Commit to Causes and Post Entertaining Content To Engage Generation Z

Commit to causes

Small companies who want to count young people among their customers should commit to a social cause, says Karen Correia da Silva, of consumer insights firm Canvas8.

Born between the mid-Nineties and mid-Noughties, members of so-called Generation Z “like to show off their values” and buy from businesses who “demonstrate a commitment” to them, says the social scientist. “A one-off campaign isn’t enough; they want brands to dedicate themselves to a cause across everything they do.”

But don’t try to be “perfect” with your marketing, she adds. “Gen Z rejects the notion of perfection, which is why they call out people who manipulate Instagram photos and present unrealistic online personas. Instead, focus on being real, relatable and believable.”

Deliver uplifting content

Retailers shouldn’t neglect their shops. “Gen Z consumers will visit brick-and-mortar stores for strong experiences,” says da Silva. “They go for recreational over transactional reasons, so play on their curiosity, sense of novelty and fear of missing out.”

Social media is otherwise key to engaging this group, says Feller. Brands must therefore deliver “uplifting” and “inspiring” posts. “Bite-sized videos less than a minute long and images that represent them work well.”

Young people also want to be “entertained” on social media, he adds. “Your content needs to be original and highly shareable to capture their attention.”

Vocabulary:

commit to – to promise to give your time, money, or effort to a particular goal or cause, “Our school decided to commit to recycling all plastic bottles.”

consumer insights – deep understanding of why customers buy certain products and how they feel about brands, “The marketing team looked at consumer insights to see if teenagers preferred blue or red shoes.”

demonstrate – to show clearly that something exists or is true by your actions or examples, “He wanted to demonstrate his cooking skills by making a delicious dinner.”

commitment – a firm promise or decision to do something or support something continuously, “Learning to play the piano requires a big commitment of daily practice.”

dedicate themselves – to give all of your energy, time, or efforts to a specific task, person, or goal, “The doctors dedicate themselves to helping sick children get better.”

rejects – refuses to accept, believe, or agree with something, “The cat rejects any food that does not come from a tin.”

notion – an idea, belief, or opinion about something, “She completely disagreed with the notion that math is boring.”

call out – (phrasal verb) to publicly criticize or draw attention to someone’s bad or dishonest behavior, “The players decided to call out their teammate for cheating during the game.”

manipulate – to change, edit, or control something in a clever or dishonest way to make it look different, “It is easy to use a computer program to manipulate the colors in a photograph.”

personas – the public images, personalities, or characters that people present to the world or online, which might be different from who they really are, “Many famous actors create friendly online personas to connect with fans.”

relatable – easy for people to understand, connect with, or feel sympathy for because it is like their own life, “The movie was great because the main character’s struggles were very relatable.”

neglect – to fail to look after, care for, or give enough attention to something, “If you neglect your house plants, they will dry up and die.”

brick-and-mortar – (idiom) a physical building, shop, or office that customers can walk into, rather than a business that exists only online, “Even though she shops online, she still likes visiting brick-and-mortar clothing stores.”

recreational – done for enjoyment, fun, relaxation, or amusement when you are not working, “Playing board games is a fun recreational activity for the whole family.”

transactional – relating only to the process of buying, selling, or exchanging money for goods, “Online banking is a purely transactional process with no face-to-face interaction.”

novelty – the quality of being new, unique, exciting, or unusual, “The novelty of his new toy wore off after a few days, and he stopped playing with it.”

engaging – charming, interesting, or pleasant in a way that completely holds your attention, “The speaker told an engaging story that kept the audience laughing.”

uplifting – making you feel much happier, more hopeful, positive, or full of joy, “Listening to cheerful music in the morning gives me an uplifting start to the day.”

Bite-sized – (idiom) small enough to be understood, read, or watched quickly and easily, “The language app teaches vocabulary in bite-sized lessons that take only two minutes.”

capture their attention – (collocation) to catch and hold someone’s interest completely, “The bright, colorful cover of the book managed to capture their attention immediately.”