Zoomers spend plenty of time online and consume content almost constantly. They also love social media. But what about emails? Do they still read them?
Yes, they do. According to research, 53% of them are happy to receive emails from the brands at least once a week. That slightly differs from 66.5% for Millennials and 58% for Boomers, but it is still impressive. So, Gen Z definitely accepts email marketing as a communication channel to connect them with brands.
Whether you are improving your email marketing for small business or refining your marketing strategies for a larger company, you can benefit from Gen Z-targeted email campaigns. However, you need to make sure that Zoomers are included in your target audience at all first. If yes, running email marketing campaigns for Gen Z audiences is a good idea if you are aware of the specific language Zoomers use, and of their general attitude. But if you are simply going to replicate your email marketing campaigns for the elder generations, you’ll need to do some more research. Zoomers are different, and using the same messages as you use for Millenials may confuse the younger generation and lead to poor results for your marketing campaigns.
If you keep that in mind, emails will do a great job for your business. According to Bloomberg, Gen Z has $360 billion to spend, which makes them a perfect target audience for marketers. What is more, this figure will increase as more and more Zoomers become adults. However, their spending habits differ dramatically from those the elder generations demonstrate, so catching the attention of this picky audience may not be an easy task.
Gen Z spends lots of time online — even more than Millennials do. Most Zoomers consume content almost constantly, which makes them a great target for digital marketers.
At the same time, Zoomers are infamous for their short attention span, so their attention is very hard to catch. The good news is, if you are in their mailboxes, they likely already care about your business and want to see high-quality content from you. Here are some facts about Zoomers to keep in mind while you produce it:
Now that we know what sets Zoomers apart, let’s proceed with the practical recommendations on how to engage them with emails.
Gen Z hates sales pitches and the feeling that you are selling them something at all. They prefer to be a part of the community, share your brand’s values, and be included in the process. Keep that in mind when you choose the tone of voice for your messages and remember to stay sincere, as if you were friends or coworkers.
Most Zoomers enjoy receiving emails from their favorite brands once a week. What about the other emails? What if they’d like to receive those once in two weeks or once a month? No matter how good your newsletter is, the open rates will go down if the reader is annoyed with the frequency. So why not save time and effort on sending emails that aren’t exactly welcome?
To optimize your Gen Z email campaign strategy, you can let your subscribers choose how often they want to receive your emails by setting an email preference center. Including a link to it in your emails will help you monitor your audience’s preferences, and customers will have the option to manage their preferences anytime.
Although Zoomers love online shopping, the problem is that they have too many options. That means your emails must stand out to be noticed — and personalization is what can help you with that.
Personalization is not only addressing readers by their names. It is crafting a unique offer for readers based on what you know about them. Collecting data like age, gender, areas of interest, previous purchases, hobbies, and location, and using this information for mailing list segmentation is an effective way to increase conversions.
Here is a good example of a personalized email Zoomers will appreciate:
But be careful with this technique, as using too much personal data can make you appear creepy. While personalizing your content, keep in mind that Gen Z is much more aware of their online security. Avoid asking for their personal information and emphasize that their private data is 100% protected.
Gen Z have their mobiles glued to their palms, so being mobile-friendly is even more important in campaigns addressed to Zoomers. Your emails, website and online store must be optimized for mobile so that this audience can see you at all.
When it comes to mobile optimization, stay aware of:
Visual content is extremely important for Gen Z. They love social media and prefer engaging with photo and video content, research indicates. Here are a couple of quotations from the 2022 Global Messaging Engagement Report:
“Keep it concise! No big blocks of text, which are boring and discourage reading.” A Gen Z respondent from the UK
“I definitely prefer my emails to have images and videos. I feel graphics and videos make emails more fun and visually pleasing.” A Gen Z respondent from the US
In the email below, the image is put front and center to attract maximum attention:
Social media is one of the best marketing channels to reach Gen Z, and combining different channels always grows conversions. Zoomers spend lots of time on social media, so don’t forget to add your social networks’ widgets to the newsletter. You may also embed posts and videos from your social media right into the email.
Doing so can also help to convert your subscribers into your social media followers as well. Which, again, will be good for your overall conversion rates.
Using interactive elements in your emails is a great way to grab your audiences’ attention and get useful insights. Try using polls and quizzes in your newsletters. That will help increase engagement and learn more about your subscribers’ preferences, interests and behavior, enabling you to craft even more effective email marketing campaigns.
Interactive elements and gamification can also make your emails more entertaining and fun to engage with. According to research, interactive content is 52.6% more engaging than static content. That is why brands use interactivity to make their emails more fun.
Here’s how McDonald’s does it in its special offer email:
This golden rule works for all generations, but especially for Gen Z. They consume content almost constantly and unsubscribe from anything that looks irrelevant or does not interest them on the spot. Remember that humor and entertainment are valuable too. But avoid over-promotional messages: Gen Z finds them almost offensive.
Gen Z just loves feeling that they are a part of a life-changing force. That’s why they engage with the brand’s values so much. That feeling of being a part of the community is really valuable for them. If you find that sweet spot where you bring them the feeling of being a part of a mighty community, they’ll stay loyal to your brand and will even recommend it to their friends.
This is especially relevant for non-profit email campaigns where fostering a sense of community is essential:
When it comes to Gen Z, your brand reputation and company values are at least just as important as the product’s features and your sales skills. Focus on your company’s ethics. Identify your company’s values and share them with your subscribers.
If you don’t know where to start, here are some ideas:
Gen Z loves checking customer reviews before they decide to purchase, so you can also include some of these in your email to save their time. According to recent research, 76% of Zoomers browse the web for reviews and 90% are less likely to buy products if there are no reviews.
If you have celebrity customers or ambassadors, you can dedicate your email to their experience with the product and provide links to social media or other platforms with further info.
Here’s an example of using this strategy in an actual email:
Keeping Gen Z’s flipping attention can be tricky, but it’s worth it. Once you’ve proved that your brand’s values align with your audience’s, they will be loyal to you and will likely turn their friends into your prospective clients too.
As more and more Zoomers become adults and join the workforce, the generation becomes an even more important part of the economy. It might be a good idea to base your business strategy on building communication with them.
Here’s what you need to keep in mind to create a successful email campaign for Gen Z:
