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A Dive into Companies Using Their Socials to Target Younger Generations
As a certified Gen Z-er, I love to see when companies use social media to appeal to younger generations instead of trading a traditional marketing strategy for a younger, trendier, and more lighthearted strategy. Some of the best marketing campaigns focus on evoking emotion, and Gen Z loves the feeling of emotional inclusion, making relatable content top-tier social media marketing! Here are a few of my favorite companies doing just that!
Diet Coke:
Gen Z loves LDC or Little Diet Coke, and if you’re a follower of the brand on Instagram, you may have noticed they have started to do a complete rebrand of their social platform! The company had a 5-month period of silence, and their formerly orchestrated content full of classic Coke red has been rebranded to a favorite of mine, user-generated content. Followers can now see real-life people and influencers they know enjoying the drink, along with lifestyle photos of the product and company-branded items, giving it a more candid, laid-back, and relatable feeling!
Glossier:
Glossier’s marketing is one I will never stop obsessing over. This company does a fantastic job at not taking themselves too seriously. They fully focus on social listening to know what their customer base is interested in – and deliver. They are masters of user-generated content and not touching up their content. In the past few years, the company also relaunched its cult favorite product, The Balm Dot Com, with new packaging and formula, leaving customers very unhappy. They took to social media, making light of the situation and poking fun at themselves to relaunch the old and beloved formula and joined in on the fun rather than taking the defensive.
Sparkling Ice:
Sparkling Ice used a mix of choreographed content and lighthearted and trendy video content. With campaigns featuring stars like Megan Trainer and fun, relatable TikToks, and Reels, this company capitalizes on both brand recognition and creating a brand personality.
The rise of TikTok really emphasized this new era of marketing strategy, and I think it is here to stay. It has now transferred over to other platforms like X and Instagram as well. TikTok allowed more serious companies to safely try sillier strategies and see what gained the most traction. Younger generations love this because rather than selling the product, you’re selling the emotion and feeling they get when they watch your silly content.
If you haven’t yet tried incorporating more lighthearted content into your marketing strategy, this is your sign to do so!
