Millennials and Gen Z are the most demanding consumers today. ? Find out the characteristics of these new generations and what marketing strategies you can implement to capture their attention and turn them into customers.
What characterizes the Millennials and Gen Z?
Here are the main features that characterize both Millennials and Gen Z:
Millennials (born between 1980 and 1995)
In the early 1980s, Millennials, also called Gen Y, was born, marked by the introduction of technological advances into society. This generation has experienced the generalization of the Internet, the emergence of social networks or the birth of smartphones, among others.
They have profiles on the main social networks, spending more of their time on Instagram, YouTube or Facebook. They follow profiles related to technology, lifestyle, travel or sport. They also have profiles of celebrities and influencers, with whom they share interests and behaviors.
They make online purchases and they are consumers of music platforms, series and movies (Spotify, Netflix, HBO, Amazon Prime, etc.).
Generation Z (born between 1996 and 2010)
In the mid-90s a new generation group appeared that, since its birth, has coexisted with all the technological advances that the Millennials began to use as they grew up. They are the so-called Gen Z or Centennials, digital natives who cannot conceive of their lives without the use of technology.
They are creative and proactive. They use several platforms at the same time and continuously share content (mainly in video format) in social networks, such as TikTok, Instagram or Youtube.
In addition, they are impatient and like personalized experiences. They are more comfortable with chatbots than with a phone call.
Outstanding differences between Millennials and Centennials
As we have mentioned, Gen Z is a generation much more impatient than the Millennials, willing to experiment constantly and to quickly find a replacement for their needs, which poses a very big challenge for the brands that want to reach these young people.
Another important difference is that Gen Z is more aware than its predecessor of social and environmental issues, so brands must focus on what they convey rather than the product itself. This can be achieved through Emotional Marketing, i.e. empathising with this new consumer and moving them to become a Lovemark.
With the Centennials you go from a multi-screen generation to an omniscient generation. Z users are 100% digital and are used to interacting with up to 5 screens at once (smartphone, laptop, tablet, television and smartwatch).
After the Centennials, what’s next?
The next generation is the so-called Alpha, representing young people born from 2010 onwards. They were born with mobile devices and are able to interact with these platforms long before they learn to speak.
It will be a generation with unprecedented exposure to technology, because although previous generations already had an Internet connection, they did not have mobile phones and tablets as easily within their reach as Gen Alpha.
Marketing strategies to reach younger users
What do you have to do in your business to get young Millennials or Centennials and turn them into customers? Take note of the following marketing strategies that you can implement in your social networks to conquer this audience:
Increasing the presence in social networks
Millennials and Centennials like to feel ‘friends’ of brands, so achieving a good presence in social networks where they are present is essential for your brand to be known and to achieve that closeness that these generations demand, since most of the time their first contact with a company is by visiting their Facebook, Twitter or Instagram profile.
Allow users to generate branded content
Encouraging your social networkers to generate the majority of your brand’s content will capture their attention and make them feel part of your community.
To do this, create a hashtag that users can use to tag their photos or videos using your new product or service.
Make lives in social networks
Young people value highly the authenticity of the brands they follow and this is achieved through live broadcasting. This is why most social networks have tools to make lives in real time on new product or service launches or event broadcasts.
Collaborate with influencers
Try to find influencers who identify with your brand to promote some of your products or services, as these influencers in social networks manage to reach a wider audience.
If you need help with your company’s digital strategy, please contact us. In Nementio we will be glad to help you. We are an Inbound Marketing agency. Get to know us!
