The Millennial Shift in Social Media Culture

The emotional power in a photo during a Bound For Peace Trip to Medellin.

   In a time where Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat dominate most conversations with the usual, “Did you see that?” or question of the newest trends, it’s apparent that social media is more than a mere outlet for us to write what’s on our minds in a brief 140 characters or 10 second video. As businesses begin to note the new wave of change in terms of their marketing strategies, one thing is obvious: social media presence is an important factor in whether or not a business soars in sales or is deemed as old fashioned. And so, losing the crowd they aim for the most: the millennials.

  No longer is being deemed an entrepreneur something exclusive and risky. In fact, millennials are known to be the generation with an “entrepreneurial spirit”. How? Through their social media presence. Social media is no longer excluded to past time, but now is used for self branding; a platform where relationships are made, networking conducted, and communities built. All of this through the simplicity of a screen. The importance of creating a strong media presence is to create relevance in the digital sphere in that a strong community of followers allows for one’s cause or vision to be deemed as relevant because it is actually acknowledged. The power of using human sentiment through a striking photoset or captivating words can do wonders in the nonprofit world. Social media outlets, such as Facebook and Instagram, can now be used to our advantage; a means by which one can directly express their vision to the masses.

   The use of social media as a means to gain influence over a specific target promotes easy accessibility. In other words, with the right use of hashtags and the correct manipulation of social media platforms, brands are able to promote an easy way to spread the word about their vision to a broad crowd, in both numbers and diversity.In our case, through the use of creating strong social media presence, Children Beyond Our Borders is accessible to anyone. Through the use of photographs and words, such as blog posts, we are able to create an emotional bond with our viewers. No longer are brands and companies distant; their ability to display raw emotions to their viewers on different social media outlets promotes a sense of connectivity with a brand, its vision, and its viewers. So, social media sponsors connection to not only surrounding peers, but also to potential followers around the globe. Social media draws attention to the importance of being more than a mere outlet of getting a vision across, but rather, to promote awareness among its followers; to foster an urgency to not only be united in a vision to bring about change, but, to actually be a part of that change.

​   The importance of social media, especially in this new fast-pace culture, is something that must be acknowledged. Nonprofits can use this innovation as a platform to not only spread word about their visions, but to also create a bond with their viewers in order to generate change together. Children Beyond Our Borders creates emotional ties with its followers, and thus, an active community working toward a common goal: education in order to bring change to a child’s life, no matter their upbringing.

​

---