Leveraging the Millennial Generation
Submitted by Beth Steinhorn on Tue, 2010-06-08 00:00
By Josh Fixler, JFFixler Associate
A few weeks ago, Beth Steinhorn wrote a post about the Millennial Generation. She asked me to respond to it, since I have a unique perspective on the subject. I am, after all, a Millennial. I was born in 1984, putting me on the front edge of that generational line and I strongly identify with the label.
So what do I mean when I say that the name “Millenial” resonates with me? It’s more than an age bracket, it’s an identity. It’s a way of approaching the world. My universe is fast-paced and highly connected. As I write this, I’m having 2 conversations on Instant Messenger, I have 16 internet windows open, and I’ve received two text messages on my smart phone. I like to tell people that Millenials are “information consumers”. By this, I don’t just mean that we consume information, but that we actually trade it as a comodity, on sites like Facebook andTwitter. I compile all sorts of data that come in over my social networks and viaRSS, and I pass it along, in tweets, status updates, and blog posts, so that my peers can benefit from it as well. I am constantly taking in new information and then quickly filtering, repackaging, and sharing it across a number of platforms. It often feels like there is a steady flow of data moving through me and back out into the world for my fans, followers, and friends.
As an information consumer, I am a special kind of volunteer. Among other things, I can be a powerful evangelist for your organization. If you can get me excited about your work, I’ll definitly tell my friends. And because I have worked hard to build a network of fellow info-consumers (1,137 Facebook friends and counting), they take action when I ask them to. I may not always come to your events, but I’m happy to help spread the news. And all you have to do is ask.
Let me give you an example: For the past four years, a friend and I have participated in the Polar Bear Plunge, the largest annual fundraiser of the Special Olmpics of Maryland (SOMD). Each year, we get together with a few thousand other supporters in the middle of January to go charging into the freezingChesapeak Bay to raise money and awareness for this fantastic cause. This year, I raised over $1850, and I did it entirely online. I set myself up using SOMD’s online fundraising tool, built by the folks at Kintera/Blackbaud, and then started spreading the word via e-mail, Facebook, and twitter. Fifty-three people donatedon my behalf, many of them contributing less than $30. And it wasn’t just family and co-workers who took part. Facebook friends I haven’t been close to since middle school contributed, and all because I leveraged my network. And then, when the event was snowed out (ironic, I know) some of us used it as an opportunity to make our own “home-made plunges” and raise even more money. I created a video, posted it on YouTube, and sent the link to even more people, resulting in additional donations.
It’s important to note that all this social media outreach was done with very little prompting from SOMD. Imagine how much more they might have raised from other participants had they simply added one-click “share this” buttons to all their reminders and tools. Even without this, it was clear that the event organizers wanted us to spread the word, and I was happy to push that message out over all my networks.
This story is just one example of the powerful network that volunteers like me are just waiting for you and your nonprofit to leverage. It’s so simple! Have you ever asked your volunteers if they write blogs? Have you ever asked them to write a post about your upcoming event? It’s clear that they are already passionate about your work or they wouldn’t volunteer. All they need to take the next step is to be asked (and perhaps you could offer them a few pictures to liven up their post)! After they post, do them the favor of sharing a link to their blog with your network. They will thank you for the free publicity, as you will thank them for the same. Turning volunteers into your publicistis is as easy as that.
More than anything, the millenial generation is the generation of “share and share alike”. We are the gereration of the comment, the thumbs-up, and the star. WeYelp, we Buzz, and we Four Square (I’m not sure any of those are verbs yet, but I bet they will be soon). We do all this, not because we want to add another voice to an already noisy echo-chamber, but because we know that our friends care about the same kinds of things that we do. If I’m excited, some of my contacts will be, too. Together, let’s harness that incredible power for a greater good.
If you have had luck recuriting millenials to share your work, tell us about it in the comments. We know you have lots of best practices to share.
By Josh Fixler, JFFixler Associate
A few weeks ago, Beth Steinhorn wrote a post about the Millennial Generation. She asked me to respond to it, since I have a unique perspective on the subject. I am, after all, a Millennial. I was born in 1984, putting me on the front edge of that generational line and I strongly identify with the label.
So what do I mean when I say that the name “Millenial” resonates with me? It’s more than an age bracket, it’s an identity. It’s a way of approaching the world. My universe is fast-paced and highly connected. As I write this, I’m having 2 conversations on Instant Messenger, I have 16 internet windows open, and I’ve received two text messages on my smart phone. I like to tell people that Millenials are “information consumers”. By this, I don’t just mean that we consume information, but that we actually trade it as a comodity, on sites like Facebook andTwitter. I compile all sorts of data that come in over my social networks and viaRSS, and I pass it along, in tweets, status updates, and blog posts, so that my peers can benefit from it as well. I am constantly taking in new information and then quickly filtering, repackaging, and sharing it across a number of platforms. It often feels like there is a steady flow of data moving through me and back out into the world for my fans, followers, and friends.
As an information consumer, I am a special kind of volunteer. Among other things, I can be a powerful evangelist for your organization. If you can get me excited about your work, I’ll definitly tell my friends. And because I have worked hard to build a network of fellow info-consumers (1,137 Facebook friends and counting), they take action when I ask them to. I may not always come to your events, but I’m happy to help spread the news. And all you have to do is ask.
Let me give you an example: For the past four years, a friend and I have participated in the Polar Bear Plunge, the largest annual fundraiser of the Special Olmpics of Maryland (SOMD). Each year, we get together with a few thousand other supporters in the middle of January to go charging into the freezingChesapeak Bay to raise money and awareness for this fantastic cause. This year, I raised over $1850, and I did it entirely online. I set myself up using SOMD’s online fundraising tool, built by the folks at Kintera/Blackbaud, and then started spreading the word via e-mail, Facebook, and twitter. Fifty-three people donatedon my behalf, many of them contributing less than $30. And it wasn’t just family and co-workers who took part. Facebook friends I haven’t been close to since middle school contributed, and all because I leveraged my network. And then, when the event was snowed out (ironic, I know) some of us used it as an opportunity to make our own “home-made plunges” and raise even more money. I created a video, posted it on YouTube, and sent the link to even more people, resulting in additional donations.
It’s important to note that all this social media outreach was done with very little prompting from SOMD. Imagine how much more they might have raised from other participants had they simply added one-click “share this” buttons to all their reminders and tools. Even without this, it was clear that the event organizers wanted us to spread the word, and I was happy to push that message out over all my networks.
This story is just one example of the powerful network that volunteers like me are just waiting for you and your nonprofit to leverage. It’s so simple! Have you ever asked your volunteers if they write blogs? Have you ever asked them to write a post about your upcoming event? It’s clear that they are already passionate about your work or they wouldn’t volunteer. All they need to take the next step is to be asked (and perhaps you could offer them a few pictures to liven up their post)! After they post, do them the favor of sharing a link to their blog with your network. They will thank you for the free publicity, as you will thank them for the same. Turning volunteers into your publicistis is as easy as that.
More than anything, the millenial generation is the generation of “share and share alike”. We are the gereration of the comment, the thumbs-up, and the star. WeYelp, we Buzz, and we Four Square (I’m not sure any of those are verbs yet, but I bet they will be soon). We do all this, not because we want to add another voice to an already noisy echo-chamber, but because we know that our friends care about the same kinds of things that we do. If I’m excited, some of my contacts will be, too. Together, let’s harness that incredible power for a greater good.
If you have had luck recuriting millenials to share your work, tell us about it in the comments. We know you have lots of best practices to share.
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