How to Build a Brand on Social Platforms

As Gen Z, we’re products of the digital age, and social media is a huge part of our reality. Because social media is where we define ourselves and how we connect, building brands to capture our attention needs to happen there too.

The Definition of a Generation

Gen Z’s love affair with social media shouldn't be surprising. We’ve grown up online, and the average Gen Zer spends over 8 hours a day online.

Social media is all about relationships and connection. Our social media connections speak our language, make us laugh, and help us define who we are. It’s also where we buy our products. Fact: 97% of us purchase products on social platforms. If your brand isn’t on social media, you’re probably missing us.

Happy is an Algorithm

We all know that marketing algorithm stuff. Whatever we already like a lot, the algorithm gives us more of it. Branding on social media means giving us what we already like. That seems easy enough, right? But most marketers still operate with old-school tactics. Talking at us. Telling us what we should like. What we should look like. With social media, not so much. You’re talking WITH us and we’re talking back.

Being Real on Social

Social media is all about interaction. It’s building a community and a safe place where we can connect. When a brand can reach us through that community building, it’s way more than marketing. It's meeting us where we are.

Social media isn’t selling, it’s a dialog, even a friendship. If we love you, you’ll see us connecting. If we have issues, we’ll let you know that too. Want to know what we really think? Pop in a quiz for us. Share a random post that has nothing to do with your product but just makes us smile. Remember: if you’re not working your end of the dialog, we’re gone.

Go Where We Hang Out

Gen Z is all about the visual. Think Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat. If your brand wants our attention, give us eye-popping graphics, give us funny videos. Interactive stuff? All the better. Different and quirky? Great! We want creative. We want real. Develop your own voice and be you. The minute your brand starts looking stiff or phony, you’ve lost us.

Who Do We Pay Attention To?

We like it real. So plastic celebs are out, real is in. Our “influencers” are people who look like us and talk like us. Or they’re people we WANT to look like and talk like. They make us laugh, tell us a story, get what we’re about. Think of how you would talk to your best friend. Pay attention to who we pay attention to, and you’ll understand us and our aesthetic. #VibeCheck

No Negativity, Please

We’re all about inclusiveness, and we like ourselves just fine already. Different? No problem, so are we. So, if you’re trying to impress us with this “you need this product to be better” vibe, we’re going to be just a little turned off. Like they say back in English class, show, don’t tell. Show us how your product can make our lives better, happier, more beautiful. Have a sense of humor. There’s too much negativity in the world.

Run By Gen Z, for Gen Z

Marketing to Gen Z is harder than for previous generations because we don’t do traditional marketing. We can smell fake a mile away. Brands need to take the time and commitment to know us to really connect with who we are.

Why not rely on an ad agency that is run by Gen Zers, for Gen Zers? You don’t have to guess what matters to us when your social media branding is run by the very people you want to target. Connect with us here at Adolescent Content, and we can create a social media branding strategy that really works for you – and us.