What Gen Z Women Really Crave And Love From Brands

Okay, let’s get real for a second: marketing to women isn’t what it used to be. Ditch the pastel everything and those overly filtered “perfect life” Instagram ads, it’s Gen Z’s world now, and they can smell anything fake from miles away.

They want brands that get them, that make them feel like they belong, and that actually care about more than just selling stuff.

They’re not just buying products; they’re buying into stories, communities, and values that make them feel something. So, what actually works when it comes to marketing to them? Let’s break it down.

Authenticity over Airbrushing

The platform requires authentic narratives instead of artificially crafted marketing strategies. The public can easily detect when someone claims to achieve perfection through one hour of makeup application because Gen Z women understand this deception.

The audience finds value in watching creators display their unorganized bedrooms while demonstrating their actual product usage and revealing their raw production process. The goal is to demonstrate that perfect life does not exist because real life contains imperfections which are perfectly acceptable.

Selena Gomez uses Rare Beautys Mental Health Mission to establish a different approach because she presents mental health discussions and self-acceptance messages while removing social masks.

Through her content she presents authentic stories about her life which include both her challenging mornings and her everyday struggles and her small achievements. The brand presents itself as a collaborative effort between them and the team rather than a forced attempt to reach them which creates a significant impact.

Fenty Beauty serves as an excellent demonstration of this concept. Through Fenty Beauty’s Foundation Shade Range Story, Rihanna demonstrated diversity by introducing products which matched all skin types and tones. Authenticity reveals itself through this approach.

They detect when brands attempt to create fake content but they simply move to the next page because they will not support anything that lacks authenticity.

Share your achievements together with your production mistakes and show your audience the unpolished aspects of your work. Your brand becomes more relatable when you show your small flaws to your audience. Your brand will benefit from brief appearances of your founder's dog and humorous office moments. The goal is to present human elements instead of striving for flawlessness.

Influence Isn’t About Numbers

The number of followers does not matter because what truly matters is building meaningful relationships with your audience. Studies, like Influencer Marketing Hub’s report on micro-influencers, show that smaller creators often have deeper trust and engagement rates with their audiences than big-name celebrities.

The audience of Gen Z women chooses to follow content creators who present themselves as close friends instead of using artificial perfect images.

The most valuable influencers operate between 5,000 and 30,000 followers because they create authentic connections with their audience which leads to meaningful product endorsements. The trust they place in them stems from their ability to connect with them on a personal level instead of appearing as distant celebrities in commercial ads.

Skims achieved success through their partnership with content creators who genuinely appreciated their products. The endorsement of a bodysuit by a TikTok user who says it makes them feel like their ideal self creates a stronger impact than a traditional celebrity endorsement.

The content presents both inspirational and relatable and accessible elements to the audience. Through their content small creators help them believe that they too can achieve similar results which creates a strong impact.

Community Is EVERYTHING

People purchase products because they seek to become part of a group. The most successful brands establish a feeling of belonging through their products. Glossier established itself through community engagement by letting customers participate in product development and share feedback about their products.

The practice of co-creation creates strong effects on customers.

Small interactions between customers and brands create the same sense of community as large events do. The combination of TikTok comments and Reddit discussions about your favorite skincare products and branded hashtags creates an insider feeling.

The combination of community involvement turns casual customers into dedicated fans. Our personal experiences become more meaningful when they participate in communities that enhance our individual connections.

Create physical and digital areas which enable Gen Z women to connect with each other. Your brand should answer customer comments while showing user content and fostering product discussions. Your brand should honor its customers through meaningful recognition.

Your brand should make customers feel like members of an exclusive group instead of treating them as ordinary buyers. Every brand interaction creates value for customers regardless of its length because a brief yet meaningful response can establish enduring brand relationships.

Purpose Over Perfection

The Gen Z women require brands to explain their existence rather than focusing on visual presentation in stores. Skims promotes body diversity through its brand while Dove works to transform beauty standards and Rare Beauty fights for mental health awareness.

The brands demonstrate their values through actions because their mission extends beyond being a marketing slogan.

Aerie’s #AerieREAL campaign is one of the strongest examples of what it looks like when a brand turns values into action. Aerie was one of the first major brands to fully eliminate Photoshop. By showcasing models of all sizes, abilities, and backgrounds with absolutely no retouching, Aerie was able to achieve better results in their industry.

They were able to prove that showcasing micro-influencers and everyday women with real stories that resonate was a better strategy than major talent and polished perfection.

Their campaigns openly encouraged customers to share their experiences, including stretch marks, disabilities, and chronic illnesses, creating a community rooted in honesty and empowerment. This values-driven approach didn’t just build trust, it built a movement.

Brands that demonstrate authentic care will receive our attention. Your brand should demonstrate sustainability and inclusivity and maintain complete transparency to your customers.

They will detect insincere efforts but they will support authentic initiatives that they can celebrate. Purpose functions as a permanent relationship-building tool instead of being a marketing technique. Your brand will gain trust when you demonstrate your values through concrete actions and maintain transparency about your mission.

Pro tip: Live your values, support causes that matter, share progress over perfection. Your customers will feel proud to purchase from you when you provide them with reasons to do so.

Your audience will appreciate your brand more when you show them the people who create your products and demonstrate your commitment to sustainability and provide educational content about your supported causes. Connection is everything.

Personalization = Love

They're done with receiving standard treatment from brands. Personalized experiences create a sense of individual recognition which leads to customer value because they receive customized skincare advice and free birthday presents and products with their names printed on them.

The small details they receive create a sense of individual attention instead of generic sales approaches.

The Beauty Insider program at Sephora delivers exceptional personalized experiences to its members. The program uses more than algorithms to create a sense of personal attention for its users. Your brand shows appreciation through customized benefits and product suggestions and customized content delivery.

Your brand demonstrates to them that you understand our individuality and want to create special moments specifically for them. A brand transforms into a life-changing companion when it demonstrates this level of personal connection with its customers.

Pro tip: Use data to create personalized experiences but maintain human touch in your approach. The system should avoid displaying any information that resembles tracking user search history for mascara products.

Your brand should deliver personalized recommendations through human-like interactions that resemble a friend remembering your preferences instead of robotic tracking systems. Your brand should honor individuality because it creates authentic value in customer experiences.

The Future Is Female

Marketing to women now requires more than surface-level pink packaging and trendy slogans because it focuses on building empowerment through community connections. Gen Z women seek complete recognition through both their full range of emotions and their entire self-expression.

The successful brands of today provide customers with more than products because they deliver confidence to their buyers. The brands show them that they belong to a group while demonstrating our strength and validate our right to occupy space without hesitation.

The market demonstrates through beauty and fashion brands that authentic approaches lead to success in every situation.

The key to success involves active listening and empowerment-based marketing strategies which should include playful approaches. A brand that combines humor with motivational content will gain our affection because it understands our dual nature.

Authentic human behavior combined with relatability and self-assurance produces stronger results than any carefully designed advertising campaign.

Bottom line

Your brand will connect with Gen Z women through authentic and purposeful and inclusive marketing approaches. Your brand should create communities while following its mission and incorporating meaningful elements which demonstrate your understanding of our needs.

Your brand should honor personal differences while accepting flaws and maintain a playful attitude to build strong customer relationships. Your brand will attract dedicated fans who will become your passionate community when you implement these strategies.

✍️ Written by Natasha Marques