Millennials: How to attract generation share

I’ve heard the term generation “me” placed on millennials in a not so positive light calling us self absorbed and entitled. I have to argue that generation “me” is really generation “we.” All that sharing isn’t a selfish act but is in fact a lesson given to us as children and adopted into adulthood.

The previous generation taught us to share.

Our minds developed quite differently. I’m sure the generation that raised us didn’t envision how the idea of sharing would manifest itself to sharing photos, thoughts, ideas and even money online.

All this sharing is an effort to contribute to the collective experiences of the crowd.  We started by sharing our knowledge with others.  Eventually, we learned the value of listening to the information shared by others.  This led to crowd-sourcing information to determine which movie to watch, restaurant to dine and which financial institution was best for our situation.

We grew up learning the importance of sharing and value others who share as well.

What does this mean?

Our values are not fundamentally different but reaching us requires a different approach. We have access to a plethora of information. The response from businesses is to create more information but all this adds to the noise.  So we are figuring out ways to find the most relevant and reliable information for our given situation. We’re crowd-sourcing through social networks and we’re openly talking about financial issues that were once taboo.

How to reach Generation Share

• Share your knowledge. We were brought up with the idea that sharing is caring.
• Share your values. Everything you build should have the sole purpose of helping.
• Share information. So much exists and it helps when you point out the information that we should be paying attention to.

Ingrain the sharing philosophy in your credit union

• Communicate through social media. If you want to be found you have to be where millennials get information.
• Make content share worthy. Make it engaging, thought provoking and actionable.
• Make it easy to share your content. You got us interested now make it easy for us to re-share.

We’re listening.

Stand out by sharing your expertise within the financial realm. Aim to educate and position yourself as a helping place. Educating the crowd about your free checking account is selling. Educating the crowd on how to write checks or the proper use of debit cards to avoid fees is helping.

Sharing your expertise in matters of personal finance when done correctly will only lead consumers back to the source. Selling a product or an intended benefit of a product will often lead consumers to crowd-source an alternative.

We’re maturing as a generation. We’ve realized the potential to do great things through sharing. Our sharing philosophy leads to innovation, promotes social good and funds a stranger’s dream.

When it comes to financial decisions we’re also willing to share what’s worked for us and listen to what has worked for others.

Conclusion

Make everything you do share worthy.