Showing posts with label Gen Z. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gen Z. Show all posts

Saturday, May 24, 2025

Powerful Gen Z Marketing Tips?


Social media is one of the most effective marketing channels for companies of any size..

In fact, it works so well that more than half of U.S. small businesses are planning to increase their social media marketing budget this year..



Generation Z is at the forefront of social media -- they are extremely active on social networks, with half of Gen Z connected online via their smartphones for approximately 10 hours per day. This generation loves personalized apps, and a poll from SCG notes that 88% of Gen Zers are primarily using Instagram and Snapchat. Because of the new ways in which Gen Z is using social media, they’re changing the outlets associated with these platforms as well, with music at the forefront.

Fabrizio Moreira, founder of recording company VIP Music Records, understands the marketing punch social media can deliver, when executed correctly. The company is expanding rapidly, and recently inked a long-term contract with The Orchard, a division of Sony Music.

However, their primary focus has been Latin America, where they now hold the top spot for music distribution in the youth market. As a global study by Nielsen notes, listening to music is a primary source of Generation Z’s entertainment, with 37% of respondents stating it was top choice. This suggests Moreira is on his way to making his label a household name across the globe.



The fast growth of Moreira’s recording company and the success of its artists is a result of several factors, with a solid social media marketing strategy leading the way. I recently spoke with Moreira, and asked him for his top social media marketing tips for Gen Zers.

1. Test Multiple Social Platforms

According to Moreira, you aren’t going to know which social networks will provide value unless you test them. He says, “You have to think like your target customer, and determine what networks they are more than likely to be active on. Then you need to become active and put out a serious effort. It’s not something you can just play with for a day or two and expect to have a concrete answer.

It’s important to experiment with as many social networks as possible and think beyond just dollars when evaluating their value. “You might find that Twitter posts aren’t converting into immediate sales, but it’s a great source for driving new followers to your Instagram page, which does convert at a high rate,” Moreira notes.



2. Measure Everything With Scaling In Mind

Moreira suggests that all social media efforts should be designed and executed with scaling in mind.

“Social media gives you the opportunity to connect with the world, and when you identify a winning strategy, it can easily be scaled as high as your budget will allow. This is why you read so many stories of startups quickly scaling to millions of dollars in revenue in a short period of time. Social media gives you that unlimited reach ability.”

As the youths’ behavior is changing on these platforms, advertisers need to integrate themselves into their lifestyle. Moreira says, “Consumers are becoming very savvy when it comes to social media, and they are becoming immune to ads and promotional posts that lack creativity. You have to offer something of value if you expect to capture even a second of someone’s time on social media.”



3. Recognize Who Your Target Market Is

“Not knowing precisely who your target market is will lead to an epic fail,” according to Moreira. He suggests that you take the time to properly identify your target market and then utilize all of the targeting options available, with a focus on Facebook to start.

“Facebook has the most targeting options, allowing you to laser-focus your efforts. I see a lot of campaigns make the mistake of focusing on the reach rather than the target. Placing your offer in front of 1,000 highly targeted prospects is going to perform much better than showing it to 500,000 untargeted prospects.” Moreira notes that the smaller targeted audience will not only convert higher, but the overall ad spend will be lower since you are targeting a much smaller pool.

Though Facebook can be a great first test run for targeting, be wary of using it as your primary channel. According to the survey from SCG above, Generation Z’s usage is down, with only 66% using it daily.



4. Realize That You Have To Spend Money To Make Money

This is the point that Moreira really focused on. “Far too many brands think that they can post organically and that the business should roll in. Social media has become a pay-to-play platform and anyone complaining about that needs to re-evaluate the situation. These social networks are no different than the companies using them -- everyone is in it to turn a profit.”

Moreira suggests starting with a small budget and then increasing it once you find ad copy and ad formats that perform well. “You also need to realize that it’s going to require a testing budget before you should realistically expect results. You can’t load up $20 and then become discouraged when you don’t find immediate success.”

Guest Authored By Deep Patel. Deep is the Founder of Owl Metrics, a serial entrepreneur, marketer and bestselling author of A Paperboy’s Fable: The 11 Principles of Success. The book was dubbed the #1 best business book in 2016 by Success Magazine and named the best book for entrepreneurs in 2016 by Entrepreneur Magazine. Also recognized as a top 25 marketing influencer by Forbes, He has worked with VC-backed startups to Fortune 500 companies. He's am also a contributor at Forbes, Entrepreneur, The Huffington Post and Success Magazine. Follow Deep on Twitter.




When marketing to Gen Z on social media, it can be tough to find the quantitative levels of success you’re after.

However, by sticking with a plan that is telling a genuine, relatable story, you can reach not just fans, but followers for years to come.

And if anyone knows how to do this, it’s the man who will probably have a bust of himself in Cleveland someday soon..

    • Authored by:
      Fred Hansen Pied Piper of Social Media Marketing at YourWorldBrand.com & CEO of Millennium 7 Publishing Co. in Loveland, Colorado. I work deep in the trenches of social media strategy, community management and trends.  My interests include; online business educator, social media marketing, new marketing technology, skiing, hunting, fishing and The Rolling Stones..-Not necessarily in that order ;)
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    Monday, November 13, 2017

    9 Marketing Trends To Look For?


    2017 has brought about numerous new features for social media platforms. Some highlights include:

    Twitter introduced a 280-character update.

    Instagram began testing a 4x4 grid, after also introducing the ability to include several photos per post this year.

    Facebook introduced Facebook Stories, a direct assault against Snapchat, which it tried to buy back in 2017.



    So what’s the social media forecast moving into 2018?

    Technology and innovations by the top social media companies are growing at rapid rates. As these online giants add exciting new features, they also bring on new users who may have been holding out for some reason or another.

    Look out for these social media trends for 2018..

    The Rise Of Augmented Reality

    At the newest iPhone launch in September 2017, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced that the newest generations of iPhones will have an augmented reality (AR) feature and demonstrated how it works to the public.

    Apple showed off AR applications from gaming to sports, all integrated with the iPhone camera lens.

    It won't be long before social media companies find ways to incorporate this new technology for use on their own platforms.

    Snapchat Spectacles have been talked about as a business venture that will pave the way for augmented reality. On a related note, Snapchat just released a software update that allows you to superimpose your Bitmoji into the real world.

    Popularity Of Ephermal Content

    Ephemeral content, popularized by Snapchat and adapted by both Instagram and Facebook, is short-lived content that disappears after a user has viewed it or after a 24-hour period. This content format is popular with millennials and generation Z, who will be the focus of many brands’ marketing efforts in 2018.

    There are over 200 million people using Instagram Stories per month, which is 50 million more than those who use Snapchat, and Instagram Stories is just a touch over a year old. The concept of disappearing content may sound scary to many marketers but several brands are already using Instagram Stories for ads.




    What makes ephemeral content popular is that people think it’s more authentic than planned content.

    With this in mind, social media trends 2018 suggest that you should post your best, high-quality content on your Instagram feed and real-time content on Stories.

    Another element of interest to marketers when it comes to the use of Stories is that they are located at the very top of the news feed on their respective networks, keeping your brand top of mind when our target audience is using this feature. With Stories, there’s a component of fear of missing out and an impulse to take quick action, because the content is gone after 24 hours.

    A Focus On Generation Z

    A study by Goldman Sachs found that by next year, Generation Z will be more valuable to most organizations than millennials.



    The oldest members of Generation Z are aged between 17-22 and are starting to enter the labor force or university and will enjoy increased spending power as a result.

    Gen-Z are considered the true digital natives, as they were born with devices in hand and are very expressive and outspoken. Generation Z maintains a social media presence with thousands, if not millions, of followers.

    To definitively reach Generation Z, brands need to be on the platforms that Gen Z prefers, such as Snapchat and Instagram.

    Brands also need to create more personalized content, because like millennials, Gen Z puts a premium on authentic experiences.

    Continued Rise In Influencer Marketing

    90% of marketers that have used influencer marketing found it to be successful, so it seems fair to forecast that it won’t be going away anytime soon.

    However, influencer marketing hasn’t been without its challenges.

    Most brands will be taking advantage of some type of influencer marketing, but not all are transparent about it. Instagram rolled out an update to try and address this issue. The update displays a subheader under the influencer’s username which says “in paid partnership with”, in order to disclose sponsored posts.




    Consumers may become bored with seeing influencers with 10,000 followers promoting brands that aren’t related to their niche.

    Influencers will likely become more selective about who they decide to work with.

    For 2018, building relationships with key influencers is something brands should focus on. Building relationships is complex, since each influencer is different and will require personalized messaging.

    Social media trends 2018 may also involve brands turning to real experts instead of social influencers.



    Video And More Live Streaming

    2017 saw the rise in popularity of video content, which is effective in getting attention, engagement, and followers. On that note, video is the fastest growing ad format. By 2020, it is expected that video will make up 80% of consumer internet traffic.

    Social media sites have also started offering in-app live-streaming and ways to create ephemeral content. What was once a novelty became a mainstream focus of social media, with some brands turning to livestreaming to capture the attention of their followers. An added advantage of livestreaming is that it requires commitment, keeping uninterested audiences away.

    You can also expect that your simple image posts will receive less reach, as they are outperformed by moving images and videos. Thankfully, by using a few nifty apps, a smartphone and a shred of creativity, it's pretty easy to put your stills into motion.



    Digital Hangouts

    Video has been increasingly important and popular lately, so video hangouts may be the next iteration or progression of this social media trend. New social media in 2018 may include the likes of Houseparty, a video hangout platform used by over one million people daily, composed mostly of Gen Z. Facebook is reportedly building something similar to it, tentatively called Bonfire.

    Facebook, who also owns Oculus (a virtual reality hardware and software company) is also testing a project called Spaces, which seeks to connect friends in VR. Facebook is set to scale the project in 2018.

    Tightening Up On Fake News

    A study found that 59% of links shared on Facebook have never been clicked, meaning that many people just read headlines without taking the time to digest the whole story. After some snafus in the 2016 United States presidential election, social media sites have started to embrace a more personal approach to governing conduct on their platforms.

    Related Article: Media Company Social Media?


    Facebook, which was criticized as one of the major channels for spreading fake news, is exploring methods to update their machine learning to track possible hoaxes and send them to human fact checkers for review.

    Social media has become a popular medium for providing customer service, apart from email and phone calls. Some people prefer this over the latter two options because with social media, you get real-time updates and answers.

    However, large businesses tend to receive more social media inquiries than what human agents can reasonably handle, which are often just the same questions over and over again. Instead of (or in addition to) creating a FAQ page, many businesses are building chatbots to assist customers looking for further information.

    A chatbot is a software application built to stimulate human conversation. In fact, there are over 11,000 monthly active bots on Facebook Messenger. Gartner has predicted that by 2018, 30% of our chat conversations will be with chatbots. If you're not using chatbots for your business, Hubspot claims that you’re already behind.



    Facebook Becoming (Almost) Entirely Mobile

    Contently predicts that by 2020, 59% of US users will access Facebook exclusively by mobile device. This prediction doesn’t sound too far-fetched, as the 80% of the company’s advertising revenue comes from mobile ads.







    “Social Media Trends 2018

    Social media gave brands and their customers a chance to connect and the major players are constantly coming up with more ways to do so.

    If we are to believe social media trends 2018, the near future will bring about brands looking to a new target audience, new sources of media, and continue their focus other social sites like Snapchat and Instagram.." -Maddy Osman


      • Authored by:
        Fred Hansen Pied Piper of Social Media Marketing at YourWorldBrand.com & CEO of Millennium 7 Publishing Co. in Loveland, Colorado. I work deep in the trenches of social media strategy, community management and trends.  My interests include; online business educator, social media marketing, new marketing technology, skiing, hunting, fishing and The Rolling Stones..-Not necessarily in that order ;)
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      Location: Loveland, CO 80538, USA

      Wednesday, November 1, 2017

      Good Writing Through Social Media?


      For all the hype Millennials get, nearly every K-12 student today is part of its successor generation—Gen Z—a group more plugged in and social than ever before..




      According to one Common Sense Media report, on any given day, around 60 percent of teens use social media, spending an average of two hours on platforms like Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, all of which are having a big impact in the way they engage with the written word.

      “I think students are reading and writing more than ever,” says Jeremy Hyler, an eighth-grade English teacher at Fulton Middle School in Michigan. “Is it quality writing? Not all the time.”

      Hyler has co-authored two books including “From Texting to Teaching: Grammar Instruction in a Digital Age,” and has made it his mission to immerse himself in the platforms, rules of conduct and digital argot that comprise the communication habits of a generation where efficiency, humor and graphic media are given priority over formal grammar.

      Naturally, social media plays a big part in Hyler’s writing instruction. He acknowledges that a lot of the writing that students do these days is informal and social, and thus today’s writing instruction must focus on teaching students how to artfully master both registers.



      “I tell them, ‘I respect the fact that you write in these informal spaces, but I want you to understand that there are these formal spaces you need to learn how to write in as well,” he says. “So let’s mix them together and talk about them both.”

      Even in middle school, Hyler still sees students struggle with concepts such as proper capitalization and tone, as they navigate between texting with friends and crafting essays or emails to adults.

      “It’s a process. It does not happen overnight,” Hyler says. “But it’s like learning how to write an argument for the SAT. The more they practice it, the better they get. They see the different spaces and learn how to differentiate between them.”

      Making it explicit may help. Five years ago, Hyler created a grammar template in Google Slides to teach concepts like complex sentences. Using a mentor text from the curriculum, students analyze a sentence and recreate it for various media and audiences.



      Recently, Hyler’s class read middle-school staple “The Outsiders” and adapted a sentence for Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook, email and Google Docs.

      Afterward, they talked about what a complex sentence might look like on each platform. “Students like it better than having a worksheet that’s boring or repetitive, and because I’m not saying you have to get rid of writing informally,” Hyler says.

      The exercise also gives students a chance to explore their creativity as both a writer and a user of social media. To illustrate the complexity of the sentence, “one student used a picture of a Rubic’s Cube, because a Rubic’s Cube is complex,” Hyler says. “I never would have thought of that. I’m thinking of something like a wiring system for an internet network—that’s complex to me.”



      The Power of Brevity






      In particular, she points to the work of Chicago teacher Gregory Michie, whose work with students mixes written text with hand-drawn artwork, video and music. “All of that is storytelling,” Roberts says. “It’s the whole blend of images and words—it’s quick little videos or snapshots. That is a story that a writer is telling.”

      Of course, there’s still a place for longform essays and formal writing, and strong writing instruction will effectively incorporate both, she says. “Instead of ditch that and teach micro writing, it’s more of an and you can teach micro writing,” Roberts says. “It’s an extension.”

      Learning Like Students

      In her role as a literacy consultant, Roberts often leads groups of writing teachers in professional development workshops where she encourages teachers to try the writing assignments they assign to students for themselves. But first she has them examine the role formal and informal language plays in their own writing.



      “I have the teachers break out their phones and examine the last few texts they sent,” Roberts says. “The goal is to have them figure out: ‘Who was your audience? Where was your conventional language? Your more conventional shorthand?’ Getting teachers really curious about how they engage in those platforms is a really nice first step.”

      After that, teachers can consider how they might teach digital writing in their classrooms. “The best advice I can give is to respect the students space, but bring it into their classroom,” Hyler says. Tech adverse teachers may struggle at first, he admits, although even that can turn into an opportunity for learning.

      Guest Authored By Stephen Noonoo. Stephen is the K-12 Editor at EdSurge. Previously, he served as editor of eSchool News and as an education editor at THE Journal and SmartBrief. As a consultant for CUE, California's ISTE affiliate, he edited its quarterly publication OnCue Journal and assisted with its popular YouTube channel Infinite Thinking Machine. He has moderated sessions or spoken at FETC, ISTE and CoSN and has helped put together various online and in-person professional development events for companies such as PCM-G and Cisco. He is a graduate of the University of New Mexico where he earned degrees in English and French, a language he loves but is always forgetting. Follow Stephen on Twitter.




      “If you’re unsure of how that lesson would go, learn alongside your students,” Hyler suggests.

      “Have them show you how they’re writing and ask them questions: ‘Why are you writing that way?’

      There’s a lot of power in that.”

        • Authored by:
          Fred Hansen Pied Piper of Social Media Marketing at GetMoreHere.com & CEO of Millennium 7 Publishing Co. in Loveland, Colorado. I work deep in the trenches of social media strategy, community management and trends.  My interests include; online business educator, social media marketing, new marketing technology, skiing, hunting, fishing and The Rolling Stones..-Not necessarily in that order ;)
        Follow Me Yonder..                     Instagram
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