Communicating with Generation Z in higher education marketing

¶ … Millennials and Generation Z on the following points:

• Distinctions between communication and technology

• Online communication

• Adjustments colleges must make to communicate with Gen Z. to maintain their competitiveness in virtual higher education

First let\'s Define Our Terms:

• Gen Z. is the upcoming generation born between the mid-90s and 2007

• Millennials born between 1980 and 1995

Gen Z

• Youth who have been raised with computers, cell phones and internet.

• Independent, savvy and have complex knowledge of technology, smartphones

• Financial concerns due to doubts concerning student loans and a volatile economy

• Diverse people, most of who are still living in their parents\' homes.

• Familiar with the share type of economy, which has share platforms such as Uber and Airbnb

• They depend on internet services for basically all they do; research, socializing, and planning, shopping and even booking tickets.

• Gen Z\'s are the first people to genuinely experience the digital world.

• Take part in a Big Data system, willingly allowing companies to harvest their data and spending habits

• OK with Big Brother/ Big Government overreach, where Homeland Security, NSA and TSA all appear usual to them.

Gen Z. is distinct from:

Millennials

Millennials (born between 1980 and 1995)

• Vs. Gen Z. have greater \"immunity to many of the traditional sales and marketing pitches\" (WJS, 2015).

• Vs. Gen Z. millennials have also been raised during the PC era, but they are more responsive to \"cultural\" aspects that come from the advanced left such as acknowledging the rights of the LGBT community and the global warming crisis.

• Have had to grow a little more with the growth of the web.

• Some experience in the marketing field, but they still label themselves as a little older, such as independent, liberal and conservative (Iacosta, 2015).

Implications for How Colleges Market: The Unilineal Model Will No Longer Work for Gen Z

• As they still pander more to a Millennial model, colleges have to use a unilineal consumer behavior model for the purpose of advertisement and development.

• The model has an organized sequence showing the variables, something that the previous models did not have.

• For instance, Lavidge and Steiner (1961) suggested, and Palda (1966) supported a model that showed the hierarchy of impact.

• Another model for processing information on the effectiveness on advertising was suggested by Mcguire (1969).

• The models have an impact flow that is unilineal, showing the model\'s variables (Mullen & Johnson, 1990, n.p.).

Connecting the Brand to a Personal or Engaging Issue

• To stimulate the customers\' brand or purchase choice, the brand can be connected to a personal or engaging issue

• Accentuating the distinctions between brands as well as emphasizing on the fundamental features of that brand, and clearly explaining how the brand works.

• There can also be creation of a lifelong relationship with customers (Bloemer & Kasper, 1995, p. 326).

Technological Advancements and Teaching

Technological advancements have led to alterations in teachers\' teaching methods, and the relation among experts in the corporate world (Gibson &Sodeman, 2014, p. 63).

At this point we will analyze the similarities and distinctions between the two generations and discuss such topics as:

• An entrepreneur known as Russ Warner, (2013) says \"They have been raised with technology, which they have adopted to using 24/7. The Millennials are so dependent on technology that 50% of them are willing to sacrifice breathing just to keep a crucial device.\" (cited in Gibson & Sodeman, p. 66)

• Scholars as Chelliah & Clarke (2011) state that Millennials have \"witnessed the growth of an ever-present, pervasive access and connectivity to capture, prepare, pass, and then receive data using many devices (portable wireless computer, hybrids of PDA-phones, smartphones and modern portable gaming devices) at any place and time, something that has never happened before.\"

• The growth of sites for social networking like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Linkedin has brought this generation closer together (cited in Gibson &Sodeman, 2014, p. 66).

• The Spring 2011 Cassandra Report by Intelligence states that 29% of a selected group of American Millennial trendsetters (currently at the age of 14-34 wish for the brands they like to have outdoor ads communication means, 32% through social media and 32% through TV advertisements.

• Customers can now be entertained through smartphone apps, hence advertisers can also use them for outdoor communication (JCDecaux, 2012, p. 11)

• Kirkwood & Price (2005) state that the technological culture among millennial students affects their approach of higher education; their needs from the curricula and their methods of transfer of knowledge (cited in Gibson & Sodeman, p.66).

• Franz (1998), Gardner (2006), Chelliah & Clarke (2011) state that this generation expects that technology should largely enhance the process of learning, by allowing them to access many areas to get sources of information, which they can integrate into the real process of passing knowledge with the help of multimedia modes that incorporate entertainment as learning takes place (cited in Gibson & Sodeman, 2014, p. 66).

Significance of the Research for Educators

• College educators may face special problems attracting and retaining Gen Zers

• The use of old teaching and course preparation methods is not exactly the best way for college teachersIf teachers want to understand current generation of students, they need to change their methods and use of technology.

• Technology can help educators understand what exactly the goals of their students are, from going to college.

• For instance, students may be hoping to achieve some purpose from being part of higher education (Porter, 2007, p. 7).

• This research analyses the approaches used by online colleges now

• And it also suggests changes they need to make to maintain competitiveness in the field of virtual higher education.

Some General Quotes Related to Gen Z. vs. Millennials

• Gen Z\'s: \"the Americans in their twenties and teenage that are beginning a new phase of adulthood with the coming of the net millennium,\" are known as the very first generation to be \"always-connected,\" deep into social media and digital technology.

• Pew Research Center (2010) says, \"They treat those portable, multi-tasking devices as though they were body organs -- for better, for worse. Over 80% sleep next to their cell phones in order to text, make calls, email, watch videos, play games, listen to music read news and even use them as their alarms.\"

• Spurgeon states that the use of cell phones in the modern world \"is a way of communicating electronically to a wider range of people than there has ever been before.

• More than 50% of the people using telephones worldwide now have portable voice connections.\" (cited in Ifigeneia, 2015, p. 19).

• Millennials are the leading enthusiasts of technological growth, and are better than older American people in the use of technological gadgets.

• They get information from social media and technology as \"their social ecosystem,\" and for a \"sense of generational belonging,\" which makes them different from other generations (Sessa, 2015, p. 5).

Gen Z\'s Don\'t Like Social Media as Much as Millennials.

• Millennials love social sites and spend most of their time on Facebook.

• The Gen Z\'s are more private. They may be on these social sites, but they are more about following than posting.

• They use Twitter and Instagram for following, but use such short-term sites as Snapchat, where they can put temporary posts. Facebook, for them is for such purposes as communicating with grandparents. They feel like adults dominate Facebook, so they do not use it for socialization. This has made them resort to other sites, which they are bound to move away from when adults join them.

Face-to-Face Communication is Important for Gen Z

• Corey Seemiller discovered that the Gen Z. students may cling to their cell phones, but they are more interested in meeting people than communicating online.

• This finding was quite surprising, since they are assumed to be more interested in online communication than meeting people, since they are always texting.

• However, we are probably denying them the chance to socialize face-to-face through the many alternative communication methods.

• Shopping online instead of visiting a store, checking out instead of communication with a cashier, online banking, and online classes instead of personally meeting; these advancements have reduced the level of face-to-face interactions. This is not what the Gen Z\'s really want. Just like the older people, this generation will have to figure out how to interact face-to-face (Siegel, 2016).

Gen Zs Need a Balance between Independent and Group Work

• It was also discovered that the Gen Z\'s are more interested in working individually and being self-reflective than working in teams or groups.

• In the higher education field, the system seems greatly interested in grouping students.

• Group work may be efficient and helpful, and a way to prepare students for future team work, but it is too monotonous.

• The students of Gen Z. wish for time for self-reflecting before they can share ideas in groups.

• For example, they wish to do their own writing before participating in group projects.

• There should therefore be a balance set between individual and group work in order to offer better services to students, both in co-curricular and curricular activities (Siegel, 2016).

Gen Z\'s being the Children of the Gen X\'ers and the Millennials are of the Baby Boomers

• Do not mistake Gen Z. for Gen Y.

• They may look like they are one and the same thing due to their dependence on technology, but they are not.

• The two generations have been raised through very distinct styles of parenting, hence they have different problem solving strategies, in their individual and work situations.

The distinctions which shaped them include:

Millennials are Dreamers, Gen Z\'s are Realists

• The Millennials were raised by Baby Boomers, and were made to have a belief in the Dream of America.

• They were encouraged to go after their dreams and passions, no matter where they would lead them.

• Gen X watched as the Millennials failed.

• They also watched the fall of the economy, so they chose to be more practical in raising the Gen Zs. The Gen Zs have been taught to pursue that which they can do best.

Millennials were given tools to succeed, • The Gen Zs learnt skills for being successful. On the other hand, Millennials were provided with all that they required to be successful.

• For instance, they were allowed to still live with their parents while they were above 20 years of age.

• Gen Zs, on the other hand, have been raised with skills for making it without their parents\' help. For instance, there are very many Gen Z. children who have been through home-schooling, by their parents of the Gen X.

• The Gen Xers train their children on ways to adapt and survive, instead of merely taking tests.

Millennials are considered to be group-oriented, whereas Gen Z, is considered to be individualistic

• The Gen Ys were not taught how to compete, since the Dream of America was still alive. They were, however, trained to be part of a team, since it would be possible to succeed with hard work from everyone.

• Gen Xers believed that success was not for everyone after the economic slump. They then trained the Gen Zs to have a competitive spirit, since success is only for the best (Sladek & Grabinger, 2014, pp. 2-3).

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Technology Tools in Higher Education

• With every passing year, there have been studies proving that blogs, Twitter, podcasting, Youtube and Facebook were the top sites used in the higher education sector of the U.S.

• Studies have shown that there are three major roles played by social media including recruiting students, investigating more about where they are learning and identifying where they are learning.

• The findings by NACAC have also shown that social media is used in colleges to recruit students and for promotion (Sessa, 2015, p. 5).

Unique Challenges for Gen Z

• The Gen Zs are real digital people who have lived all their lives around smartphones and the internet, and use them to get information.

• However, they were raised during the 2008 recession. They may struggle to get jobs, since the world\'s economy is currently full of challenges

• There are also many disruptions in universities, to the point where you can access any undergraduate MIT course online, free of charge,\" creating a more competitive environment.

How Educators Can Respond to the Challenges, Ensure the Success of Their Students

The 2009 \"Reaching the Wired Generation: How Social Media Is Changing College Admission,\" report by Nora G. Barnes includes the most successful practices for social networking in higher education.

Use Video

• They use video in seeking attention and passing information, use of a consistent streamlined design which reflects school themes, layouts and colour, and linking social media sites using an institution\'s homepage, and the other way around; soliciting content and input from different sources such as staff, students and faculty in order to represent many viewpoints, posting achievements, providing a platform for interaction of the page with visitors through message boards, animation, giveaways among others and keeping the site regularly updated (cited in Sessa, 2015, p. 5).

• Currently, ICTs (Information and Communication Technology\'s) penetrate classrooms worldwide at a very fast rate. This has led to teachers having a challenge in teaching a generation that is wireless yet so wired, with the modern technological growth (IEAB, 2008). The Millennials are great influencers of education. To begin with, Millennial students have made learning institutions change their teaching and communication methods. They have introduced a foreign generational personality, involving teamwork, optimism, structure and courage caused by their entitlement. Teachers are trying to find a way to control the high feedback and engagement levels required by the students.

• There are institutions which are trying to create a learning environment that is less formal, which combines practical group-based learning with structured learning.

• The Millennials want an academic path that is clearly structured.

• They wish to be treated differently and out rightly ask what to study in preparation for exams. Their professors think that they wish for entertainment by their educators.