The Ultimate Guide to Visual Content Marketing For Generation X

For some of us who are actually reading this article right now, you might know someone who’s from the Generation X  (or maybe you, you might be a Gen X yourself).

They are by far, the generation who’s the most conservative, orthodox, practical — any word that you can attach to the concept that gravitates towards conventionality. 

Although there are some who are trying to push boundaries by trying out new trends thanks to the influence of a Millennial or Gen Z relative or colleague, it’s a challenge to pull a marketing agenda if your market is Gen X because it can become a challenge to convince them before purchasing.

If there’s one thing that’s notable about Gen X is that they’re the most formal and professional generation.

Although their values derived from their parents/predecessors a.k.a. the Baby Boomers, Gen X is seemingly more uptight and logical with their perspective in life. Gen X leans over to the concept of value even as consumers, a perfect marketing standpoint that marketers should take advantage of.

Another one of the most challenging factors when marketing towards Gen X is that they might be predictable but in order to make them your long-term customers, you must have to be consistent, appropriate, and timely.

Given what it takes to successfully market to Gen X,  how do you create effective visual content for this type of audience? Here are three proven ways.

Highlight “savings” and “organisation”, from visuals to copy.

This market, commonly known as the “forgotten middle child”, now consists of almost half of the global population.

They’ll likely become the next global consumers with the greatest purchasing power as most of the Gen Xers are the parents of Millennials or Gen Z and are currently the leading authority in the workforce, politics, and among influential organizations.

It’s all thanks to Generation X’s “save, save, save” mentality that they’ve earned the term as “most savvy and financially independent” generation. They’re primarily the reasons why most of the Millennials have adapted this kind of mentality when it comes to making long-term purchases. 

But contrary to being financially adept, you might be surprised that they spend more than one-third annually than the Millennials. Gen Xers are the work hard, play hard generation, that’s why they have all the means they want to spend whenever they want to.

According to our observation, Gen Xers are leaning their interest towards brands who can offer:

• Bigger savings yet deliver the same quality
• Something that offers good and consistent value
• The luxury of organising things, simplifying processes, and saving time

Hence, focusing on these concepts that attract the consumer mentality Gen X builds a strong foundation and eventually, must evidently show across your online and offline marketing campaign.

One of the best visuals to use in order to fully highlight especially if you’re new to the business is using visual infographics and short videos or tutorials. 

Remember to keep everything in balance and fit for your brand’s visual identity. Putting too much focus on the brand’s image but failing to establish a strong brand message won’t create lasting impact, but having an overpowering visual presence and too-good-to-be-true promise will make you look sketchy to them.

Don’t be afraid to experiment on your visuals, but don’t go overboard the most modern visual trend.

It’s always a good idea to find out what kind of design works best for your target audience. Remember, Gen Xers might think alike as consumers, but they all have diverse interests and personal preferences which not all marketers are able to appeal and maximise when planning out content ideas for their campaigns.

That’s why conducting thorough market research and having exquisite observation skills play major components on nailing your next visual content plan.

Here’s another thing to keep in mind and a very useful one, at that. Just when everyone thought that the age of minimalism is going to reign in graphic design, it’s time for us to re-think again. Believe it or not, it turns out some people don’t sip the same tea at all.

Aside from minimalism, retro and futurism (or retro-futurism) are coming back. And Gen Xers are biting into it.

Why? Because it reminds them of their time. Retro and futurism were the big visual hits during the late 1970s to 1980s, a time when Gen Xers are enjoying the peak of their youth or divulging in society’s visual culture. You might have to consider this design trend, you might thank our brilliant team for it.

Another useful reminder: Gen Xers, being the generation that is more accustomed to the concept of routine and consistency, always have higher tendencies to trust brands that are resolute to what is generally accepted for them. It might be a useful insight that you can focus on for your next content.

Create a brilliant story that brings back nostalgia.

Nobody hates some good ol’ throwback Thursday, and Gen Xers are going to bite into storytelling that takes them back to their younger and active days. The films, series, music, graphic design, or advertising campaigns that have been trending recently are largely influenced by nostalgic futurism which was the peak of the 1980s culture.

Originally, most of it is meant to be marketed towards the Millennials and Gen Z since they’re into consuming attractive visual content online on a daily basis.

But what marketers should think about is how it affects the Gen Xers since they’re also the generation that’s big on analog before transitioning to digital, that’s why nostalgia plays an important role to drive them to become your customers.