I had the pleasure recently of attending a forum and listening to a number of high quality presentations about the mining and quarrying industries. One presentation, by Mark Sinclair, founder of Your Business Channel, really struck a chord.
It related to the way we communicate and the changing world of disruptive technology, including the rise of Millennials and their use of social media platforms.
Millennials — who are the generation demographic following Generation X and were born between the early 1980s and the early 2000s — are fast becoming the largest generation by population percentage in many countries around the world.
Various statistics were shown about the use of social media platforms around the world, such as Facebook and Instagram, and how Millennials are using these platforms which are fast becoming the best way to communicate with them.
Sinclair noted that businesses and organisations wishing to succeed today could no longer ignore Millennials but should rather embrace them and the way they communicated.
{{quote-A:R-W:300-Q:"Just remember how fast things can change in a decade … The iPhone was only introduced in 2007!"}}Reflecting on the messages provided by Sinclair and looking at the IQA, we’ve certainly made progress, maybe even more than other similar industries and associations.
With the Young Members Network (YMN) having been established for a number of years, the IQA secretariat embracing younger staff in roles such as marketing and communications, and having had Millennials on our board, it has allowed us to think about and start communicating more effectively with this increasingly important generation.
As most Millennials would more than likely read this monthly column in its digital version, the IQA and many branches have embraced Facebook and Instagram to post updates and communicate with members.
The South Australian branch is particularly active on Facebook and I personally enjoy its regular posts, updates and photos, particularly of its branch functions.
Although I’m not a Millennial (I’m Generation X for those interested), I can see the benefits in using social media to stay in touch with our membership and the broader industry, and to also record the great work the IQA is doing across the industry.
No doubt the way we are communicating with our members, and with each other is continually evolving. Just remember how fast things have changed in the past decade or so, eg the iPhone was only introduced in June 2007! There are probably ways of communicating that haven’t been invented yet that we will use in the future.
I certainly encourage all our industry members to embrace social media, even if it’s just to stay in touch with IQA events.
I know it’s not for everyone and many people still enjoy picking up and reading Quarry from cover to cover, but if we want to stay in touch with all of our members and for that matter, the broader industry, we need to utilise a variety of communication methods — old and new.
Have a safe and productive month!