'Instagram is a showroom, YouTube is a classroom': What powers influence among Gen Z

According to a study conducted by Yuvaa, 50 percent of Gen Z consumers are not actually influenced by influencers or celebrity endorsers to make a purchase decision. In fact, they rely on their friends for advice on products and services.

The Moneycontrol Creator Economy Summit included a rather interesting panel discussion spearheaded by Storyboard18’s Delshad Irani on the topic of understanding Gen Z consumer patterns and what it is that drives the generation towards a decision. The panel included industry experts, agency heads as well as Gen Z content creators. From Rohit Raj, founder and CEO, BB Ki Vines Production and co-founder of BB Ki Vines, Zeel Patel, content creator and founder of Cyberzeel, Ayush Shukla, founder, Finnet Media, Ganesh Prasad, co-founder, Think School to Harshil Karia, founder, Schbang, the panelists had some very intriguing insights on the topic.

From a brand marketing perspective, Gen Z is perhaps the toughest nut to crack. As a generation they are very illusive, everyone is trying to figure out what it is that makes them tick. Who powers influence in the Gen Z era? How marketers and brands are recalibrating their content strategies to better target Gen Z.
According to a study conducted by Yuvaa, 50 percent of Gen Z consumers are not actually influenced by influencers or celebrity endorsers to make a purchase decision. In fact, they rely on their friends for advice on products and services.
According to Harshil Karia, founder, Schbang, there was a phase where everyone was very influenced by influencers. However, influencers have now become a media channel. “There are two things happening in the brand world. There are influencers who we now classify as celebrities. They promote the way they want to promote. They negotiate and have their own terms. Secondly, there are influencers who become media outlets or spokespersons. Brands will give them a script and the influencers will just parrot it and so brands are now seeing it as a media paradigm. This is where the challenge lies.”

Ayush Shukla believes that to cater to Gen Z, brands need to understand three things that are most important for the generation – purpose, recognition and impact. “As Gen Z, we always think, what is the purpose, how will I get recognized and what is the impact that I’m creating. Essentially, why am I doing what I’m doing, how is it impacting other people and what am I getting out of it.”
Brands have begun sensing the need for influencer authenticity. Furthermore, Karia stated that there is flatlining happening on influencer spends. “There are two reasons behind this. Firstly, at the top of the spectrum, you can have the brand integrate with an influencer message which is usually more authentic. One of the OTT players told me that last year around this time, they did an influencer campaign with 1700 influencers. This year they’re doing another campaign with only 3 macro influencers.”

“What is happening is that brands are becoming picky and choosy to integrate themselves into influencer authenticity. Influencer marketing has also become an expensive affair with influencers now having their own terms. It is because of this landscape that the middle and bottom is beginning to struggle. Since it is inauthentic, the follower growth isn’t happening. The breakouts aren’t happening. That is what is challenging about this space,” added Karia.

Another interesting trend that we’re seeing is the shift from one platform to another depending on the type of content being consumed. As compared to earlier times, there no longer is any platform loyalty. If you put all your content on YouTube, today that might not necessarily be the case. Shukla said that as a generation, Gen Z usually prefers Instagram for lifestyle content like fashion. However, for infotainment YouTube is the go-to option. From a creator and brand point of view, Shukla said, “If you are a lifestyle content creator or fashion brand then Instagram works better for you. If you are an infotainment brand or creator, then YouTube will work better for you in the long run because it has more depth.”

Rohit Raj, founder and CEO, BB Ki Vines Production and co-founder of BB Ki Vines said that post covid, the audience has become smart. They know where the ad segment is going to come in an influencer’s video. They know when they’re supposed to skip. “In our case, a brand integration is looked at like a sandwich. The brand is the patty, and the content is the bread around it. Neither one of them is alone. Thus, if you want to consume the patty/brand, you will have to sandwich it between good content, good humour, good entertainment so that the audience can seamlessly flow through it and consume it along the way.”

“Bhuvan Bam makes five-minute videos on his channel. I can’t afford people skipping even 30 seconds. Thus, I make sure that my integrations are not more than 22 seconds. This is where brands usually get shocked because 22 seconds is a short time. I tell them I’ll make sure that four things about the brand are spoken very crystal clear, the message will be out, but it will be sandwiched with some entertainment scenes,” Raj added.

Content creator Zeel Patel had a very interesting analogy to explain Gen Z consumption. He said, “Instagram is like a showroom and YouTube is like a classroom. In a showroom, if all the good products are placed in the front row, then a window-shopper or a passer-by will be intrigued. You can directly capture their emotions by showing them something. On the other hand, YouTube is like a classroom. People will go into the depths of the content they consume. They will consciously invest their time. Gen Z is like a Rubik's Cube, they love challenges. However, at the same time they are like litmus paper – a drop can change colour. If an influencer changes their colour, Gen Z is unforgiving, they will immediately pivot and move on from your content.”