Tell me a story: Connecting issues but almost half feel governments have a with Millenials in a Digital negative impact on key challenges. World Often called conscious capitalists, this generation values corporate social responsibility by Centre for Strategic Communication and applauds businesses that serve the Excellence interests of all stakeholders beyond customers and employees. Their broad view includes communities, the environment and equality. A rising generation primed to change the More than 81 percent expect business to act for world as we know it, millennials command the the greater good. attention of businesses worldwide. They are an attractive demographic, defined by compelling In the broadest definition, a socially conscious characteristics that shape their lifestyle and mindset is one of the defining characteristics of communication preferences, in both content and millennials. Their connection to the world makes channels. them citizens of the world. Coupled with this mindset, they respect and value diversity and We Care are outraged by social injustice. They’re bent on More than previous generations, millennials making the world a better place. focus on the needs of society versus the needs of individuals. USA Today wrote “People born We Don’t Do Cubicles Well between 1980 and 2000 are the most civic- Budding entrepreneurs that disrupt traditional minded generation since the 1930s and 1940s.” industries are everywhere in this generation. Deloitte’s 2014 Millennial Survey revealed that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is a role model millennials believe governments have the for millennials, and many have built successful greatest potential to address society’s biggest businesses out of the ruins of recession. In www.cropleycomms.com 2008, Brian Chesky co-founded Airbnb. Daniel Reaching the millennial workforce does not Ek founded Spotify, Matthew Mullenweg built mean corporate speak. WordPress, and Blake Ross created the web browser Firefox. These famous names and Provide enough details to give stories life, but successful companies are just the tip of the cut the fluff. Make sure not to oversimplify iceberg. Business Insider says “Millennials are because this audience will immediately identify on track to become the most entrepreneurial it as dumbing down and take offense. Use clear generation ever.” language, make stories interesting and engage the audience in the storyline. Worldwide, millennials have launched almost twice as many businesses as boomers and they Millennials are a diverse generation and they tune in to the benefits of going it on your own want to see themselves in stories, so make sure earlier than boomers did. Boomers launched you approach your communication through their their first businesses at roughly 35 years old eyes and not yours. while millennials are launching theirs around the age of 27. In a recent survey, only 13 percent We invite you to view a great story “Google of respondents said they aspire to become Search: Reunion”that captures the heart of the CEO, while a whopping 67% said their goal millennial storytelling. involves starting their own business. Other Things That Make Us Tick Now Let’s Talk Digital Technology Millennials are liberal-minded, pragmatic After all, digital technology is core to the idealists, compassionate, confident, diverse, millennial lifestyle. The Pew Research Center team players, practical and results-oriented. This labeled millennials as “Digital natives in a land generation doesn’t lay back and accept the way of digital immigrants.” It’s no surprise mobile things are if improvements are needed. They technology is important to members of this age challenge the status quo, call for change and put group, however mobile is not only for social their wit behind it. use. Millennials use their devices for research and education. To say they are connected is an understatement. Let’s Talk Communication You might expect that millennials want nothing Increasingly millennials are connected in the more than bite-sized pieces of information, workplace and they connect the stories of the however there is growing evidence that company with the rest of the world. The result? millennials want to hear the stories that shape Companies are investing in employee apps that the world. enable advocacy and give all their employees the opportunity to be part of the brand story. A recent Nielsen survey labelled millennials the “We, More and Now” generation. The survey There is one employee app that stands above all pointed out that millennials love authenticity and the rest. It’s called Sparrow. Sparrow’s power to 80 percent appreciate brand storytelling with connect people and stories is formidable. Better transparency and involvement. yet, Sparrow provides data that informs strategic planning and decision making. Quite simply, it is Not so fast! Exactly what does that mean to an app that people love to use. employee communication? Inside the workplace where millennials are quickly becoming the dominant group, storytelling is a powerful communication tool. www.cropleycomms.com +61 (0)414 323 973 [email protected].