Connecting Millenials to Causes Using Social Media

Social Causes and Generation Y

I love this post from Carol Phillips, one of my fave writers on all things Gen-Y and beyond.

Gen-Y are the generation geared towards social change (look what they did for Obama) and I love Carol’s tips on how to connect them with social media.

Here are my top four; for the full ten read the blog post

1. Invite them to join the Team.
Millennials relate to heroes and young people with ideas. (Think 911, NBC’s Heroes, Harry Potter). DO: Show them how they can get involved and contribute in ways other than money. Like other segments, Millennials are more likely to give when they have a personal connection. Feature team members who are having an impact.

2. Give them a Voice.
Generation Y wants to be heard so help them tell their story. Make it easy to join the conversation. DO: Use blogs to encourage two-way conversation. Blogs are usually less formal and more dynamic than a regular websites. Good blogs invite comments and discussion and repeat visits. DON’T FILTER: Allow the negative and positive comments to remain.

3. Make It Personal.
Millennials use social media to connect to people, not institutions. DO: Feature real people. Be authentic. DON’T: Be afraid to be transparent and have a little fun.

4. Market with them, not to them.
Think of your efforts as multiplying and activating advocates. Do: Work for ‘retweets’ – Encourage donors and fundraisers to publicize their support and progress to their friends. Find ways to give them ‘social currency’ to spend with their friends. Don’t: Wait until you have it all figured out. Put your advocates to work on your behalf. They are in the best position to know how to talk to their peers.

Teens and social cause….

Youth and their social conscious behaviour

There has been much said about Generation Y and their socially conscious behaviour and how marketers need to add a cause element to their offerings to youth. it appears that now we can say for sure that this is the case.

C&R Research found in its latest YouthBeat syndicated research report that a brand’s perceived level of social responsibility is an increasingly important consideration when young people open their wallets.

“Nearly half of the teens in our panels said they had made a cause-related purchase, and more than 20% asked their parents to buy a particular product because it supported a cause. And the younger set is following the pattern. Almost 40% of tweens (ages 9 to 12) and 20% of kids (ages 6 to 10) also have bought an item tied to a social cause.
And big money’s at stake. Studies put the annual spending power of young people ages 8 to 14 at $43 billion — and that doesn’t count their influence over billions of dollars in their parents’ purchases, whether it’s cell phones, or cars, or vacations.

You don’t have to be as explicit as “Buy this product, and 10% goes to charity.” Merely associating with worthy endeavors can influence young people’s relationships with brands. Nearly 40% of teens (age 13 to 18) and tweens, for example, say they have bought a product because it was made from recycled materials, with more girls than boys reporting such ecological attentiveness”.

Of course, we knew this anyway……

Some great example are out there already

Innocent Smoothies Big Knit Campaign, which encourages people to knit hats for their smoothies then sells the smoothies with the hats on to make money for the elderly in the winter.

Tom’s Shoes and the simple movement
Tom’s Shoes was founded on a simple premise. With every pair you purchase, Tom’s will give a pair of new shoes to a child in need. One for One. Using the purchasing power of individuals to benefit the greater good is what we’re all about.

A lot of these ideas are simple, straightforward and easy to understand, so my questions to you are….

1. What cause would fit in with the aims of your business and appeal to young people?
2. How could you make it simple and easy to understand?

The best campaigns mobilize people on and off line and are really about the cause, not about making the company feel better or a great PR stunt.

Kids are Heroes

Youth Inspiration

If you ever need any inspiration about or for young people then I suggest you take a wonder over to Kids Are Heroes. See how our young people are making a difference in the world.

Teens and social change

Young people having an impact.

Local teenagers from a summer journalism programme at Community Links in Newham spent a week looking at what needs to be done to end child poverty in the UK. Find out their ideas and what the local…