Marketing Trends Across Generations, From Boomers to Gen Z

Outbound marketing doesn’t cut it anymore. At least outbound marketing alone doesn’t cut it.

Whether you’re selling age-specific products or something that spans the generations, it’s vitally important to understand your audience. Baby boomers, Generation X, Millennials (Generation Y), and Generation Z speak unique languages, hold different perspectives, and consume information and goods in distinct ways.

We’ve broken down emerging marketing trends across generations to inform more effective, relevant messaging that will help move consumers toward your brand.

Baby Boomers: The Internet-Savvy

Born: 1946-1964

Assumptions that Baby Boomers are “old-school” are dangerous and often lead to ineffective communications. Boomers are a primary audience for many businesses, making up over 75% of wealth in the U.S.

Boomers didn’t grow up with technology but have seen its capabilities quickly unfold and are fascinated with how it has progressed. This group relies on Google for information and favors Facebook over other social media platforms, and you’ll more likely catch them on their computer than a smartphone or tablet.

Baby Boomer Marketing Trends

1. 96% of Boomers Use Search Engines, Making SEO an Absolute Must

Even though Baby Boomers didn’t grow up with the conveniences of Google to help them with their homework or shop online, they’re making up for lost time – this generation makes 20% more online purchases than millennials! Brands that sell to this generation should prioritize their SEO strategy and website user experience. We recommend using Google Analytics, HotJar, and other website optimization tools to understand how this audience interacts with your site.

2. Take a Gentle Approach with your Ads

While re-targeting can be one of the most powerful paid search strategies, it must be used with caution when trying to reach Boomers. They don’t fully understand how they’re being ‘tracked’ and are concerned about privacy. Instead, consider Google search ads, shopping ads or LinkedIn ads for B2B services.

3. Detailed, Informative Content Drives Purchasing Decisions

Boomers prefer to get their information from in-depth sources such as slow-paced video content that demonstrates the value of a product or service. This generation has a longer attention span than others and will also take the time to read the “fine print,” so don’t slack on the details with this audience segment.

Generation X: Powerful Purchasers

Born: 1965-1980

Generation X folks make up 31% of all purchasers and have the highest annual disposable household income, holding extensive purchasing power. This group spends even more time on the internet than Millennials and Boomers per week – 21 hours on their smartphone, 9 hours on their PC and 4 hours on their tablets.

While this group is very tech-savvy, that’s not to say that traditional media is dead. Of this group, 48% listen to the radio, 62% read newspapers and 85% watch cable TV.

Generation X Marketing Trends

1. Give Gen X Brand Loyalty and Love

Gen Xers are your strongest online brand advocates. They commonly speak about their most and least favorite products and services online and heavily rely on reviews to make decisions. They’re also the most likely out of all generations to stay loyal to the same brands. Rewards programs and email marketing that includes personalized offers and coupons, thank you messages and birthday goodies are winning strategies here.

Take a look at how Post Consumer Brands combined brand loyalty, incentive-based promotions and a love for Facebook to launch its Malt-o-Meal “MOM Cereal Crew” ambassador program:

2. Mobile Experience Must be a Priority

If your website isn’t mobile-friendly, now is the time to pivot! Most of us don’t have the patience for slow load times, spammy pop-ups and visually unorganized pages – including Gen Xers who spend 3+ hours on mobile every day. Make sure your website UX and SEO strategies support a mobile-first experience. Not only will you appease this generation, but you’ll likely see your keyword rankings improve as well. Bonus points!

3. Go Nostalgic

Playing into this generation’s nearest and dearest childhood memories through old-school commercials, throwback music and noteworthy events from their lifetime are simple ways to communicate with this audience. Try integrating these nostalgic experiences into your targeted ads, commercials, social posts, videos, and beyond.

Millennials (Generation Y): The Influenced

Born: 1981-1996

Millennials (Generation Y) are on their way to greater buying power but aren’t quite there. This generation is currently seeking financial stability as they hold more debt than any other generation. In general, these individuals want to see the world before settling down.

This group is also very socially conscious – they research companies before purchasing to ensure their values are aligned and support the causes they care about. Brand name doesn’t play as big of a role in their buying decisions, with only 29% of millennials purchasing from the same brand repeatedly.

Millennial Marketing Trends

1. User Generated Content (UGC) is Key

User-generated content (UGC) is more than a buzzword – it’s an effective approach to selling products and services through customer reviews, online communities like Reddit, customer photos shared by the brand on Instagram and more. And millennials are the biggest followers of this method, with 84% reporting UGC at least somewhat influences their buying decisions.

2. Cue Your Influencer Marketing

A whopping 60% of millennials say they would try a product suggested by a YouTuber, and one-third consider blogs as a top media source when researching a product or service. They’re also 44% more likely to trust experts (influencers) than general brand claims through traditional ad campaigns.

Check out how we teamed up with Red Star Yeast to inspire millennials to achieve better baking using Platinum Instant Sourdough Yeast with the help of top-trusted baking influencers.

See the full case study.

3. A Mobile-First Mindset

Navigating your website and viewing ads should be clean and simple on a mobile device. Millennials, like other generations, are avid smartphone users and appreciate the ability to make purchases quickly and easily on their devices instead of pulling out their laptops. Optimize your mobile transaction experience and make rewards programs that are easily accessible.

Generation Z: On the Run

Born: 1997-2015

When it comes to capturing the attention of Gen Z, time is of the essence. They have the shortest attention span of all generations (8 seconds) and will likely click out of something if it doesn’t pique their interest – or even worse, doesn’t load immediately.

Because this group grew up with smartphones, the internet and social media, online communities help shape their identity, and what they consume.

Gen Z Marketing Trends

1. Personalized Email Marketing, an Underrated Branding Tool

While email marketing can certainly be annoying and overdone, a strategic, personalized approach can significantly impact your ROI. Of this group, 31.8% like receiving brand emails a couple of times per week and 27.5% like receiving them once per day. The catch is that they must be highly targeted, relevant and timely. Doing this makes this generation feel like brands care about their wants and needs.

2. Algorithm Hacking – They Know What They Want to See

Sorry, but Gen Z has caught on – they understand the algorithms behind the targeted ads they see – and they like it. Half of Gen Z college students claim they purposefully like, comment or share content to train algorithms to understand what they’re interested in and easily get information relevant to those topics. This group does not fear targeted ads, making retargeting and paid search effective marketing strategies. Always make sure to offer opt-in options to stay transparent and prevent any privacy violations.

3. Shoot Quick and Captivating Video Content

Many Gen Zers grew up with Vine before its departure and are now Tik Tok gurus, where short and compelling videos are shared. This social tool has become so much more than a place where teens dance and make fun of millennial jeans – it’s a place to share life hacks, how-to’s, product reviews, inspiring stories and more. Consider pairing up with Tik Tok-famous users to connect this audience with your products.

Bottom line: Marketing segmentation is a crucial piece of the puzzle, especially when it comes to language and cultural differences across generations.

From influencer partnerships to mobile-first website creation and optimization, the MorganMyers team comes with decades of generational knowledge, marketing and communications experience, and farm-to-table industry expertise that has helped some of America’s favorite food brands make big moves. Let us know what your marketing goals are, and we’ll help you create a well-rounded strategy that moves your brand forward.