Five tips to communicate with young people

As communicators, we are usually pretty confident that we can deliver advocacy and campaigns messages to core target audiences. But what about young people? How do we reach the wide range of 15-35 year olds across Europe in the right way and make them care about what we have to say?

To answer those questions, News and Booze welcomed Nanna Moe, Director of Communication and Events at the European Youth Forum, a membership-based organisation representing around 150 million young people throughout Europe.

Here are her key insights:

1.    There is NO one size fits all solution

Sorry to disappoint folks but when an expert says it, it’s true! Youth is such a diverse group of people in age, culture, language, interests that it would be impossible to reach them all using a single approach or without dividing them in sub-groups. Plus, in the words of our expert "reaching everybody is never a good strategy".

2.    Say hi to segmentation

So what’s the solution? According to Nanna, segmentation is key! It’s all about knowing your audience. Who do you want to reach and what are their characteristics? What do they like and who do they listen to? How do they talk and which platform do they use?

Nanna explained how the European Youth Forum comms team use an ‘avatar’ called Mika – dubbed a social justice ‘knight’. Mika is non-gender specific and uses a specific range of information channels. When the team is designing a new campaign or comms strategy they think about Mika. Would Mika take any notice of this campaign? If not, what can we change? It’s an approach many comms specialists could follow to target youth communications.

3. Say bye to jargon

Once you identify your target audience and how to reach them, DO NOT use jargon! Translate everything so that it's understandable to a young person who is not aware of the issues you're communicating about and always wonder: would your target audience be interested in this message? (Note: don’t try too hard, there’s nothing cringier than an older person trying to sound ‘young’!) But do consider: would he/she read it, share it, find interest in it? Would Mika click ‘play’ or move onto the next post?

A good example of sidestepping the usual jargon is the European Youth Forum’s campaign ahead of Jean-Claude Juncker’s State of the Union speech 2018. They wanted Mr Juncker to include young people’s concerns in the speech, but they needed to think outside the box to gain momentum online. They opted to create a satirical ‘Snapchat story’ – ostensibly featuring Mr Juncker himself. This prompted lots of shares and likes on social media, turning the usual ‘policy wonk’ messaging into something far more accessible to a young audience.

3.  Test & Mix

Even more so than with other target groups, ALWAYS test your communications when you're reaching out to a youth audience. What might work in terms of channels, messaging and visuals with another target group might be a BIG fail with a group as diverse and unpredictable as, for example, the under-30s.

Mixing things up is also key when it comes to media channels. While social media are obviously key tools to reach youth, they're not equal in terms of impact. Facebook casts a wide net but Twitter makes it easier to segment and to be political. YouTube enables great content creation but is highly competitive.

88% of 18-29 years old use social media on a daily basis according to a Pew Research Center Study

And don't neglect "traditional media" either! While young people appear glued to their mobile devices, some still engage with traditional media and the media is picked up by other channels all the time. Once again, it's all about choosing well according to your ideal target!

4. What about events?

Every year, the European Youth Forum is involved in Yo!Fest – a two day event in which thousands of young people gather to celebrate the spirit, resilience and ideas of European youth. In a setting like this, young people get to speak political influencers; they witness their favourite performers support their right to a voice in Europe; and they can engage with hundreds of workshops, talks, debates, performances and other diverse activities. Yo!Fest is a huge event, but any activities that give young people a chance to have a platform to join your cause in an engaging and empowering way are proven to be successful.

5.  And how important are ‘influencers’?

@Flickr 

Influencers are a great way to reach out to a wider audience as they act as multipliers for your message. They can be a young person active in your area of activity, with a voice on social media. Better yet they can already be part of your network without you even noticing.

Feeling better equipped to communicate with youth audiences? Send me an email if you still have questions.. 

Chloe Mikolajczak, Project Manager at Conscience Consulting, which co-hosts the bi-monthly News and Booze events in Brussels.

Drop me a line [email protected].