The promises of the digital world are everywhere. We use apps to help us learn a language, manage our money, lose weight, sleep better. We sign up for online professional certificate courses and stream thought-provoking lectures; firms increasingly conduct training via platforms and parents use digital tools to prepare children for the classroom.
The great promise of all this technology is that it will allow us to improve our performance and, ostensibly, ourselves. No longer must you have the good fortune of economic and social capital in order to gain access to premium-branded learning opportunities. Anyone with a WIFI signal and the desire for self-improvement can take advantage.
Millenials expect brands to support their self-development efforts
Millennials love self-improvement; whether it’s learning how to be an inspirational leader or changemaker or coding for beginners. Millenials expect their favorite brands to understand and actively support them as they strive to improve themselves. It falls on the brands to provide the content they require.
In recent years, millennials have earned a reputation for being a generation of self help gurus. As natural subscribers to the movement, millennials help shape the dialogue in the industry. Articulate expert content writers craft their message for the millennial audience.
Welness is a key topic for brands
Once upon a time, a huge part of the self help movement focused on diets for the sake of weight loss and money making schemes for the sake of, well, making lots of money.
Today’s movement focuses on wellness and healthy emotional development. This focus on wellness represents a mind shift for readers. Quality of life is an important issue to new self help subscribers. Writers can meet expectations by focusing on small, everyday routines mentioned above and by discussing broader issues like quality of life.
Professional development is helping those looking for a competitive edge
85% of working people are dedicating 30 minutes per week to job-specific learning exercises; furthermore, most professionals would like to devote even more time to self-improvement, but don't feel they have enough time. 68% of workers are using online learning platforms, and another 62% are looking to influencers and experts. Most of them prefer online training and over half use their mobile devices for learning.
Companies are fostering a culture of self-improvement
People will only learn if they want to. That desire to learn is carried through into adult life, only it becomes a little more sophisticated. As we grow in confidence and become more experienced with the world around us, the desire to understand more about the mechanics of life, industry and leisure activities grows.
The same degree of proactive learning should exist in business, but it is all too often vacant. Dull courses, uninspiring teaching methods and training material that is completely irrelevant to the job at hand will never connect with our innate desire to learn as human beings.
Segmentation is helping getting the message across
Deployment plans tend to focus on technology and not on audience needs. Users prefer a self-service self-help support and training. Training support can be delivered just-in-time, in context, where and when users need it.