Anyone on social media has gone down the hole of Instagram and realized they will never get back those hours. However, social media has many upsides, and they are not going away. Exploration, design, connections, building a community, giving back, seeing how flat the world is, etc., We are all connected yet we are all very different living in different worlds, countries and cultures but we can come together. Social media is an essential voice for all organizations. The hardest part is discerning fake news from real news on any media channel.
Large non-profit organizations and foundations should amplify their voices on multiple channels. Every couple of years in companies, brand documents are reviewed to keep them fresh and relevant. Non-profit organizations do the same thing but a bit different and take a comprehensive look at the mission, what is being accomplished, and what goals are to be met over a period of time. I have yet to work with an organization in the non-profit area that actually thinks out of the box.
The other night, I was at an event talking to a woman who is the Executive Director of a major foundation in NY. This group makes an impact, but I am not sure anyone outside of the “insiders” of NY knows about it. They were taking on the grueling process of going through an organizational assessment. She wasn’t asking for advice, but I could not help myself. I said do not dismiss social, lean in to it. The next generation of people in NY might be drawn this organization yet most do not even know what you are doing. How else do we garner a new group of young people who care with new ideas?
The fantastic movie Kneecap shows what happens when the next generation cares about the same things as their elders but has a different way of making an impact. Lessons learned and a highly entertaining film. Embrace the youth in the place where they are paying attention. You will be surprised what happens.
