Marketing to Gen Alpha: What Brands and Influencers Should Know

Does your brand have a plan to market to Generation Alpha, the youngest generation? These youngsters, born between 2010 and 2024, are the first to experience remote classrooms, streaming services, and artificial intelligence.

While this generation doesn’t have much buying power yet, with the oldest being just 14 years old, marketers should know some emerging trends.

As you continue to build your marketing strategy to include this generation, which will reach 2 billion by 2025, here are traits identified by eMarketer to consider:

Gen Alphas aren’t impressed by popularity

While previous generations were drawn to high-paid celebrities, famous actors, and large brands, Gen Alpha isn’t swayed by fame and fortune. Instead, this generation looks up to authentic social media influencers and smaller, unique brands.

As a result, influencer marketing will likely play a strong role in connecting with this generation.

Brands are already upping their investment in influencer marketing. In 2023, brands spent $34 billion, up from $22 billion in 2022. As this generation grows, influencer marketing budgets will also increase.

Actionable tips to follow:

Since popularity isn’t appealing, working with micro and nano influencers, who have smaller audiences, is likely more effective than connecting with mega influencers or web celebrities.
Originality is valued amongst this generation, so explore campaigns that go beyond influencer endorsements or product demos.

Gen Alphas want brands to know their interests

Over the past decade, marketers have worked to define their audience better. By exploring metrics, monitoring buying behaviors, and using CRMs, 44% of marketers built and relied on customer personas to define their ideal customers.

While many brands collect demographic data, like age, gender, and income, and behavioral data like buying frequency and search patterns, brands will need to do more to define Gen Alpha.

Eighty-six percent of Gen Alphas want brands to know about their hobbies, interests, and daily routines and help them improve at them.

So, an energy drink brand that targets adventure seekers could provide tutorials on rock climbing, for example.

Actionable tips:

Audit your current data collection methods to see if you can leverage them to learn about Gen Alpha’s downtime.
Stay current on Gen Alpha’s interests.

Gen Alphas expect your brand to talk like they do

Gen Alpha will grow up on short-form content with their own lingo.

Do you know what “sigma,” “looksmaxxing,” or “Ohio” means? The meanings have little to do with a Greek letter or a state and have become part of Gen Alpha’s everyday language. To connect with this youthful cohort, brands must remain “in the know.”

(Bt dubs, Sigma means dominant leader, looksmaxxing means improving your physical appearance, and Ohio means cringy or weird).

Actionable tips:

Over the next few years, follow Gen Alphas on social to stay updated on their lexicon.
Put together focus groups to see if marketing messages resonate.
When appropriate, consider working with Gen Alpha influencers, but be sure to consider the additional guidelines for working with teen creators.

Gen Alphas are eager to learn

As you might expect of a younger generation, Gen Alpha is hungry for knowledge. To them, learning online is completely natural, so brands should lean into this concept. By creating how-to videos and tutorials, you can teach budding consumers while subtly promoting your product.

Remember that attention spans are tempered toward short-form video, meaning you need to produce educational videos in about a minute or less.

Actionable tips

While your brand can certainly produce how-to videos, you can increase their appeal by asking influencers to create and share them.
If you’re not already, start focusing on creating bite-sized videos that each teach a lesson.

Gen Alphas do value in-person interactions

It might be easy to assume that Gen Alphas live on tech. With the prevalence and dependence on smartphones, tablets, and laptops, Gen Alphas are undoubtedly tech-savvy, but they don’t live completely online.

You can expect Gen Alphas to accept invitations to in-person events and shop at brick-and-mortar stores. Research suggests they still crave personal connections and can balance them with their online world.

Actionable tips:

As Gen Alphas grow up, consider planning events that cater to them.
Promote a sense of community around your brand, both online and off.

As Gen Alphas reach adulthood, marketers must evolve their tactics to meet new needs. As with each generation, Gen Alphas have their behaviors and characteristics, but through education and evaluation, your brand can connect with this up-and-coming group.