6 ways to better engage with millennials
- Fri, July 20 2012
- Filed under: Marketing essentials
Yesterday, I caught part of the virtual conference MCON2012 - which focuses on how to market causes to millennials. One session focused on the 2012 Millennial Impact Report - a survey of more than 6,500 people ages 20 to 35 - which shows 75% of millennials donate (in small amounts), 70% have raised money for their favorite causes and most give for reasons that span generations—they have a relationship with the cause.
I covered some of the report here. I wanted to share the following additional information from yesterday’s presentation.
Millennials are very big on two things: doing things digitally and interacting with their peers.
Millennials prefer to hear from causes by social media, enews and websites.
They prefer to give online - or in person. They like to hear about volunteerism from their peers and online.
So what does that mean to us? According to Derrick Feldmann and Angela White, who authored the report:
1. Inspire millennials online, in the moment, to urge them to action. They tend to be impulsive givers, so provide quick ways to act when there is a compelling reason to do so.
2. Tell them about the difference they could make. And if they give or volunteer, follow up with information on their impact. Like donors of all ages, their pet peeve is having no idea what their gift accomplished.
3. Keep in mind that millennials do give, but not in the numbers or quantity of older donors and plan accordingly as a fundraiser.
4. Be millennial-friendly in your outreach: make sure your outreach and site display nicely on mobile. But don’t put all your eggs in the mobile or social media basket. As with all generations, reach out in many ways, through multiple channels.
5. Think of millennials as your partners in messaging! Over 70% have urged others to give. They can be powerful champions for your cause, because they love to spread the word.
6. Remember there are universals to all ages - and one of the most important is that the information you provide is clear, concise and meaningful. Get that right above all else! Even a nifty mobile site doesn’t matter if it has poor messaging.
For more on millennials, check out the report here.
Comments
Am I the only one confused by the first infographic detail? The left side seems disconnected from the right side, and where colors work GREAT in other examples (in your extended coverage examples) this one has me scratching my head.
I, for one, can’t wait for social media to become a viable fundraising alternative. It’s a great vehicle - easy to produce, inexpensive, quick and interesting. We all just need to be poised to take advantage of the opportunities.
Several months before this report was published, my np launched a “Gen Y” initiative designed to increase the number of Gen Y volunteers. This report has been extremely helpful but it is not perfect. For example, it doesn’t speak much to motivations other than they want to know how their efforts make a difference. That’s true of every segment of volunteers, not just this one.
For another perspective, read this from Future Fundraising: http://bit.ly/P5ZHKL
Your’s is probably the 7th or 8th blog post I’ve read on the report, and thankfully one of the few that summarizes the key points without overdoing the praise.
Our research of this segment shows that they still respond well to one-on-one recruitment) especially when the asker is one of their peers. Can that “ask” be made via social media? We think yes, but it can also be made in person the old-fashioned way.
I believe that we need to create recruitment strategies that blend online with real world recruitment techniques, some of which haven’t changed since I started in the 70’s.
Finally, some are hesitant to recruit people in the 20’s and 30’s because they tend to be episodic volunteers. When you look at your entire volunteer base, I’ll bet most are episodic regardless of their age. People in their 20’s are unsettled compared to those twice their age. Get used to it and adapt accordingly.
We’ve always known that people respond best to volunteer “asks” when approached by peers they respect. It’s no different with this generation, we have to adapt to their needs in order to partner with them.