PR AGENCY DIARIES: HOW TO COMMUNICATE WITH GEN Z
‘Zoomers’ are known for their ‘work smarter not harder’ work ethic, and with 20-year-olds commonly representing some of the world’s most successful companies online, it might be time for you to look at the benefits Gen Z could bring to your business.
They’re cool, they’re casual, and they’re changing the way we communicate at work. We’re here for the zoomers, and you should be too.
A little disclaimer
Intergenerational warfare is a never-ending cycle. Gen Z is mad at Boomers for their lack of care for the planet, Boomers struggle to understand the insensitivity of Gen Z (“OK Boomer”), and everyone placed in between feels dismissed and ‘forgotten’.
Before you jump to your own defence, consider this: businesses that fail to communicate with Gen Z, will not only miss out on growing and evolving, but will also miss out on an important pool of potential consumers.
Make the first move
Zoomers are digital natives, having spent more than half of their lives online. So, while you may be stuck on the customer journey funnel and targeting personas, Gen Z will hit your audience with a different approach. They get TikTok in a way that other generations just don’t.
Use your younger employees’ knowledge of trending audios, cultural references, and video editing to your advantage – it could see your brand gain a cult following, reflecting the millions of video views that many global brands are reaching.
If you know your niche and you’re ready to take the leap, ask yourself this: who better to create engaging content for your brand than the generation that is consuming it the most?
Now for the fun stuff
Gen Z has entered the workforce (albeit 15 minutes late with an iced coffee in hand), and the shift in office etiquette has become glaring. Signing off your emails with ‘Kind regards’ won’t get you very far in the world of Gen Z (IYKYK), so if you’re looking for some inspo that’s up with their lingo, try these:
Lukewarm regards
Hasta la pasta
Apologies for existing ;’)
Sent from my LG smart toaster
Your hero
Don’t cross me
Say less, fam
Internal emails, social copy, influencer briefs and the like have all benefitted from the youthful lexicon and show you can put your company squarely into the consumers’ head (without making a dick of yourself).
But in all seriousness, make sure you are setting expectations upfront so you don’t inadvertently offended. Communicating where the team can be more casual and explaining why certain phrasing is read as rude is all part of the learning curve, and altering language to suit your crowd has, with our team, quickly seen everyone picking up what is put down.
Wait, what!
You’ve never truly experienced intergenerational differences with Gen Z until you’ve been baffled by their slang that can sound like a completely foreign language. To avoid being çheugy (pronounced chew-gee), we’ve included a few honest translations to help bring you up to speed.
If they say: “we love a self-aware king/queen” they mean “it’s great you’re conscious of your character”
If they say: “she gives main character” they mean “I love her drive for success”
If they say: “cap?” they mean “are you sure?”
If they say: “this ain’t it, chief” they mean “this won’t work for us”
If they say: “was lunch bussin’?” they mean “how was your lunch?”
If they say: “he understood the assignment” they mean “he did a great job presenting today”
All jokes aside, this new wave of willing and eager young adults is undoubtedly a big adjustment for company culture though like every generation, there are things to learn and leverage to your businesses advantage. However, we hope you can now see there is fun to be had as you bridge that generational gap.
Turn to the Gen Z in your team – because, while they may not have had to walk 3 miles in the rain to school every day, they have important skills that just hit different. Bet.
