“Why Don’t Young People Give a S#!& About My Cause?”
Edited by Director & Editor of Research, Irene Pedruelo
Clients tell us every day that they can’t inspire young people to care about their cause.
And every day, we respond with good news: young people are already inspired. They care. And they want to help.
We know that young people care about virtually every major issue, from animals to education to poverty. How do we know? We track data on about 5.3 million members involved with over 275 cause campaigns at DoSomething.org.
The key question is how do you move young people from simply caring about your cause to actually taking action for it?
Motivating young people to get involved with a specific cause or issue is all about knowing how to engage them.
Here are the top 3 things you should know:
1. Put the individual in the driver’s seat
Around here, we call this principle, “Fight for the User.” When it comes to activating young people, don’t prioritize the actions you want them to take, instead focus on what actions are impactful to them. It may sound simple, but the difference couldn’t be more important.
Fight for the User: When it comes to activating young people, don’t prioritize the actions you want them to take, instead focus on what actions are impactful to them.
Young people know they have the ability to make an impact on the causes they care about and want to add value to the organizations they believe in. But, unlike older generations, young people believe donating money will have the least impact. Instead, they want to be actively involved, particularly in ways they can share with others, either online or in person.
Give young people options so that each individual finds an opportunity that feels meaningful to them. Whether it’s sharing a personal story about discrimination on social media or creating a young professionals advisory board, offering a variety of ways to get involved is critical.
2. Leave a digital trail that leads them to your cause
Actions like signing online petitions, contacting legislators, and sharing social media posts have gotten a bad rap. They’re often viewed as dated or simply ineffective, but these actions actually serve as an important and appealing introduction to causes.
While some online actions may indeed have less impact than donating money or volunteering, these simple actions are super appealing to young people because they require little time and commitment. They allow young people to act on impulse. And our data shows, that once young people have connected with a cause, even via a simple way, many tend to stick around to provide greater help down the road.
So ask users to share your blog or take an Instagram shot relating to your cause. Get those supporters to change their social media profile picture or wear a particular color of clothing on a certain day in support of your cause! It’s an easy way to introduce young people to your organization.
3. Leverage social proof
The first question any young person asks themselves before trying something is “are other people like me doing this?” This also applies to supporting an organization and volunteering. Our data tells us that, for young people, having friends that volunteer regularly is nearly twice as important as having the ability to work on an issue they care about deeply.
Having friends that volunteer regularly is nearly twice as important as having the ability to work on an issue they care about deeply.
The Millennial Impact Report (2014 & 2015) confirmed the importance of peer influence noting that 78% of Millennials say they prefer doing cause work in groups vs. 22% who prefer doing cause work individually. In addition, 65% of Millennial employees said they were more likely to volunteer if their coworkers participated.
So, make sure you highlight peer involvement in your messaging and design programs that create opportunities for community-building. Peer pressure works, so use it to create social good!
TL;DR
Young people care about your cause. Really! Just give them a variety of ways to engage, know that online engagement leads to something, and use peer pressure for good, and you’ll start cultivating supporters before you know it!
About DoSomething Strategic
DoSomething Strategic is the data-driven social impact consultancy arm of DoSomething.org. We help brands and organizations engage young people for positive social change. We combine proprietary data with a deep understanding of what young people care about to help clients build relationships with this unique demographic and activate them for social good. Our expertise is grounded in moving 6 million DoSomething.org members — ages 13–25 in every area code in the United States and in 131 countries worldwide — to take social action, and we’ve been doing this work successfully day in and day out for over 25.
