Different Trends Have Emerged For Younger Audiences, Illustrating New Focus Points For Brands
In order to try to reconnect with their younger audience, Instagram has released a new report highlighting key trends within the Gen-Z demographic, focusing on 18-24 year olds. The report mainly illustrates details on the thoughts and opinions on the different cultural trends, which are likely to have a great impact in 2022.
Instagram stated the main trends for the highlighted demographic were surrounding issues on “music, fashion, creators and celebs, beauty, social justice, and so much more. From redefining how they approach education and the idea of a “career,” to maximalist fashion statements, these future-focused audiences are consistently creating the reality they want to live in.” This also relates to how TikTok has been taking the internet by storm, having a leading online presence Instagram once had.
One key area discussed in the report related to influencers and their impact; around half of Gen-Z believe influencers with a smaller, yet more loyal audience are more impactful in driving and creating trends, as opposed to larger ones.
Additionally, 4 out of 5 of those interviewed stated they believe celebrities no longer have as strong an impact as online influencers, which may see a change in the way they are used in promotional materials. However, it wasn’t directly stated how this statistic changes depending on the interests or topic the users surveyed are interested in.
The use of influencers coincides with how a quarter of young adults are expecting to conduct a lot of their online shopping through the various social media apps at their fingertips, moving away from traditional brick-and-mortar locations. One of the key shopping trends focused on includes fashion, looking at a new demand for “clean” products, using ingredients sourced in an environmentally friendly manner.
What this then indicates is a new shift in audience trends and what businesses may want to do in order to market themselves to a younger generation. Additionally, as the way this audience interacts with online influencers evolves, marketers will also need to reconsider who they choose to promote their offerings with.
Although these new trends may be applicable directly to this specific demographic, organisations will still need to be careful in navigating their promotional materials to other target audiences.
Finally, for our previous #SocialShort, click here.
