Ron Gifford | September 2024
Ron Gifford is a Managing Director of Dunleavy & Associates, a consulting firm that has helped nonprofit clients with executive searches for more than twenty years.
As a man of a certain age, I’m cool with the fact that I’m not the target audience of most Tik Tok influencers. You see how that doesn’t bother me? Very demure.
Now, some people would be quite upset to think that a global communication channel has effectively bypassed them. You see how I’m totally chill with that, though? Very mindful.
And not everyone agrees with appropriating a younger generation’s cultural references to exude a faux sense of hipness. But you see how I did that to lure you into reading this far? Very cutesy (with apologies to Jools Lebron).
Now, if you have no idea what I’m talking about, then clearly what we have here is a failure to communicate. And that, of course, is not only a great quote from “Cool Hand Luke,” but also the theme of today’s musings. (For our younger readers, “Cool Hand Luke” is a movie starring Paul Newman, back when he was known for appearing on movie posters and not bottles of salad dressing).
Ah, communications: the nonprofit bête noire. I bet that if you did a survey, the vast majority of all nonprofit strategic plans would include some variation on the following strategic priority: “Enhance communications with internal and/or external stakeholders.” And I’d also wager that during the discussion of this priority, more than one person threw up their hands and said, “why is this so hard?”
Well, a recent article in the Washington Post helps shed light on that question. For the first time in recorded human history, five generations of employees are simultaneously in the workforce. Back in the day, a senior staffer might look at a younger co-worker and think, “Dang, I’m old enough to be their parent.” Increasingly, that senior staffer is, in fact, a senior (citizen, that is) who now thinks, “Dagnabit, I’m old enough to be their grandparent. Now turn in that report and get off my lawn!”
How do you bridge the 50-year span of cultural references and lived history that exists between the oldest of the Silent Generation/Baby Boomers and the youngest of the Gen Z’ers? And remember, this phenomenon isn’t inside just your workplace; it probably exists in most of the organizations and institutions that constitute your nonprofit’s external stakeholders. See, that’s why this thing –“communication” – is so hard.
Ever have this happen? You send out a targeted message that seems perfectly clear and on point to you. And like Robert DeNiro in “Taxi Driver,” half of your intended audience opens the message, metaphorically looks around, and says, “You talkin’ to me?”
And in a world of Tik Toks, memes, and other digital tools, it’s not just about the substance of your communications. Marshall McLuhan (obscure cultural reference alert!) has never been more relevant: “the medium is the message” in many ways. Think about the distinct technological landscapes that shaped how different generations obtained and processed information. Boomers remember getting their news from three TV channels and morning (or afternoon) newspaper deliveries. Generation Z, by contrast, has never known a world in which the bulk of all human knowledge hasn’t been accessible via the screen of the smartphone in their pocket.
As a result, and speaking in some generalities, to be sure, Boomers (and Gen X, to some extent) prefer documents and other tangible information sources; we like detailed, linear content that’s well-researched and blessed by credible authorities (call this the Walter Cronkite effect). Gen Z favors quick, bite-sized, visually engaging content such as memes, Tik Toks, and infographics from influencers and “content creators.” They’re skeptical of “authority” and prefer to crowdsource the credibility of information through digital platforms. Read an email? Can’t you just send a text? Call you on the phone? Insert multiple laughing face emojis!
Well, if you’ve read this far, you’re probably not a Gen Z’er but your attention span is still waning. You want some answers, so here goes: you obviously need a multi-channel communications platform strategy that engages your segmented audience cohorts with interactive and mission-aligned content. (You’re welcome: I just saved you a boatload of money on a communications consultant). And now, the obligatory set of bullet points in an article like this that explain the sentence above:
Multi-channel communications: Boomers and Gen X still read email and have physical mailboxes. Send your glossy brochures to them. Twenty-somethings view email the same way they view the 4 p.m. buffet at Golden Corral. So hit them up with short posts on social media (by the way, if you still think MySpace counts as social media, please delegate your communications strategy to a younger professional on your team).
Segmented messaging: Or as we used to call it, “Know your audience.” There’s nothing new about this advice; we just don’t follow it, because creating multiple messages for multiple audiences takes time and resources that are often scarce. So here’s a trick: write the Boomer piece first; then pull out three snippets of information, and voila, you have your Gen Z posts.
Interactive and engaging content: Yes, it’s about storytelling, but presentation matters. This is the scary part for many of us, because let’s be honest: a lot of us can barely format a Word document, much less make a compelling infographic. For you, I have two words: Download Canva. Also, do not overlook the power of video storytelling. Seriously, anyone with a smartphone and free editing software can make compelling videos in little or no time at all. Yes, it’s intimidating, and no one likes how they look or sound on video; but go down the rabbit hole of Instagram or Tik Tok for a while and you’ll quickly see that production values ain’t what they used to be – but that doesn’t make the storytelling any less compelling.
Embrace technology from this century. Yes, your website really should be mobile-optimized so people can easily read it on their phones. Embrace text messaging (SMS – “short message service”). Make it easy to donate online using apps like Apple Pay; if you expect to get all your donations by check, you might as well as ask them to complete the donation form in triplicate using carbon paper.
One last point: many of us aspire to have younger volunteers engaged in our work, often with an eye toward board recruitment. So create an ad hoc group of Millennials and Gen Z volunteers to help you craft your communication plan. You might start by recruiting one or two of them to help you build out the group, getting their take on the best ways to gather and connect. It probably won’t be at the Golden Corral, just saying.
I know, this isn’t groundbreaking advice, but it’s still a major shift for some of us. I get it; I remember when a four-color trifold brochure that served as both a mailer and a rack card was considered a multi-channel communication platform. But if you embrace some of these tactics, your communications strategy will always be the cat’s pajamas and won’t end up in the skibidi toilet. No cap. (Just Google it . . . . )
And now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to turn this article into a Tik Tok dance. And when I took my own advice and ran this idea past my Gen Z daughter, her response was very affirming: “OK, Boomer!”