Last week at a Future of the Workplace event I was talking to a gentleman who was interested in the topic of Millennials in the Workplace. His perception; Millennials had an excellent understanding (almost an advantage) of technology, which I agree to some point, he stated:
"Millennials are entering the workplace and changing the landscape, they grew up with and have an understanding of technology, they know how to use Social Media and take advantage of this in the workplace"
At a certain level I agree with him, but not his theory on the use of social media, yes Millennials are able to use social media.
64% of Millennials believe that social media is one of the most effective channels for reaching brands (google)
There is however a fundamental difference between social and social for business. That is a completely different strategy. My colleagues are very experienced and have a deep knowledge of the business, teaching them how to use social media for business effectively, well this is the easy part.
66% of millennials follow a company or brand on twitter - University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
But, on the other hand teaching the millennial the complexities of business that takes longer. Understanding sales deals, business ethos, products, customer relationships, these things take time and experience.
Now don't get me wrong, there are young people out there who understand how to do this and do it very well.From my own personal experience I have run100's of workshops and think tank sessions all focusing on social for business and personal branding.
My biggest takeaway from these sessions:
We live in a society which is online and instant, and a certain aspect of millennials, haven't yet transferred from their Instagram life to a Business Profile. Unless they educate themselves, this will be a difficult cross over, from selfies and pouts to thought leadership and industry trends.
