Youth Marketing Masterclass: Four Under 20 Influencers Reveal The Right Way To Connect and Engage With Young People with Connor Blakley, Jesse Kay, Madison Bregman, Ishan Goel, and Joe Polish

Show Notes

• In every boardroom, it’s all about social media and digital, but Connor is focusing on traditional marketing and less crowded channels.
• The problem was not the medium, it was that the “creative” messed up the medium. Doing things that breed real human interaction that people will authentically share is huge.
• It’s probably not that social or digital didn’t work for many companies, it’s that they did it the wrong way.
• Influencers are a currency now and the power is shifting from traditional media to influencer roles on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
• Women are becoming the focus of a lot of brands because of the current political atmosphere.
• Gen Z has grown up with phones in their hands, this means their attention span is actually a BS meter where they are judging whether to spend more time on a piece of content.
• The biggest misconception about Gen Z, is they only like to communicate on their phones or they’re lazy, but they love face to face conversations just like everyone else and will put in the work to connect with someone.
• Gen Z has the ability to turn moments into movements.
• Youth culture is the only real major difference between Gen Z and Baby Boomers.
• The biggest mistake that brands make is that they are assuming they are cool, when no one really cares.
• Brand loyalty is less important than convenience for Gen Z. If they can get something quicker, faster, or better, that’s what they will do.
• Personal advice: Don’t listen to people who haven’t done it and you need to convince yourself that you are the best in the world.
• The best thing you can do as a member of Gen Z is reach out to a mentor and ask them for guidance.
• There is a lot of content that isn’t real and even when it’s done well, the guidance isn’t there.
• Parents need to bring their kids into what they work on and try to spark the desire to be an entrepreneur, that’s something they are craving.
• You have to get out of a defeatist mindset.
• If you find yourself yelling at your kid because they did poorly at school, you need to seriously look in the mirror. Don’t put your insecurities onto your children.
• Find your passion and what you love, finding your passion is a way to minimize or eliminate your anxiety about who you are.
• Removing your child from a negative environment is the best way to rebuild them.
• “It gets better” is terrible advice. It gets better if you make it better.
• Genuine connection is one of the few ways to improve your well-being. People don’t want to die, they just want the pain to stop.
• Targeting the right micro-influencers in your niche will be one of the most impactful strategies in the next five to ten years. To work with influencers the right way, it has to be authentic to the influencer, the brand, and the audience.
• Gen Z breathes stories and experiences. If you can create an environment that can create a story, that’s what gets shared.
• Take away the line between personal and business if you want to attract Gen Z to your profession.
• Ego isn’t necessarily a problem, being cocky is the issue. Ego can drive you to do great things in the world.
• How can you create an Instagram worthy moment in whatever you’re doing?
• Tearing down a brand you have and building a new one may be a better option than trying to change it.
• Giving kids the opportunity to explore their passion, rather than putting them in a box, is the better way to realize young people’s potential. Work towards their advantages instead of trying to make them fit to their disadvantages.
• Kids are told to try to be good at everything, it would be better to tell them to go all in on whatever they are passionate about.
• If you’re teaching your kids to “just get through it” you’re teaching them to settle.
• Showing women in power and on stage is the key to teaching young women that they can achieve great things too.
• Gen Z is the first generation that is still consuming the Oreo’s and the bad things, but they’re aware that they aren’t good for them. Holistic health is something that Gen Z typically cares about.