How to speak Gen Z in your marketing: 3 strategies for authentic connection

Most marketing is still planned around a linear funnel: awareness, interest, desire, action. Gen Z doesn't move that way.

For people born between the mid-1990s and the early 2010s, social media isn't a channel. It's their social hub, news source, entertainment, classroom and, increasingly, their shop. They don't pass through it on the way to a purchase. They live in it. Brands that want to reach them need a different approach.

What's changed

Research into Gen Z's social behaviour points to the same pattern. Around 80% use social media for inspiration, yet more than half are sceptical of brand authenticity. So they go to the comments, looking for real opinions from people like them before they believe anything a brand says. More than half also say brands become more attractive when they show what happens behind the scenes.

Loyalty has changed too. It's no longer measured by how often someone buys. It's defined by the emotional connection they feel with the brands they follow and admire.

The fundamental shift is this: brands used to set the customer journey. Today, the customer does.

Strategy 1: Treat social platforms as communities, not channels

Gen Z doesn't experience social media as a place where ads appear. It's where their community lives. If your content only exists to distribute promotions, it will be ignored.

The brands that win produce content for every part of the Gen Z experience:

• Inspiration: ideas, aesthetics and possibilities, not just products
• Exploration: content that helps them discover, learn and compare
• Community: spaces and conversations they want to be part of
• Loyalty: reasons to stay connected after the purchase

Strategy 2: Show the people behind the brand

Scepticism is the default. The fastest way through it is transparency. Show how products are made, who makes them, what goes wrong and how you fix it. Behind-the-scenes content, founder-led video and real employees on camera often outperform polished advertising, because they feel human.

Gen Z is drawn to brands that feel more like people they know than faceless companies. Give them a face.

Strategy 3: Move from monologue to dialogue

The power dynamic has flipped. Brands no longer control the story on their own; it's co-created with the audience. Gen Z wants interaction, not just transactions, and content that speaks with them rather than at them.

In practice, that means:

• Creating space for conversation: comments, polls, Q&A sessions and live streams
• Listening, and visibly acting on what you hear
• Inviting participation through user-generated content and co-creation
• Showing up to contribute to the conversation, not only to sell into it

The path forward

Marketing to Gen Z takes innovation, authenticity and empathy. Meet them on the platforms they call home, speak their language, and treat them as partners rather than targets. The brands that do it won't just build a customer base. They'll build a community.

And the lesson goes beyond one generation. A more open, interactive and human way of marketing is quickly becoming the standard for every audience.

A version of this article first appeared on Muhammad Eltiti's LinkedIn.