By Rachel Kerstetter, PR Architect, Sonnhalter
Last year, I wrote a blog about Generation Z being the true digital native generation and urged organizations to look ahead. Perhaps you heeded that urging and have been looking forward, perhaps you’re still trying to figure out the whole Millennial thing. By this point in time, the oldest Millennials are approaching 40. We’ve been working for/with you, buying from you or avoiding you for years now. Most of the business world seems to have made the jump into adapting to Millennial behaviors… even if some were pushed.
It’s time to move on. There’s a whole generation approaching adulthood – Generation Z. Generation Z is the next group that needs to be reached, specifically for attracting them to the trades. They will be your next audience, so it’s a good idea to start considering them in your communication efforts. You might be more prepared to handle GenZ than you think you are…
Whether affectionately or sarcastically referred to as the “YouTube” generation, members of Generation Z are tech savvy, like pictures but love video and move very quickly. You’ve already been working to make your content visual, easily digestible and mobile. (I hope! If not, perhaps carve out an hour or so and read some of our posts on video and mobile.)
User Experience is Key
The marketing focus for this upcoming generation is on the user experience. MediaPost recently published an article specifically on this topic. GenZ has enough options that they won’t put up with a poor experience and they won’t trudge through in order to get what they want. They’ll just keep scrolling.
User experience should have been important to your organization to begin with, but maybe it’s time for a refresh. Take a look at your public face, specifically the digital one, and ask yourself a few questions:
- Is our brand’s material consistent?
- Do we stand out?
- Are our channels easy to navigate?
- Can the brand be recognized on all channels and in all content?
- Is an experience with our brand worth talking about?
Adjusting your user experience to be consistent, uniform, recognizable and just plain easy won’t just serve this upcoming Generation Z, it will endear your brand to other generations with in your target markets as well.
