Powell is also one of our featured speakers at INBOUND next month, so if you love her marketing lessons \u2014 and I think you will! \u2014 <\/strong>come join us in San Francisco<\/a><\/strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n Claim to fame: <\/strong>Jayde made $100k+ last year \u2014 just from creating content on LinkedIn.<\/p>\n Fun fact:<\/strong> She plans to retire by the time she\u2019s 40. \u201cIf you see me [on social when I\u2019m 40], it\u2019s because I have a team managing my social media presence.\u201d<\/p>\n Influencer marketing doesn\u2019t have to be expensive \u2014 think micro influencers with niche audiences \u2014 but if you\u2019re like most marketers right now, your budget is still probably feeling a bit squeezed.<\/p>\n That can make it extra hard to relinquish control over how your brand is presented to the world. But you gotta let go: Let influencers \u201cspeak to their audience in the way they\u2019re used to,\u201d Powell says, otherwise you could be flushing your hard-won budget down the drain.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat you’re doing when you work with influencers is \u2014 you’re trying to reach new audiences, not your existing customers<\/strong>.\u201d If you wanted the influencers to sound like your <\/em>brand, \u201cthen it\u2019s a waste of money,\u201d Powell says. \u201cYou could have just had that asset made in-house.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt doesn\u2018t make sense for a creator or influencer to all of a sudden start posting this branded asset that doesn\u2019t even sound like them. It’s going to confuse their audience,\u201d she tells me.<\/p>\n Powell says that the last thing you \u2014 or the influencer, for that matter \u2014 want is for followers to ask, \u201cWhy is this sponsored content on my feed? That\u2019s how you lose their trust.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTo put it simply, let your creators and your influencers cook. Let them do their thing.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s only been a couple of weeks since the Coldplay concert incident revealed a CEO\u2019s affair to the world\u2026 followed by dozens of major brands trying to get in on the action on social. But does your <\/em>brand need to be a part of it?<\/p>\n Source<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n Maybe! But also, let\u2019s be honest, maybe not.<\/p>\n Brands are \u201crushing to be a part of the conversation because obviously there’s a pressure of relevancy to maintain on social,\u201d Powell tells me.<\/p>\n \u201cBut that\u2018s where brands need to remember that you don\u2019t actually<\/em> need to be a part of every moment. It\u2019s okay to take a step back and just be an observer \u2014 learn from the conversation rather than being a part of it<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s not that you should actively avoid whatever\u2019s floating through the zeitgeist this week. \u201cYou want to move at the speed of culture,\u201d Powell acknowledges. She recommends finding a balance of \u201cfiguring out where and when to engage, and how.\u201d <\/strong>(Pro tip: <\/strong>It\u2019s probably not at a Coldplay concert.)<\/p>\n You may well associate slang like \u201ccringe\u201d and \u201cdelulu\u201d with Gen Z. But, Powell reminds me, \u201cGen Z is our most multicultural generation yet,\u201d so \u201cGen Z\u201d isn\u2019t just shorthand for \u201cthe youth.\u201d<\/p>\n A lot of Gen Z lingo is born from that multiculturalism, often originating in queer and Black culture. So if your century-old legacy brand suddenly starts claiming you\u2019ve \u201cleft no crumbs,\u201d you might think <\/em>you\u2019re reaching a younger audience \u2014 but you might not realize that the term originated in Black and Latino queer culture<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cBrands start adopting [slang] because they want to flex their tone and voice and be a little bit more relatable to Gen Z. But in the effort to be relatable, there’s something that kind of gets lost in the process,\u201d Powell says.<\/p>\n A good rule of thumb? If it\u2019s not part of your brand voice already, best to skip it. <\/strong>If you want to expand your market share into new communities, consider working with multicultural agencies that can help you keep your foot out of your mouth.<\/p>\n If that\u2019s not in the budget, Powell also suggests \u201cutilizing the research that\u2019s [already] available, like Pew Research or Statista,\u201d which put out \u201ca lot of reports around multicultural audiences.\u201d<\/p>\n And instead of zeroing in on a specific phrase or iconography you want to use, reframe your approach: Use the existing research to examine \u201cwhat are the best ways to actually speak to [Gen Z] and how you should be marketing to them.\u201d<\/p>\n You\u2019ve built an incredible reputation for understanding Gen Z behavior and creating authentic, community-first content. In a world that\u2019s constantly chasing virality, how do you balance consistency with creativity, and what advice would you give to brands trying to build genuine relationships over time, not JUST reach? <\/strong>\u2014Sheena Hakimian<\/a>, senior digital consumer marketing at Cond\u00e9 Nast and certified life coach<\/p>\n Powell says: Remember that there\u2018s a difference between consistency and cadence. Oftentimes I feel, especially as it relates to building community on social, that there\u2019s this mentality that the more content you pump out, the more you engage with people \u2014 and the more beneficial it is for your brand. And I disagree.<\/p>\n I think what people are looking for is a sense of comfort, a sense of home, a sense of familiarity. And that’s what you can accomplish through consistency. Consistency is less about how much and how often you’re putting content out and more about the feelings that your audience will associate with your brand.<\/strong><\/p>\n So it could literally be something as simple as the style and the tone in which you communicate or create your content. It could be the visuals you use. It can be how you greet your audience when you post \u2014 those are the things that really build community.<\/p>\n Think of it as like a relationship. You’re not in a relationship with someone just because of the amount<\/em> of things that they do for you, it’s how<\/em> they do it for you. That’s the same way it should be for your community.<\/p>\n![\"Click](\"https:\/\/no-cache.hubspot.com\/cta\/default\/53\/bcbe2652-03f9-49fe-b517-acedc47b6f27.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nMeet the Master<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"jayde](\"http:\/\/www.zoomlavilin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/jayde-powell-masters-in-marketing-1-20250805-2408806.webp\" "\\"\\"")
<\/p>\nJayde Powell<\/h2>\n
Creatorpreneur and the founder and head of creative, The Em Dash Co<\/a><\/h3>\n
Lesson 1: Use influencers to reach new audiences \u2014 not existing ones.<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"\u201clet](\"http:\/\/www.zoomlavilin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/jayde-powell-masters-in-marketing-2-20250805-1383499.webp\" "\\"\\"")
<\/p>\nLesson 2: You don\u2019t need to be a part of every moment.<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"screenshot](\"http:\/\/www.zoomlavilin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/jayde-powell-masters-in-marketing-3-20250805-9682839.webp\" "\\"\\"")
<\/p>\n![\"\u201cbrands](\"http:\/\/www.zoomlavilin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/jayde-powell-masters-in-marketing-4-20250805-4883539.webp\" "\\"\\"")
<\/p>\nLesson 3: Don\u2019t be cringe.<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"\u201chow](\"http:\/\/www.zoomlavilin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/jayde-powell-masters-in-marketing-5-20250805-402323.gif\" "\\"\\"")
<\/p>\n![\"\u201cbrands](\"http:\/\/www.zoomlavilin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/jayde-powell-masters-in-marketing-6-20250805-8518044.webp\" "\\"\\"")
<\/p>\nLingering Questions<\/strong><\/h2>\n
This Week\u2019s Question<\/h3>\n
This Week\u2019s Answer<\/h3>\n
Next Week\u2019s Lingering Question<\/h3>\n
![\"Click](\"http:\/\/www.zoomlavilin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/e1f0958d-1b15-418e-b4db-45ee531f71af.png\")
<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/track.hubspot.com\/__ptq.gif?a=53&k=14&r=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.hubspot.com%2Fmarketing%2Fmarketing-without-the-cringe-jayde-powell-on-gen-z-audiences&bu=https%253A%252F%252Fblog.hubspot.com%252Fmarketing&bvt=rss\")
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"