Gen Z is a dynamic, creative generation that's more than willing to share their ideas and insights. Whether it's through TikTok, Instagram, or rapid-fire text threads with friends, they're not afraid to talk about their experiences with brands and share their opinions—loudly and often.
That's exactly why having a Gen Z insight community can be incredibly valuable for your brand. It acts as a real-time sounding board, giving you direct access to what young consumers actually think (not what you hope they think).
But here's the catch: when building a Gen Z market research online community, you can't rely on conventional techniques...
The #1 Rule for Gen Z Research
To engage Gen Z, you need to play by their rules.
You have to consider their expectations, behaviors, and preferences—then adjust your approach accordingly. This applies to every step of the research process: recruitment, survey design, incentives, and ongoing engagement.
Ready? Let's dive in.
3 Principles for Managing a Gen Z Insight Community
1. Engage with them where they are (hint: it's not email)
If you want to reach Gen Z, you have to go mobile. Period.
Gen Z is often mislabeled as the "technology-obsessed generation." But in fact, what they truly care about is accessibility. There's a massive difference between opening their phones to answer a quick SMS survey versus sitting down at a computer, finding Wi-Fi, and hunting through their inbox for a mundane email survey.
Gen Zs simply won't engage if there's friction or if the activity feels too time-consuming.
Make sure you're using a market research platform that lets you notify your community members via SMS. This makes in-the-moment research possible and gets you feedback faster.
As Andrew Reid, CEO and Founder of Rival Technologies, remarked in a recent webinar: "The one app that is never silenced on a Gen Z's phone is their messenger."
We also recommend a multi-channel approach when recruiting for your Gen Z insight community. If your brand has a strong social media following, social sampling could be a great option. Other sources like paid social and custom advertising can add diversity to your community, connecting you with young people who aren't currently in your database or reachable via conventional sample providers.
2. Build trust and transparency (no, seriously—they can tell)
Gen Z grew up with smartphones and social media, which means they were taught from a young age not to hand over their personal information to just anyone on the internet. So if you want their authentic insights, you need to establish trust first.
In a recent webinar, Jennifer Reid, Co-CEO and Chief Methodologist at Rival Group, emphasized that "transparency leads to trust." Sharing video in your research (for example, by embedding a video from your team in your conversational survey) can help by providing a sense of authenticity. Gen Z will trust your brand more if they know they aren't speaking to a robot or some faceless corporation.
When this generation feels welcomed and valued by real people, they're more inclined to share their perspective and contribute meaningfully.
Gen Z will trust your brand more if they know they aren't speaking to a robot or some faceless corporation.
This idea of trust also applies to incentives. When Gen Zs participate in a community that promises rewards, your company needs to follow through. One of the most important insight community best practices when offering incentives is to close the loop and tell your community members who won.
As Jennifer put it: "We use incentives because they're incentivizing, but they only work if they feel real."
3. Create a conversation (not an interrogation)
Research shows that conversational approaches work well with all demographics—including older demos like Boomers—but they work particularly well with Gen Z.
Why? Because conversational research establishes a personal connection.
From a questionnaire design perspective, this means avoiding a huge battery of demographic questions upfront. When recruiting new members to your Gen Z insight community, the first two or three questions are the most important. As Jennifer noted, "they are an engagement mechanism, a way for people to get warmed up to your survey."
Of course, you can still ask questions about demographic info and pursue research objectives. Just do it in smaller, more digestible chunks. One of the benefits of having an insights community is that once people have joined, you can use features like Profile Variables to build a deeper understanding of your members over time.
Conversational surveys sent to your Gen Z market research community should be short, friendly, and fun. They should also be relevant and as personalized as possible.
When evaluating market research companies or insight platforms, say no to those that offer survey apps or portals (sometimes called "member hubs"). These popular but outdated techniques complicate and slow down the process for your participants.
Remember: friction is the enemy.
P.S. A final word on Gen Z research
If you're a researcher who's not Gen Z: Don't pretend to be one!
Gen Zs can smell inauthenticity from a mile away. If you're not a Gen Z researching Gen Z, it's totally fine to acknowledge that fact. In fact, it's better. Authenticity beats performative "fellow kids" energy every single time.
Ready to build a Gen Z insight community that actually works? Reach out to the Rival Technologies team and see how we can help you engage young consumers on their terms.
Note: A version of this article was first published in October 2024. We updated it with new information and data.
