Generation Z is both a huge opportunity and a huge challenge to marketers

They are the next big buying group as they’ve just started to come of age. They possess $44 billion in purchasing power and that number will increase dramatically each year as more and more of them enter the workforce.

On the other hand, they’re savvier when it comes to digital marketing since they’ve been exposed to it since birth. GenZ was born into a world of internet, smartphones, Facebook, and Youtube making it difficult to win them over these marketing channels.

A generational channel

Youtube is an especially important channel for GenZ since Youtube is to GenZ what Google was to Gen X and baby boomers. When they’re curious about something, they’re more likely to go to Youtube than Google to explore it. If you want to ensure that your Youtube marketing is effective for Gen Z consider the following

Mobile first

The younger the generation, the higher the percentage of smartphone owners. For Gen Z, the percentage is nearing 100% and Youtube in particular is accessed by Gen Z almost exclusively on smartphones.

That means you need to take a mobile first approach in your video content marketing.

Assume people are watching your videos on a phone and plan accordingly. Smartphone users on Youtube have a shorter attention span than desktop viewers. They don’t stick around for longer videos. They also won’t stick around if they’re not being entertained within seconds of starting up a video. Finally, many will be watching in situations where having the volume turned up isn’t socially acceptable (i.e. school) so video captions are a must for the Gen Z crowd.

Leverage your mobile channels, such as SMS, to get your customer base to be the first to watch and share your new video with others so it can spread faster.

Use keywords

Youtube is so much more than just a video sharing/viewing platform. The site is a search engine owned by the most powerful search engine of them all: Google. As such, keywords play an important role in determining how easy it is for people to find your videos.

Don’t take for granted your videos’ titles and descriptions. Titles should contain important keywords that the people you’re trying to reach are likely to type into the search bar. Descriptions should be long and keyword dense as well.

Viral content marketing? Let’s focus on the “why” instead

If your goal is simply to try to make a viral video, you’ll fail. Viral videos are organic in that there’s a lot of randomness when it comes to what goes viral and what doesn’t.

Instead, have a “why” in mind for every video. How will it further your brand’s marketing goals? Videos should be true to your brand’s overall message and not shameless attempts to capitalize on what’s trending.

Focus on authenticity over production value

A mistake many brands make is trying too hard to make every video perfect. Instead of agonizing over the lighting, camera work, and sound editing to produce the perfect Youtube video, just focus on creating videos that authentically represent your brand.

Look at Youtube’s biggest stars. Most have made their fortunes not by creating masterpiece videos, but by coming up with a unique style and sticking to it video after video.

Publish often

We’re used to hearing quality over quantity but that’s not quite true with Youtube marketing. Going off of the previous tip:

you don’t want to get bogged down in trying to create perfect videos because that will severely impact the frequency of your uploads.

It’s better to publish often than to publish a handful of videos of superb quality. Of course you should still strive for quality in all your videos, just don’t let it affect your output.

Partner up with influencers

Even the biggest Youtube stars occasionally team up with other stars to build upon each other’s subscribers. It’s a mutually beneficial relationship. Accordingly, have a plan as the influencer likely has built a following on various social platforms as such think of the content and how it will be distributed ahead, during and after filming.

You can get the relationship started by subscribing to their channels and regularly commenting on their videos. Eventually you can invite them to be involved with one of your videos and hope they return the favor.

Keep it fun

Above all, your videos must be fun. Gen Z is looking to be entertained. You need to find a way to make every video entertaining whether it’s a product release or a step-by-step tutorial.