Digital Marketing and Gen Z: How to Market to the New Generation of Consumers

If you think you've mastered your digital marketing business strategy, get ready to tackle a whole new challenge.

Generation Z, a core demographic of young people, is the first to grow up in the digital universe. There are over 72 million people in this demographic, according to Ad Age, so they're definitely not an audience you want to ignore. They're familiar with most if not all social media channels, how to use the most popular devices, and seem to be everywhere at once. Digital is the only way to connect for this generation. According to globalwebindex, “Mobile now accounts for 52% of their daily online time – with an average of 4 hours and 10 minutes spent connected via this device.” They're highly aware of marketing tactics, blatant advertising, and impersonal, inauthentic brand messages.

This may seem intimidating, but there's actually a lot to look forward to when tackling this demographic, like how they're more likely to embrace, enjoy, and share ads. Here are some key things to keep in mind when marketing to this generation.

Be ever-present digitally.

Generation Z is everywhere in the digital world. You have a lot of options when it comes to reaching this generation, whether it's short videos on Snapchat or photo galleries on Instagram. Thus, make sure you are taking advantage of this and reaching them on multiple platforms.

They are not their predecessors.

Another important thing to keep in mind is that this generation consumes content differently from the generation before them: Millenials. They are also more independent and very likely to share your content - this generation loves connecting with others in this way. If you can reach this generation, you also have access to their friends and family they're sharing with.

Make it personal.

According to AdWeek, “Generat