Engaging Millennials
I recently spoke on a panel hosted by the Pew Center for Arts and Heritage entitled Engaging Millennials: Beyond Social Media (or How Twitter Will Not Save Your Cultural Organization). Along with a group of fellow millennials, I spent an afternoon with representatives from 30 Philadelphia area arts organizations talking about ways to effectively engage new millennial audiences. We came to some interesting conclusions:
Relevant content, of course
If you aren’t making good work that resonates with the lives of younger people, forget trying to make a connection. Millennials seek depth, meaning, involvement and relevance. If you believe that what you are doing is important, the onus is on you to figure out how to tell that story to a wider audience. You’ll need to do this while remaining true to your mission, and without dumbing it down.
Millennials can do it on their own
Millennials have an incredible amount of technical and communication resources at their disposal. They use their ingenuity, willingness to adapt to constant change, and ability to operate under adverse conditions to create galleries, companies, venues, software and other entities that can operate autonomously. These self-perpetuating universes fulfill creative egos and economic need.
Utilize your underused or unused space
How many empty rooms or unused mezzanines do you have in your building? How can you turn those areas into dynamic spaces? How can your institution become a civic space for conversation and new ways of learning and engagement? Think about using lighting, color, furniture and sound to create a sense of place, effectively extending your organization’s brand into three-dimensions.
Know who you are talking to
Take some time to think about what’s important to a millennial audience. If you are an older person, I’m sure you can think back to a time when you felt disconnected from what was happening in the bigger scene. Put yourself back in those shoes. This isn’t a question of compromising integrity, but of learning how to speak in a way that makes it clear how what you are doing might be of interest to a younger group.
Slow media
Printed posters, programs, fliers and booklets can make tangible connections with people in a way that is not possible through Facebook or Twitter. Whatever printed materials you create, they must have their own identity. Designing a poster or a writing a press release without first considering how style and tone will effect the materials reception by a younger audience will spell disaster. Anything you create must be allowed to communicate on its own terms using an appropriate style that millienials can identify with.
Millennials can call bullshit very fast
The youth have a built in proclivity for detecting double-talk and insincerity in their elders. In all of your communications, you’ve got to keep it real. You can’t simply hire a social media expert, set up a Twitter feed and a Facebook page and expect relationships to blossom. You’ve got to make sure it’s a two-way street, and relationships must be fostered and cultivated. Make sure the person behind the Twitter feed is someone who understands you and your audience, and is speaking with genuine excitement and understanding.
Form true partnerships
There are likely numerous musicians, restaurants, artisans, or performers in your community who want to be a part of what you are doing. How can you expand the space for their involvement? How can you do it in a way that goes beyond simply getting free alcohol for an opening night, or donated paper from a supplier for a catalog? Make real connections to ensure that both sides truly benefit. Work hard to draw a bigger circle around those who can play a role in culture.
Tap the energy of the existing staff
The younger staff members of your institution are a great source of energy and ideas for new programming. This is an enormous chance to invest in the future of cultural stewardship and creation. Be careful not to exploit; work and ideas deserve compensation. If younger staff members don’t feel like they have true ownership of a project, it will lack genuine motivation and fall flat.
Do not be afraid to fail
You will need imagination and a willingness to do things differently. Remember, Athenians packed the amphitheaters not only to hear a tragic story. They did not want to remain seated quietly for the entire duration of the performance. Standing up, having a bit of conversation, going in and going out are all part of the experience. The presence of others, the food and the wine, and the witnessing of an event as a collective group made up the character of the event.
In the same way, millennials want to be a part of something real. They want to hear you, and they want to be heard. They do not seek frivolity, distraction or loss of intensity. They simply want a different and more inclusive way of experiencing culture.
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Originally posted at http://smyrskicreative.com/journal/engaging-millennials
