Youth Marketing: How To Engage and Connect with Young People (Featuring Four Under 20 Youth Experts) at Joe Polish’s Genius Network

Show Notes

• A lot of athletes in the past did not realize that they could have authentic connections with their fans via social media, Facebook live broadcasts, meet ups, and partnering with brands that target a certain demographic.
• Women and girls respond differently to marketing and messaging than men do and companies should take that into account.
• Marketing campaigns and paid ads aren’t connecting with Generation Z the way they used to, influencers and influencer marketing are becoming a more effective option.
• If you call yourself an influencer, you are probably not an influencer. An influencer is defined by many things, but if your audience is following you from platform to platform you may qualify.
• If you’re zigging and zagging within the same confines of all the same things that everyone did before, you’re going to get the same results.
• There are all kinds of ways to reach people, developing the ability to connect with people is paramount.
• Psychology is more important than technology.
• 50 and 60 year olds will not be able to predict what a 15 year will resonate with. Companies need to get a Gen Z person in the room when they are doing their research.
• The biggest mistake companies make is not getting any input into their marketing towards younger people.
• Word travels fast, you can have a viral campaign or it can be a viral mistake.
• Someone’s bad news is someone else’s good news.
• Feedback is not necessarily what’s needed, co-creating the marketing message will work much better.
• People think that Generation Z are reclusive and hide behind their technology, but they will readily reach out and speak with someone face to face or on the phone.
• They also assume Gen Z is lazy, but it’s more about looking for shortcuts and doing things efficiently.
• Technology has evolved and there are different ways to do things, but we are still doing the same essential things as previous generations.
• Generation Z has more eyes on what they are doing than any other generation in history, social anxiety is a real concern.
• Find some sort of mentor and follow them. There are many opportunities to learn from people that are older than you and further ahead than you are.
• People who have sustained success for many decades have a level of wisdom that can not be achieved any other way.
• Trust yourself and follow your instincts, society will try to tell you who you should be but you have to trust your gut.
• Be nice to the people you meet on the way up, they are the same people you will meet on the way down.
• You should believe in yourself so much that everyone else thinks you’re crazy.
• If you want to go do something, get up and go do it. Go for long term gains instead of short term thinking.
• One of the key things is listening to what is happening on social media, there are a number of Generation Z people who are killing it on social media.
• Find a way to authentically align your mission with your audience. Meet your audience where they are rather than trying to get them to come to you.
• YouTube and SnapChat are the primary platforms that Gen Z likes to live on.
• By 2020, 40% of the market will be Gen Z.
• Share experiences and not sales pitches.
• Gen Z cares less about the price and more about the impact of making the purchase.
• The death of cash is imminent, money is going mobile.
• People are ingrained and rooted in many traditional ways of doing something, just because there is a better way to doing something that doesn’t mean it will be adopted.
• Engage Gen Z before selling them. The sales cycle is a long term process filled with engagement. Don’t be in the transaction business, be in the transformation business.
• You are either winning or you’re learning.
• There is nothing holding you back, certainly not your age. Don’t shift gears once you get started. Build relationships and connections. Many people are so focused on networking that they forget to connect.