Marketers have spent the last few years trying and trying to get into the minds of Millennials aka The World Wide Web generation. Just when they thought they had everything figured out, Generation Z showed up on the scene and presented a new problem. This new generation consists of young adults born in 1995 or later and make up one-fourth of the United States’ population. And although the two generations share similarities (e.g. entrepreneurial spirit), they differ in a one major way: attention span. It is believed that Generation Z has only an 8-second attention span. That’s right! 8 seconds.
If marketers felt constricted before, they’re definitely feeling the pressure now. Long gone are the days when 4-minute long videos and excessively wordy articles are effective. Generation Z craves new information and they want this information served to them quickly. This explains why social media sites like Twitter and Instagram are so popular among this generation.They allow them to flick their thumbs up and down their social feeds to get content at record speeds. So what does this mean for marketers?
In order to break through all of the distractions and connect with Generation Z, marketers have to create content that is concise, quick and engaging. If they are unable to capture their attention within 8 seconds, it’s forever lost and it goes spiraling out into some black hole in the social atmosphere. This is not the time for rigidity or resistance. If marketers want to reach this generation, they have to change the way that they think and the way that they market.
One important thing to note is that Generation Z is fully capable of creating its own content; sites like Instagram and Vine have proven this. Effective marketers are able to use this user generated content to their advantage. So instead of creating content and spitting it out, these marketers play more of a curator role. The great thing about UGC is that it comes straight from the target audience. As such, it can be assumed that, when packaged correctly, they will respond well to it.
Generation Z has a culture and a lifestyle all its own. It shares certain similarities with the generation that preceded it, however, it’s still different enough for marketers to notes and tp make adjustments. The key to winning over this tech-savvy, information-hungry generation, is to pack the most creativity into 8-seconds or less.
Mizerek, A. (2015, June 5). 8-second marketing: How to craft content strategies for Generation Z. Retrieved from http://mashable.com/2015/06/05/marketing-content-strategies-generation-z/.
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