3.5 Understanding the Me Generation
There are 2 ways that a viral campaign starts, by giving up control or having a shit load of
dough.” Stephen T. Jones
No matter what your business is understanding, the me generation should be a big part
of your social media focus. I believe this so much that 80% of my focus is on college
campuses along with 20% on Corporations. Over my career, I have spent lots of time
with the me generations and 15 years later I am really starting to understand there
impact on society. What started out as a perceived selfish generation has turned into a
generation in a short period of time that has really changed the world we live in on a
large global scale. Over the rest of this sub-chapter I am going to give some insights to
engage 20 some things to be more viral.
• First of all I like to call them the “WHY?” generation because from an early age unlike
any other generation in history they were allowed to question the status quo. As
we know this can be a blessing and a curse but the more real life experience that
they have, they will create a bigger impact for the world. Why is this important?
Because they have countless peers worldwide that are highly connected with viral
technologies that are able to naturally think globally.
• They are all looking to be part of something bigger than themselves to find their
place in the world individual and as a generation.
• Unlike any other generation, they do not need strict direction, especially with social
media, they need guidance. Here is how I work with them; I tell them my vision and
what I want, and let them develop and manage the how to. If you take this action
you will learn what took us 40 hours to do 10 years ago they can do in 5 minutes. If
corporations 40, 50 and up year olds keep on forcing them to do it the way we did
you will soon be working for them.
• More than any other generation, they respond to incentives… And if they aren’t
performing change the incentive and it you don’t know what it is just ask. They know
what makes them work and most the time it doesn’t cost near as much as it cost us
30 and ups. You can make more things happen with Starbucks, Best Buy and ITunes
cards then you could ever imagine.
Take some time in your own way to ask yourself, am I leveraging the Corporate
Social Media skills of the 20 some things at my office with me? What 20’s something
communities and organizations can I collaborate with too totally go viral? What contest
can I launch right now to engage 20 some things to promote my business?