With each passing year, demographics change. Where a company’s core demographic might have been millennials a few years ago, today it’s shifted to Generation Z. Unfortunately, there’s often a marked difference in values between generations, and businesses need to revamp their marketing strategy to reach out to their newest client base without alienating their other followers.

If the wrong strategy is applied and a company’s messaging is ineffective in reaching its audience while turning away others, it can cost the business valuable sales. Just take a look at any of the content being created in product review space and you will see that they are creating their content in a tone that best relates with their audience.

Quick Tips and Expert Advice on How to Reach Gen Z Audiences

To help avoid such situations, these 11 entrepreneurs from YEC share their insight into how companies can reach out to their Gen Z audience while remaining marketable to their existing clientele. Want to see if these methods will start working for you and your brand? Start by reading through the list below and then implement one or two of these methods in your marketing and outreach efforts today.

1. Use an Omnichannel Approach

Use an omnichannel approach. Gen Z is active on multiple devices and platforms. They are more into Instagram and Snapchat than Facebook and email but they still have Facebook accounts and email.They are also big into text messaging. So it’s important to have campaigns that reach out on several channels. This won’t alienate others and is actually useful for reaching everyone.

– Kalin Kassabov, ProTexting

2. Focus on Creative, Original Content

Focus on creative, original content while remaining fresh and engaging. One reason for this is that Gen Z is beginning to be part of a technology and digital media-led environment, so the scope for it is much broader and has more possibilities. Taking advantage of this fact in a favourable way to encourage a content-based approach can be highly effective.

– Kevin Leyes, Leyes Media & Team Leyes, by Leyes Enterprises

3. Create Personalized Content

Gen Z wants to stand out and express themselves as individuals. They aren’t willing to do business with just anyone and will wait to buy from brands that resonate with them. So, you need to create tailored, personalized content to speak to their needs. Presenting them with the same stale message you send everyone else is a surefire way to lose them forever.

– Stephanie Wells, Formidable Forms

4. Value Diversity and Equality

Value diversity and equality with an emphasis on individual expression. Generation Z are the essential digital natives. They don’t know a world without the internet, so they know how to use it better than anyone else.

– Nick Perzichilli, Zürtech AG

5. Use Micro Social Segmentation

When targeting multiple demographics including Gen Z, brands should segment outreach not only by utilizing different platforms, but also by taking it one step deeper to feature specific targeting within each platform. For instance, TikTok is extremely engaging with Gen Z, while Instagram Stories can be used successfully to target both Gen Z and a broader audience.

– Mahesh Chaddah, Reservations.com

6. Embrace Emerging Social Media Platforms

Embracing emerging social media platforms while remaining true to your brand is a powerful way to boost engagement with a younger audience without alienating your existing followers. I recently took part in a TikTok video “dance-off” competition with other digital marketing thought leaders and the engagement we received on all of our social media channels was off the charts.

– Matt Diggity, Diggity Marketing

7. Leverage Motion Graphics

Video is the king of content right now. However, not all video is created equal. If you are trying to appeal across demographics, motion graphics are the way to go. Motion graphics stand out in a fresh and modern way from standard video without looking too gimmicky. If you haven’t already invested in a motion graphics team, it would be wise to do so.

– Nicholas Haase, MaintainX

8. Step Up Your Engagement

The best way to appeal to Gen Z, and truly all of your followers, is by stepping up your engagement. Consumers expect businesses to engage with them like never before. Part of this thought process stems from the way companies interact with their followers on platforms like Twitter. Spend time chatting with your followers in the comments of your posts to attract more people to your website.

– Chris Christoff, MonsterInsights

9. Optimize for Mobile

Unfortunately, many marketers are still trying to sort out their mobile marketing strategy. Considering that Gen Z’s device of choice is their smartphone, it is incredibly important that you optimize all areas of your social media for mobile. In fact, 53% of Gen Z use smartphones to make online purchases, making social features like Instagram Stories to promote products and services invaluable.

– Blair Thomas, eMerchantBroker

10. Appeal to Their Values

Listen to Gen Z and appeal to their values for privacy and individuality. These children are becoming adults too fast and feel invalidated by how the world sees them. If you can deliver tangible social responsibility and ethics in your posts, then implement those messages combined with action. Also, add authenticity and a desire to engage with them. Give them a voice and a reason to like you.

– Duran Inci, Optimum7

11. Use the Latest Features

If Gen Z is a part of your target audience, make sure you are utilizing the latest features on your social media campaigns such as Instagram or Facebook stories. As videos seem to be only growing in popularity, create video content targeted specifically to Gen Z and share it on the most cutting-edge platforms where the more mature members of your audience likely won’t even see it.

– Reuben Yonatan, SaasList

Want to Create the Best Content for Your Target Audience?

No matter if you are targeting an audience in Generation X, Y or Z, it’s all about knowing who your audience is and how to provide the best value and user experience. This is especially true in the age of content media and mobile usage, as users and their attention spans are just a simple click or swipe away from leaving your site.

To learn more about these best practices, be sure to read up on our latest content marketing tips.

If you’re like the hundreds of content marketers out there that have invested in blog content, you want people to read it. If you’ve been watching your metrics for visits, you might realize that many visitors don’t even bother with your blog. Sure, they might follow a social post from your media to your blog, and possibly read a single entry, but they won’t engage further than that.

So how do you get readers to come back to read about the amazing things you post?

Quick Tips on Getting More Readers to Your Blog

These 15 professionals from YEC expound on the methods that work for them to get those return visitors to visit their blogs, and further explain why those techniques are so successful at maintaining user engagement.

1. First Define Your Target Audience

First and foremost you should define your target audience. After identifying what your target audience likes to read about in regards to your business, you should develop more content around those topics and share them on your social media profiles and have an option to subscribe to your blog. If you write interesting content for your target audience, then they will subscribe and read every time.

– Alfredo Atanacio, Uassist.ME

2. Provide Valuable, Meaningful Content

Provide valuable, meaningful content. People are visiting blogs to learn about a particular topic, and you can deliver that to them. Pair with optimized headlines to grab their attention and rank higher on Google. That way people will see you the first time and return for more because they get value from your blog.

– Duran Inci, Optimum7

3. Leverage Subject Matter Experts

Leverage experts. I think one of the most effective ways to build extensive, strong content isn’t by volume, but by utilizing some of the best people on any given subject. That’s how these interview podcasts get so much traction. Apply it to your blog. When there’s something you want to write about, reach out to someone who knows the most about it and roll them into your article.

– Richard Fong, Ready Green

4. Offer Content Upgrades

Offering content upgrades is a great way to keep readers coming back to your blog. With every blog post we publish, we add an opt-in that provides a cheatsheet or free course download that enhances the blog post content. This is also a wonderful tactic to use to build your email list for free.

– Kristin Kimberly Marquet, Marquet Media, LLC

5. Offer Free Tips or Products

One effective way to get website visitors to return is by offering free tips, free products or special discount codes. Only reveal a bit of information on social media so that you can lead them to your blog for the full scope.

– Riccardo Conte, Virtus Flow

6. Encourage Email Subscriptions

Encourage email subscriptions on other areas of your website if you want people to eventually read your blog. For example, if someone comes to your site to buy a product, encourage them to subscribe and make an account so they can get the latest content and promotions. Now, when you publish a new piece of content, you can push it out to these customers and get them to return to your blog.

– John Turner, SeedProd LLC

7. Have a Clean Website Design

It’s important to have a clean website design so users on any device can easily navigate your content. If they face any issues while scrolling through your blog, it’s likely they won’t come back. But if you optimize your blog pages and take care of your site speed, you should have no problem building a recurring readership.

– Jared Atchison, WPForms

8. Create Backlinks to Specific Posts

Create backlinks to specific blog posts. If you guest post for other publications, it’s a great opportunity to link to a blog post in your author bio or within the article itself. Sure, linking to your homepage is OK, but if you want to lure readers into a specific topic to keep them engaged, then you need to pick something specific.

– Stephanie Wells, Formidable Forms

9. Offer Repurposed Material

Offer repurposed material as an added bonus when users are going through your blog. If you’ve written a tutorial, you could offer readers a handy checklist if they subscribe. This way, you can repurpose posts into videos, guides, e-books and more to boost conversions. Once you have a reader’s email, you can send messages with information about new posts.

– Syed Balkhi, WPBeginner

10. Put Your Blog Link in Your Email Signature

Put a link to your blog in your email signature. People still use email a lot today, so it makes sense to put it there, especially if you’re talking with a lot of people outside your organization. Be sure to make it obvious that the hyperlink is to your blog, otherwise people may ignore it if they think it’s to your homepage or somewhere else.

– Thomas Griffin, OptinMonster

11. Be Concise in Your Writing

People want information in a concise format where they can absorb the information quickly. Make the paragraphs short, use headers to grab the reader’s attention and make bullet points or lists to make it easier for your audience to read your blog. The simpler the better — no fluff or unnecessary filler sentences.

– Patrick Barnhill, Specialist ID, Inc.

12. Share Your Blog Content on Social Media

Using social media to share your blog content, and writing about subjects that truly add value, is key in getting exposure to your blog. Don’t forget to RSS feed your blog to the homepage of your website, as well.

– Rachel Beider, PRESS Modern Massage

13. Show the Most Popular Posts on the Sidebar

We like to show our most popular blog posts on every page of our website. On our sidebar, you will see the most clicked/shared posts currently on our blog. Not only does this educate users who come to our website for the first time, but it also gives our customers a chance to stay up to date on the latest product updates and news.

– Chris Christoff, MonsterInsights

14. Write and Post Use Cases

Something that will get people to read your blog is use cases. By this, I mean creating content such as case studies, FAQs and other formats where users can see your product in action. This type of content creates interest and also showcases real-life solutions that feel more relatable. You can also direct users to your blog to find social proof, which will help you boost shares and readership.

– Blair Williams, MemberPress

15. Add Your Blog to the Main Navigation Bar

Building awareness of your blog is key to getting regular site visitors to read it. Try having a “Blog” or “Resources” section listed in the main navigation that sits at the top of each page of your website so that visitors can clearly see you have a blog section. Too many companies bury their blog, making it impossible for a site visitor to find.

– Diana Goodwin, MarketBox

How to Keep Site Visitors Coming Back Again and Again!

Allocating time and money to your content creation and marketing efforts is tough. With more than a billion active websites and blogs on the internet today, it’s not just about creating content and going live with it, it’s more about knowing what your audience wants and creating the best content possible. And don’t forget about the importance of content marketing and using social media to get it out to the masses.

To learn more about these best practices in content creation and user engagement, be sure to read up on our latest tips on getting users to join your mailing list.