Earning Gen Z’s business starts with leveraging the channels and people they trust. That’s a theme that surfaced in a recent SheerID survey of Gen Z consumers.

According to the survey, four of the top five ways Gen Z finds out about new brands are social media (68%), recommendations from a friend or family (42%), podcasts or video content (33%)  and influencer endorsements or reviews (27%).  And the one thing all these information sources have in common is that they directly or indirectly leverage people Gen Z personally know and trust.

Of course, social media is table stakes for marketers looking to reach Gen Z, considering that more than one third of Gen Zers spend more than four hours a day on the channel. But brands looking to gain an edge over their competitors can optimize the three remaining information sources by harnessing the power of trust through these strategies:

• Peer referral programs. 

• Influencers who make authentic content.

• Exclusive Gen Z offers.

Referral programs

Peer referral programs are a great way for brands to tap into the trust Gen Z has in word-of-mouth and refer-a-friend recommendations. 

Take cash-back ecommerce app Rakuten for example. The company offers a limited-time Refer-a-Friend program: when a user gets their friend to join Rakuten and spend $30 within 90 days, both the user and their friend get a $30 bonus. 

The influence of direct peer or family recommendations make the offer enticing and the time limitation adds urgency. Both attributes of the program help Rakuten drive more sign-ups, and SheerID’s survey indicates they would likely be especially compelling for Gen Z, as well. 

Rakuten’s offer also capitalizes on another SheerID survey finding: Gen Z’s significant preference for discounts and free perks. More than 40% of Gen Z said they find both an occasional 20% discount and 10% off every purchase appealing. Plus, more than 60% said they find free shipping attractive and 52% said they found free gifts enticing. 

Authentic influencer content

Social media campaigns that focus on joining Gen Z’s world, be it digital or real-life, also capitalize on trust and can have significant impact. 

Peloton’s recent ad campaign for its new treadmill, the Peloton Tread+, is an illustrative example. By inviting Gen Z Instagram influencers with large and engaged followings to honestly review its new product (like in this ad with @emma.arletta), the brand created an ad that reads like a genuine review — or even tips exchanged among friends. 

Rather than blatantly adhering to the transactional nature of traditional advertising, Peloton’s ad plugs into the already-engaged following of an influencer and capitalizes on her authenticity. This kind of ad works especially well for Gen Z shoppers, who are looking for brands to enter their world through native connections rather than clearly paid and manufactured intrusions.

Exclusive offers

Giving Gen Z an exclusive offer is another way for companies to leverage Gen Z’s trust in personal recommendations to drive both brand awareness and conversions. 

According to SheerID’s survey, more than 90% of Gen Z and Gen Z college students would share an exclusive offer with others in their group. And 69% of Gen Z and 86% of Gen Z college students said they’d be more likely to purchase from a brand that gave them a young adult offer or student offer, respectively.

Comcast’s Xfinity campaign is a great example. To boost enrollment in their Xfinity On Campus (XOC) plan, Comcast developed an exclusive offer for student customers. A large part of promoting the offer involved enlisting a team of student ambassadors to share their experiences with the student-specific plan. Student ambassadors hosted their own events, integrated Comcast into campus activities and published organic social content to promote subscriptions. Thanks to the power of peer persuasion and the exclusive offer, Comcast ended up increasing XOC subscriptions by 6x and conversions by 91%. 

Considering Gen Z’s buying habits, it’s no wonder companies like Peloton, Rakuten and Comcast are investing in campaigns that mobilize trusted influencers, peer referral programs and exclusive offers. The more marketers embed themselves in Gen Z’s world of digital and social influence, capitalize on word-of-mouth and leverage exclusive offers, the more they can turn Gen Z shoppers into reliable buyers.