For many school marketers, like millennials, marketing to Gen Z feels like a guessing game. But, by following a few simple best practices, you’ll be able to reach and engage this young, quick-to-judge, smartphone-addicted generation.

But first things first, who is “Gen Z”?

Who is “Gen Z”?

Generation Z (Gen Z) is technically defined as people born between 1996 and 2014, nestled neatly between millennials and Generation Alpha (which seems like an inordinately strong name for a group of actual children!). A more accurate definition for Gen Z would be a group of teens and young adults who do not know a time before the Internet. 

Gen Z is unlike any other group. Today, Gen Z makes up about 40 percent of all consumers, so figuring out how to market to them is imperative. They are informed consumers and social media connoisseurs; they have a short attention span and a completely unique stance on what influences their purchases and commitments. Most importantly, their brand loyalty is weak and can easily waver when expectations are not met.

The four ways to help your school expand your reach and attract Generation Z are:

1. Create and share quick-to-digest content

2. Understand how they use social media

3. Focus on humanitarian efforts

4. Focus on a mobile-first approach 

1. Create and Share Quick-to-Digest Content

Millennials have an attention span of about 12 seconds. Shocking, right? Well, Gen Z has an attention span of only eight seconds. If you thought you were creating effective and quick content before for your millennial audience, it needs to be even quicker for Gen Z. 

This is applicable to all avenues, including:

• Email marketing

• Website content

• Blog posts

• Social media campaigns

• Etc. 

With such a short window to create a first impression, you want to get right to the point. Educate them on exactly how your school will create more success for them today and beyond. They seek the bottom line. Get rid of the “fluff” and tell them what is in it for them. 

For example, Trinity-Pawling School’s website keeps content short and compelling for its Gen Z and millennial audiences. While traditionally, “Why” pages on school websites have been lengthy areas to share everything that makes a school unique, T-P focuses on quick-to-digest written content with one of the best admission videos we’ve ever seen.

2. Understand the Way They Use Social Media

Remember when you’d tie up your landline phone in order to use the dial-up Internet? Gen Z doesn’t. Gen Z has grown up with an arsenal of Internet-enabled devices, giving them 24/7 access to all of their social media platforms (which many of them also don’t remember a time without). Plus, 94% of Gen Z has, or has access to, a smart device.

Because of this, each platform has developed a unique niche in the lives of Gen Z users. And because of this, it is important to understand each app’s purpose from a Gen Z perspective in order to effectively capture their attention and trust. 

Let’s take a look at some of the most common social media platforms.

Instagram & TikTok

For Gen Z, Instagram and TikTok rule their social lives. This young generation uses both platforms to showcase the best moments of their lives, and also to dissociate and “doom scroll” short-form video content.
Instagram posts and stories are great ways to churn out the quick, visual content Gen Z loves. Because Gen Z loves quick content, your stories will likely get higher engagement than the content you post to your profile. 
 

For schools, incorporating TikTok into your communications strategy is just another task on your to-do list, and might not be practical. But, Instagram is a must. In order to create content your prospective and current Gen Z community wants to engage with, you should follow a few best practices:

• When you post photos, add a location, a trending sound, and add your branded hashtag.
   
• Make an “ask.” Gen Z loves engaging with the brands they care about, and that includes your school. Ask them to comment on your posts to make them feel more connected and grow your organic reach, like Baylor School does here:
   

• Only post high-quality photos. Because of Gen Z’s short attention spans, you’ll need to post vibrant, high-quality images to make them stop mid-scroll.

• Keep the captions short! While on Instagram, you might be tempted to post longer captions (and that is a great idea for your older audiences), when trying to engage Gen Z, keep it short, simple, and even funny!
   
• Gen Z has grown up using all of the ins and outs of Instagram and that is what they are used to, you will want to accommodate that. When posting a story, add a clickable link to draw your audience to a desired landing page (whether that be your school website, a page to sign up for your email list, etc.). You should also incorporate polls, stickers, questions, and other interactive story features to encourage engagement.

• Make sure your school’s Instagram is set up as a Business page so you can review your post insights, and see which posts/stories are generating leads. Studying your insights will show you what your audience is reacting most positively to. 

For strategies for engaging Gen Z on Snapchat, read this blog.

Facebook

According to Gen Z, Facebook isn’t “cool” and is really just a place to keep up with parents. So, if you’re trying to engage Gen Z, this really isn’t the place. (Only 9 percent of teens say it is their preferred platform!)

However, Facebook is a hub for information for its users. If a Gen Z-er wants to know what people are saying about a certain restaurant, they can go to the restaurant’s Facebook page to see reviews, pictures from real guests, hours of operation, address, and more.

Because Gen Z isn’t interested in engaging on Facebook, don’t focus your attention on them here. However, keep the importance of short, compelling content top-of-mind, as this best practice is relevant to almost all audiences, including millennials.

YouTube

YouTube has become an excellent resource for reviews and learning, which Gen Z loves, so take advantage of this! 

If a 16-year-old were told that they will be moving to Columbia, MO next week and they have no idea what it is like there, they will likely turn to YouTube for help. “Columbia, MO virtual tour,” “Columbia, MO,” and “Mizzou” could be some of the YouTube searches that help 16-year-olds understand where they are getting ready to move to.

Think of your audience: How can you help them commit to your school through video? Perhaps you want to build a personal connection with the staff through a quick mini-series of interviews? Maybe you would help your audience commit by showing them a quick tour of the campus and the surrounding town. Use the power of video and make them feel comfortable and eager to learn more about your program. 

For example, McCallie School in Tennessee uses YouTube to share a variety of short, 1-3 minute videos that showcase campus life and culture. And with over 2,000 subscribers, we’d say they’re reaching their Gen Z audience pretty well!

Social Media Integration

Because Gen Z loves social media, integrating it into your website is imperative. You can use a tool like Finalsite Feeds to integrate content from Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, YouTube, and more to build an engaging mash-up of the latest social media content in a single location — the perfect experience for this social media-loving generation.

3. Focus on How Your School Initiates Change 

This generation is truly changing the world (or, they’re the ones who care the most about it). They were raised to care about doing the right thing, and they want to make sure the businesses they support are doing their part, too.

If your school is making efforts to help with environmental issues, socioeconomic issues, or justice reform, showcase it throughout all of your marketing and communications efforts! Gen Z is known to rally behind an organization that is doing “the right thing.”

Show them how you are helping to make positive changes in the community. Use social media and your website to build a strong rapport and help Gen Z gain faith that their commitment to you will help your commitment to a better tomorrow.

Even if your school’s mission isn’t grounded in being environmentally-minded, your school likely has some humanitarian efforts you should promote to Gen Z to earn engagement. 

4. Focus on a Mobile-First Approach

A recent poll shows that 75 percent of Gen Z use their smartphones as their primary gateway to the Internet. Combine that with an eight-second attention span, and it becomes a no-brainer that your website needs to be mobile-friendly and, even more importantly, fast. 

This means that having a mobile-first website, like Colorado Academy, is imperative, and adding a mobile app to your school’s communications toolbox is equally as important. As you build your website, keep this top of mind. If you use Finalsite Composer, you should rely on the device preview tool to view content on a mobile device to ensure it remains engaging and easy to read on all devices.

This importance carries over to your other marketing channels as well. If you have an email marketing campaign, make sure the layout looks just as great on a smartphone or tablet as it does on your desktop. Be sure that your YouTube videos can be watched in landscape or portrait orientation without distorting the quality of the video.

This group has grown up watching “Shopping Hauls” and “Toy Unboxing” YouTube videos in cinematic, 4K quality, with smooth transitions and incredible intros and outros, so their standards are set pretty high.

Key Takeaway

Generation Z is a unique group of individuals who have a high level of expectations and a world of options at their fingertips. It can be overwhelming to leave old methods behind and explore new marketing strategies, but with 40 percent of all consumers being Generation Z, your ability to keep up will pay off.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

As the Social Media and Content Specialist, Hailey oversees Finalsite's social media accounts and helps grow its online community. Following her time at the University of Kansas, where she took up rowing, Hailey is a fitness enthusiast who enjoys playing soccer and running.