We are beginning to think about engagement in terms of is it
social or is it mobile? If our nonprofit goes social and mobile, we believe we
will connect with the new generations of constituents. It must be true since
that is all that we hear about.
It takes much more than the latest technology flavor of the
year to reach Generation X or Y or Baby Boomers for that matter. It takes a
passion to understand and be empathetic. We all long to be known, remembered
and served. That said, a number of your constituents influence others and are
influence in ways that we don’t quite understand. Constituents are connecting
and sharing in ways that allow them to learn, discover, share and make
decisions that are different than anything we have seen before.
So why wouldn’t being on Facebook and Twitter along with having
a mobile application clinch your future relevance for your mission? The answer
lies in seeing the constituent journey as an ecosystem not a specific
isolated channel. We need, and our constituents want, a holistic experience
where all the pieces play nice together. What good does it do to have a bad
donation experience because my credit card was charged twice to be helped by a
pleasant call center representative? One bad experience and then a good one but I don’t
hear from you for a year when you want me to donate again. Really?
What is different now is that the whole generational range (Boomers,
Gen X, Gen Y, etc.) of constituents are connected. In our previous example, the
frustrated donor posted a comment on Facebook when their credit card got
charged twice. That is what their friends saw and remembered. All the devices
they are on are more than just devices, they are becoming an extension of who they
are. While this is data from 2011, 48% of 18 to 34 year olds checked Facebook
when they got up and 28% did so before they got out of bed.
What is important is that the ecosystem is held together by
the connected constituent who needs it to be consistent. While there
generational differences the commonality is the constant connectivity across
multiple devices. This is bigger than a demographic as so many are embracing a
digital lifestyle. This transcends age, income, ethnicity, and education. The connected
constituent does not surf the web like other constituents. They live in a
totally social world (online) and use all of their devices as a window to how
they live. They do not learn like their non-digital counterparts. They fully
embrace many communities which cut across demographics.
The generation of connected constituents is vastly different
than any segment you have addressed in the past. What you know about “direct
response” will not help you here. “Open rates” may mean nothing any longer. What
you think the connected constituent may want and what they really value are
probably worlds apart. They are always on and to reach them takes a different
approach all together.
We tend to think about size of a market differently than
think about connected constituents that cut across traditional markets. We tend
to think about how to reach Baby Boomers or how to reach Gen Y’s or how to
reach Millennials. What does it mean when you layer in how to engage connected
constituents who cut across all those generations? The unconnected constituent segment
(across all generations) is shrinking and the connected constituent is rapidly
growing.
Since markets are shifting, think about your strategies. Are
they being refreshed fast enough? Are you investing in small, fast tests to engage
in new ways with the connected constituent? On a daily basis, nonprofit leaders
need to place more emphasis on the connected constituent. This includes leading
the charge to learn new skills, structure staff differently, and invest more in
marketing technology. Which side of the changing demographics do you want to
on? The shrinking or the growing?
