Sarah Walsh | Source | Branch & Bramble

"We are recommending to our clients to prioritize diversifying their online presence. Now is the time to make sure your website is performing at its best and your email subscriber list is continuing to grow," Walsh said. "Our clients have greater success during challenging current events or economic downturns when they have multiple marketing channels running smoothly.”

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“The two main drivers of change in brand favorability between 2017 and now are brand action and financial resources,” said Sarah Walsh, brand strategist at Branch & Bramble. “Brands who take the time to understand Gen Z customers, listen to their feedback and actually implement it are seeing increases in favorability, while those who ignore the feedback have seen a decrease in positive sentiment.”

“While brands may be aligned with their values, the individual Gen Z person may not be at a point in their lives where they can afford to invest in these brands yet,” Walsh said. “Instead, frugal Gen Zers will support brands that are connecting with them meaningfully and have an accessible price point.”

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“One of the top ways Gen Z can make money on social media is through user-generated content, but not through the typical lens of influencer marketing,” said Sarah Walsh, the brand strategist at Branch & Bramble. “Instead, Gen Z is supporting lifestyle brands that need varied imagery of their target audience using their products in their daily life. A profitable business can be built with a phone that takes quality pictures and a curated social media feed.

“As an example, take a household products company,” Walsh continued. “They’re looking to target a Gen Z audience who prioritizes eco-friendly cleaning products, but they can’t keep showing the same few branded pictures over and over again. Instead, they’ll reach out to these Gen Z UGC creators to take photos or videos of how they’re using the products in their lives. Maybe it’s a day-in-the-life video where they clean their home, or maybe it’s a highly stylized photo that perfectly captures the brand aesthetic. As there is high demand for UGC, Gen Z creators who have a curated social feed as an example of their work can realistically ask for several hundred dollars for a small bundle of photos and into the thousands for an aesthetically pleasing, high-quality video — especially when working with larger brands. The price point only increases from there based on the creator’s skill level and the exclusivity requested by the hiring brand.”

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