For the past decade, Publishers have successfully researched and developed strategies to drive loyal readers and subscriptions to their digital content. But with the rise of Gen Z, Publishers need to shift the marketing and messaging altogether to thrive in the future. It’s time to say goodbye to millennial marketing!
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How to RFeach Gen Z
Publishers and advertisers have made a lot of effort to reach the millennial audience. As time runs, a new set of audiences is now expected to take over every industry and change the landscape of sales and marketing as we know it – Generation Z or Gen Z.
Although Millennials hold an immediate spending potential (in most cases), Gen Z is eventually becoming an area of interest for futuristic marketers and publishers. As a publisher, it will be even harder for you to drive them to your website for engagement. Why?
Gen Z has been known for their tech-savviness, Short-attention spans, and ability to dodge all the traditional advertising/marketing tactics.
Yet there’s a huge advantage for publishers – They’ve been known to read and stay online more than all of their predecessors. Books are not the major source of knowledge for them as they were for millennials. Hence, with the right perception and strategies, a publisher can attract loyal Gen Z readers too.
Also read: How publishers can compete with Big Platforms
Defining Gen Z
The principal step is to understand Gen Z so that the strategies can be custom-tailored to them. Here are the major difference between Gen Z and millennials to help you get started.
- Tech-Savvy: Unlike millennials or Baby boomers, Gen Z-ers are technical and smartphones and voice assistants have been their bread and butter. They don’t know the world without ‘www’ or ‘Social Media’. Regardless of am/pm, they handle all the fancy techs and consume Netflix content.
- Self-Educated: Without a doubt, individuals in Gen Z would like to learn on their own. A study from Adweek shows that 33% prefer to watch their lessons online while 32% support online collaboration.
- Short-Attention Spans: As they’re tech-savvy, we can’t expect them to stay with you for more than a minute. So, it is crucial for the publisher to deliver quality content in a captivating way. A Gen Z survey shows that one of the major reasons Gen Z-ers shift to a new brand is because of sub-par quality.
- Patron: Surprisingly, the post-millennial generation is far more interested in making the world a better place. They are willing to take risks and work towards a cause rather than for a high-salary/brand.
Reaching Gen Z
Now that we’ve got an idea of who Gen Z are and what they prefer, let’s look into the ways a publisher can attract and retain them.
Go Mobile:
It’s pretty obvious, isn’t it? As technology-driven individuals, they prefer to take lessons on the go. With all the smartphones and tablets, your content may look long and boring unless optimized intentionally. Create precise and to-the-point content and deliver a great user experience on all the devices and screen sizes. Getting rid of all the popups in mobiles is highly recommended as it seems too salesy and drives away Gen Z-ers.
Go Visual:
The attention span of an individual is said to last for just 8 seconds. And, that’s a big number, when placed near Gen Z-ers. They don’t like to read long and text-buried articles like their past generations. An ideal way to get their attention and engage with them is to go visual. Create snackable pieces of content with interactive visuals.
As per eMarketer’s report, Gen Z-ers spend more time and engage with video than text. 57 percent of 13-to-17-year-olds said they’re watching more short-form video than they did a year ago.
Go Social:
Being where your audience, is an important step in reaching them and it drives your brand awareness along with traffic. But simply opening a Facebook page and sharing articles isn’t going to return anything. A study by Cassandra, an authority on Millennials and Gen Z, shows that 29 percent of Gen Z-ers rate Facebook as ‘uncool’ and they said they’re interested in more visual creating platforms. 59 percent say they’re using Snapchat regularly.
It is crucial to identify the right ones and create native, engaging visuals to actually start driving conversions through social media.
Go Youtube:
The video is one of the best approaches to reach the post-millennial generation. As we mentioned earlier, they would love to learn on their own and watch video lessons instead of reading content. Besides, a great video can make you a thought leader and improve your brand value. And, it is worth investing time to make edutaining videos as that’s what every Gen Z-er would prefer to watch and share.
Now’s the time!
Gen Z-ers are expected to reach 40% of the total population by 2020. And, their annual purchasing power is at a staggering $44 billion, according to a survey conducted by IBM.
Also, individuals in the generation spend half of what they have (money) every month and will continue to do so. Both premium and mid-range market publishers should brace for the Gen Z impact by enguarding themselves with the right strategies.
It’s time to start focusing on Gen Z-ers!
