-person or virtually. Coming to a place a website, social media platform, etc., where the user can feel wanted and respected is important.

When my mom tells people she wanted to be a high school English teacher, many were shocked as to why she would want to deal with teenagers all day. She said that teenagers have so much to say and all they want is for someone to listen. If marketers can apply that same ideal behind their strategies, they would have a highly engaged group of customers that will sustain the company and help inform future products and services.

With partnering with Colleen Eakins Design, we can help create visually impactful pieces that will aide your content marketing strategy specifically geared towards generations that want to be heard and effect change.