Gen-Z… Millennial, what’s the difference

So, is this fellow a Millennial or a Generation Z? Can’t tell? Well, most of us can’t so don’t feel bad.

The thing is, if you sell to both or either of these two groups, you need to know and understand the differences because they can be the difference between going bankrupt and exploding.

They have different views about technology & money

Technology

Millennials grew up using DVD players, giant personal computers, cell phones with tiny screens, and dial-up internet.

Now, most teens and younger within Gen Z have access to iPads, smartphones, endless Wi-Fi, or streaming services that put our prized DVD players to shame. Many members of this generation might have also grown up in households with early smart home technology.

Millennials saw the dawn of some great technology, Gen-Z is immersed daily, pretty much from birth.

Research shows that Gen Z — which has been called the “socially-conscious generation — deals with far more body image, mental health, and cyberbullying issues than any other age group has in the past. Experts have also called Gen Z the loneliest generation despite all of their digital connectivity options.

Economy

Here, they both care about their finances, such as investments, higher education, etc.

They both have improved on their parents financial habits but they have diverged from here somewhat. Millennials will purchase more things that will give them a positive experience whereas Gen-Z will buy practical items and will save more.

Do you want Millennials to buy your product, then you should focus on building a brand that offers a pleasant or entertaining customer experience, as well as marketing products or services that give instant gratification. Do you want Gen Z, you’ll want your campaigns to clearly demonstrate how or why your product will be valuable or practical to them in their daily lives.

Mobile purchases anyone?

That’s Gen-Z. Remember, these guys have used this technology from a very young age. Even today, you see toddlers with cellphones and with that kind of introduction, this is how this generation surfs the web.

Each day, Millennials spend around 7.5 hours online while Gen Z surfs for nearly 10 hours.

These guys & girls are twice as likely to buy online then even Millennials.

They’re both online a LOT, but in very different places

Gen-Z prefers video based platforms like YouTube, Instagram, SnapChat and the like. TikTok being the most recent to be added to their faves.

Millennials lean towards Facebook, YouTube (again), Instagram (again), LinkedIn & Twitter.

So to reach both, albeit with different stories, you can use YouTube and Instagram as both groups frequent them.

If you have the time or help and want to really target one or the other group, you can use the social media that they use to reach them.

A bit of a sting here…

They both purchase less than past generations, so in general, don’t expect either of these groups to simply consume your product (unless you offer consumables) like the past generations.

Even myself, when I was young, I was a skateboarder and I would have 4 or 5 skateboards at any given time. You won’t have that with either of these generations. One skateboard…until it breaks.

So how do we use this info?

Marketing Campaign for Millennials

You might be more familiar with marketing to Millennials. They’re on the most prominent social media networks today and prefer to consume multiple different styles of multimedia content, from videos to podcasts. They’re old enough to make purchasing decisions, more educated than previous generations, and spend considerable amounts of time in the research stage before buying a product.

Luckilly, many different formats of marketing content will catch a Millennials because they are regularly looking to be enticed by a new product that will help them in their daily lives.

Since Millennials have a slightly longer attention span than Gen Z, you can also get a bit more creative by testing out longer-form content like longer marketing videos or branded podcasts.

The best types of marketing campaigns will inform Millennials about how your product can make their lives easier or how it can solve their day-to-day problems. Focusing your strategy on social media or online platforms like Facebook, YouTube or Instagram, where many adults go to research products can also be beneficial to your strategy,

Marketing Campaign for Gen Z

To successfully persuade Gen Z to buy your product, you’ll want to make content that quickly cuts to the chase and explains why your product will provide value to them.

Gen Z loves to use video to learn about products and also spends most of their online time on their mobile phones. So be sure to leverage short-form video formatting and mobile-optimized content in your campaigns.

You’ll also want to focus on the niche social media platforms that they commonly use, such as Instagram, YouTube, TikTok on Snapchat. If you’re not on one of these platforms, but still want to gain brand awareness there, consider sponsoring an influencer who knows the audience and create content that discusses your product¹.

Marketing Campaign for Gen Z and Millennials

If you absolutely can’t budget pinpointed campaigns for Millennials and Gen Z, but know you want to market to young adults, focus on the cusp of both generations by creating a campaign for 18 to 34-year-olds. This will allow you to pinpoint young and slightly older adults that can actually make purchasing decisions.

While a campaign with this age target might be slightly more favorable to Millennials, who are between 23 and 38, there’s still a chance you could grab attention from older teenagers who will soon be able to make more purchases if they can’t already.

They both love social media and instant gratification. Be sure that your campaign clearly explains why your product will be valuable to the age group you’re pitching it too, and leverage the social media networks that the age group you’re targeting has in common.

For example, if you’re focused on promoting your product to people in the 18 to 34 range, you’ll want to be on Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook, because most members of this age group are using all three of them on a regular basis.

If you can create a campaign that leverages key social networks accordingly while highlighting why your product is so instantly gratifying and useful, you might attract interest from both groups fairly quickly.

NOTES:

1. Be careful of this as influencers have gotten into trouble. Check out our article on influencers.

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So, have you had any issues reaching these two groups that you can share? How did they work out for you or them? Let us know in the comments.

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