EMBiz: Who Is Gen Alpha?
Who Is Gen Alpha?
Cody H. Owens
One thing that all of our clients are wondering lately is, “Who is Gen Alpha and how in the hell do we target them?” So, this video is all about Gen Alpha, which is the next generation after Gen Z.
Who Is Generation Alpha
They were born after 2010, which means that the oldest are 14 and the youngest have yet to even be born, and yet they are still a big topic of conversation and are already being heavily targeted by advertisers—particularly those, obviously, that are 13 and 14. That's why a lot of our clients are very curious about how they can speak to Gen Alpha—in particular how they can speak to them through their parents.
It's really important to be able to understand the culture of Gen Alpha and who they are in order to be able to speak to them, whether directly or indirectly. Because we work with a lot of clients who are in CPG in kids and toys, we get the really, really fun opportunity to create content geared towards Gen Alpha. Of course, there aren’t any Gen Alpha on our team, so it requires a lot of research. This is why we're happy to pass that on to you and, hopefully, if you have children or young kids in your life, you can absolutely verify some of this.
How to Market to Gen Alpha
There are four very actionable specific tips I can give you about Gen Alpha that will help you target them in your marketing and in your messaging.
1. Use TikTok
The first tip is that you really need a TikTok presence. 30% of Gen Alpha spend at least two hours a day watching videos on TikTok. That's where they are, so you need to go where they are. They can't come to you so you have to go to them. TikTok is where they are. Gen Alpha also watches a lot of content on YouTube, so video content is what's most important, but TikTok is where they are and is a platform that allows most Gen Alpha to be online with specific like parental controls and things like that. If you want to meet them where they are, you need to create content on TikTok and have a constant presence there.
2. Focus on Short-Form Content
The second tip, which applies to the TikTok comment, is to focus on short-form content. Gen Alpha, just as much if not more than the generations before them, have a short attention span. There is a media saturation in their life. Most Gen Alpha have a tablet or an iPad, largely because of schooling and COVID-19 restrictions and things like that, but more than any generation before them they are tied to their technology, so they are inundated with messages and advertisements all of the time. You need to focus on short-form content to get their attention and get to it really quickly.
3. Show Your Values
Three is to focus on your social values, particularly eco-conscious and diverse content. Diversity is one of the number one values that Gen Alpha is looking for. They are the most diverse generation yet, and they want to see that reflected in your content. If your content is completely not diverse and is not focused on the environment, which is kind of like the second most important value to them generally, then you're really missing the mark and you're not gonna land with them. You want to make sure that you are showing diversity that represents the Gen Alpha community and also to make sure that you're being as green as you possibly can.
4. Be Authentic and Absurd
The fourth and final one, which might come as a surprise to you, is that you need to have some humility and lean into absurdity. If you have seen any of the popular Gen Alpha videos, memes and things that are out there, their sense of humor leans to the absurd. There are lots of reasons why that might be—particularly because they've grown up in just a really weird world environment and had to deal with more isolation than any generations before them due to COVID precautions. If you want an example, look up Skibidi Toilet. That is one of the most popular Gen Alpha videos, so go and look. They love the absurd, they love stupid, and they love non sequiturs, so really lean into that. If you're gonna be extremely serious, you're probably not going to really resonate with the Alpha generation, so make sure that you are creating content with a sense of humility and a sense of absurdity, some levity there, to make sure you're connecting with the kind of content that they like and want to consume
Those are four tips on how to connect with Gen Alpha, the next big generation that’s actually on target to be the world's largest generation to date. So, get out there, try some content to market to Gen Alpha and let us know how it goes!