3 key insights on targeting Generation Z

Photo credit: Huweijie07170

The one size fits all paradigm usually does not exist in reality, especially in an era where personalization is a cornerstone of product success. Products need to be created and restructured according to each end user’s preferences in order for it to become part of their routine.

Roughly speaking, it seems that each generation has similar characteristics as they grow up in a homogenous environment, yet are distinct from previous ones. When consolidating a product strategy that will facilitate the product’s penetration into certain segments, creators need to take into account that each individual segment has unique social characteristics.

Here are three prominent characteristics which differentiate Generation Z from previous ones.

Who are Generation Z?

The term “Generation Z” (gen Z) refers to the demographic cohort after the millennials. They were born in the mid 90s, and the oldest person that belongs to this segment is about 20 years old. Data shows that over 25 percent of the US population belongs to this generation.

Growing up in a digital era makes gen Z the most tech-savvy generation so far. Technology, and smartphones specifically, are an integral part of their childhood. This pushes the boundaries of how much influence technology has on their daily lives versus previous generations.

According to a report by Sparks & Honey, gen Z is capable of multitasking across five screens at once. This, in contrast to millennials that usually use only two.

In addition, gen Z prefers to communicate with images, loves the ephemeral and rare, and uses various social networks to be culturally connected, which is mainly driven by their fear of missing out (FOMO).

Privacy, privacy, privacy

Although privacy is a privilege under extinction, gen Z places it above the fold. Growing up in a digital era, they comprehend how information, which is available online, can taint their personal brand.

Just imagine the potential risk an individual in a political race could face if his life is fully exposed, beginning from childhood, as portrayed on social media. According to the research firm, Change Sciences, 81 percent of gen z uses privacy settings and limits who can see their posts.

As a result, companies such as Whisper and Snapchat are more popular among this generation, having based their products on this preference with advanced privacy features.

According to the research firm, GlobalWebIndex, approximately half of the 16 to 24-year-olds in the US are using Snapchat, where the user can share any image without leaving a “paper trail.” Tech titans such as Facebook understand the importance of privacy as well. The recent encryption feature of their proprietary messaging applications lures people who prioritize privacy.

Faster, shorter, and more visual

Drawing the attention of gen Z is quite a challenge. Their attention span lasts for no more than eight seconds, and 11 percent of them have been diagnosed with ADHD—up from 7.3 percent in 2003.

They communicate rapidly and, unlike millennials, prefer images or emojis over text. Therefore, bite-sized and visual content, which can be processed faster, is the right approach when trying to attract their attention.

Content creation