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Engaging with Gen Z through Creative Marketing Strategies

Tools, Tips, Trends, Forecasts, and Data Points

Gen Z is known as being the most tech-savvy generation yet, which has forced brands to rethink their traditional marketing approaches to marketing. Their purchasing power in the US amounts to roughly $44 billion. Roughly 85% of Gen Zers say that they learn about new products and services through social media. Another 52% of Gen Zers say that they go to social media to seek advice from influencers before purchasing a product.

As the highest consumer-rated Buy Now Pay Later solution, Sezzle knows a thing or two about breaking through to Gen Z. Here at Sezzle, we have taken steps to help prepare Gen Z for their financial futures. Our program Sezzle U provides free financial advice and resources to educate consumers on financial freedom. 

We have asked some of our partners to share their secrets on how they are getting creative to reach Gen Z. We hope you’ll enjoy their contributions as much as we did. And if you’re interested in any of their products or services, let us know or get in touch with them directly. They’re great.


Refersion- Targeting Gen Z on Social Media

It’s intriguing when brands masterfully engage with their Gen Z audiences, sometimes even better so than influencers. A great example of this is the online clothing retailer Everlane and how they engage with their Gen Z audience on Instagram.

Everlane takes full advantage of this with its behind-the-scenes stories on Instagram. Their behind-the-scenes stories give their audience full transparency into their supply chain processes and practices, using eco-friendly materials and sustainable production practices. They use this strategy to address questions and concerns coming from their audiences and announce future product launches. They masterfully hit all of the points that Gen Zers love to see in brands.

While Gen Zers spend significant time on social media platforms, they also place a considerable value in gaming and gaming platforms. Online multiplayer gaming platforms like Fortnite and Roblox have exploded in popularity in recent years, especially with Gen Zers. Fortnite has 350 million active accounts, with users between the ages of 14 and 24 making up the core of its audience. Roblox, which launched in 2004, has grown to have 37 million daily active users on over 20 million multiplayer games to choose from on the platform. An astonishing two-thirds of nine to 12-year-olds in the US play Roblox. 

These emerging online multiplayer platforms foster a sense of community for many Gen Zers. There aren’t many established methods for brands marketing to their audiences on these platforms, brands have to take a unique approach with their content to risk being deemed inauthentic and losing credibility with Gen Zers.

Gen Zers hold a significant market share, and their market share will only continue to grow over the years. Therefore, brands need to find unique and engaging ways to engage with Gen Zers. They have to engage with them across social media and other emerging online platforms to fully maximize their marketing efforts.

Refersion helps brands masterfully implement their affiliate marketing platforms with Gen Zers in mind. Learn more about what Refersion can do for your business here.


Social Lite – Content and Platforms That Speak to Gen Z

  1. Advertise on platforms where Gen Z spends most of their time

For a lot of our clients, we have learned what messaging works best for each generation on each platform, based on the product or service our client is selling. That is why it is so important to test every platform and see which audience is engaging with your brand and buying your product.

The platforms that we have seen the best success in reaching Gen Z are Snapchat, Tiktok, and Instagram. Below is a diagram of what one of our paid audiences looks like on the Snapchat platform for one of our jewelry clients.

  1. Develop content that speaks to Gen Z

One of our main strategies for reaching Gen Z is through the content created for paid ads. There are a few ways we do this. First, we and our clients have the task to spend at least half an hour on the platform looking at trending organic and promoted content in their industry to understand what is popular and understand the style. Next, our team will go and analyze competitors’ ads on that platform along with what is working currently on platforms. Then together we will brainstorm and strategize the content we need to use in our paid campaigns. As a result, can come up with strategies to make specific campaigns reach a younger audience. Below is an example of one ad used in a campaign to reach Gen Z.


Justuno – The Power of Micro-Influencers: Unlocking TikTok

The majority of purchase decisions from social media are in part due to the rise of the influencer, someone who can be an “average” everyday person, who influences potential buyers by promoting certain products or services to their audience on social media. Influencers are a crucial part of any Gen Z-focused strategy, as they are the front line when interacting with buyers. Their peer reviews of brands and products are an effective source of social proof, as the buyer is inherently putting their trust in the influencer rather than the brands themselves.

Micro-influencers, who are influencers with less than 5,000 followers, make up 93.9% of all brand partnerships, making them a powerful source of content, sales, and most importantly, authenticity. These creators have built communities with a genuine connection to their followers, and their content will hold more weight than any branded campaign you run. But the best part? Your already loyal customers will be the best brand ambassadors you can find. 

Even if your brand isn’t on TikTok yet, your customers are. Use Justuno to collect TikTok handles of your customers, then use a platform like Gatsby to identify influential customers to activate as micro-influencers.  From here you can scale your program faster than ever, unlocking automated activation, UGC collection, and more.

Targeting Gen Z means you cannot afford to not be on TikTok. Open up this gateway to brand education for them & give Gen Z shoppers what they want!


Fluorescent – Staying on Trend

Staying on top of design and eCommerce trends is at the core of what we do at Fluorescent, and we’re constantly adding new features into our themes to ensure our merchants are too. Gen Z is savvy consumers who seek out brands that are authentic and align with their values. Our themes include a customizable About page template so you can design a landing page using all the same sections available on the homepage. This demographic of buyers has demonstrated their willingness to spend more with brands they can get behind, and these templates allow you to share your brand story, sustainability practices, and corporate responsibility in a visually impactful way.

We also see social inspiration driving Gen Z purchasing decisions which is why our themes include a “Complete the Look” section to create a shoppable lookbook that allows shoppers to purchase an entire outfit seamlessly. Our team has also been working on a new theme that will be released soon, Stiletto, that includes features like a free shipping countdown bar, a responsive promotions section, and built-in bundle functionality. Gen Z is discerning when it comes to choosing where to buy, and these features help boost conversions by making cost-saving options highly visible.”


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