They don’t know much about paper maps, pay phones or watching cartoons only on a Saturday morning. But who is Gen Z, really?

Born between 1997 and 2012 (give or take a year), Gen Z are the next in line to Millennials (born 1981 to 1996), and followed by Generation Alpha, those born in the early 2010s onwards.

They’re unique from all previous generations in that they are considered true digital natives. They were born in an era where mobile phones, internet connections and digital technology had already arrived, and were evolving at pace. In fact, tech has progressed so fast since the late 1990s, that Gen Z probably won’t have the lived experience to know why the ‘save’ icon is a floppy disk.

While all new generations might feel like a puzzle for past generations to solve, the divide between Gen Z and your business is not as big as you think. Currently aged between their early teens and late 20s, Gen Z are likely interacting with your business already, either as employees, consumers or suppliers. By 2030 Gen Z is projected to make up 30 per cent of the workforce says Forbes. As they become the dominant working age cohort, their spending habits will shape the retail and broader economic landscapes.

Needless to say, understanding Gen Z is key to the success of your business now and into the future. So how can businesses engage with Gen Z?

You’ll no doubt have come across countless strategies that can blur into an endless feed of buzzwords: authenticity, purpose-led, user generated content, influencer marketing, the list goes on.

By what can we learn about business communication from Gen Z themselves? Listening and learning from the next generation about how they communicate, interact and adapt can provide an interesting lens through which to challenge the status quo in your own communications strategies.

Here are three key lessons Gen Z can teach businesses willing to observe and listen.

1. Follow and engage: Gen Z are more likely than previous generations to follow brands and influencers on social media. This presents an opportunity to develop deep brand engagement and unearth rich insights about your Gen Z target markets. Understanding generational differences in social media platforms of choice is crucial to your content marketing strategies. Last year, Gen Z were most active on Instagram (91 per cent) and TikTok (86 per cent), reports Sprout Social.
2. Learn and develop: While Gen Z occasionally cops bad press for lacking ambition this isn’t a fair characterisation. In fact, Gen Z place learning and development in their top three reasons for choosing an employer, reports Deloitte. Providing opportunities for learning and growth should be a key consideration when engaging with Gen Z as employees or consumers.
3. Switch fast and be flexible: Gen Z has grown up in a hyperconnected environment, where access to multiple sources of information – fact or fake news – are only a click away. Gen Z are accustomed to thinking and acting fast: rapidly adopting trends, seeking flexibility and switching between tasks or tastes in the blink of an eye. This emphasises the need for your digital PR and content marketing strategies to be grounded in real time information that lets you adapt and evolve to changing needs. A Gen Z engagement strategy should never be left on ‘set and forget’.

Of course, distilling any generation into three dot-points leaves a great deal unsaid. But the key take out here is that the next generation is already here. If you’re not listening and learning from Gen Z, it’s time to get started.

Think you need to quicken your step to keep up with the next generation? Contact us today for a chat about your communications strategy.