If associations hope to grow, they need to attract young people. Is your organization doing what it can to appeal to Generation Y—also known as "millennials"?

It can be difficult, especially for associations that do not have many young members to begin with. Older members may feel that they do not have enough in common with young people, and as a result have a difficult time connecting with them. This is an increasingly pressing problem for many, as the median age of association members is rising.

What should association leadership know? First, that young people lead busy lives. They have jobs—sometimes several—or they are in school, balancing their studies and multiple internships. They stay active in their free time and use social media frequently to network with their friends, family and other peers. As Sara Olbrantz, contributor to the Big Ideas Blog, points out in a recent post, it is not enough for associations to hold annual meetings and hand out printed manuals. Certainly not when they are trying to attract young people.

Instead, Olbrantz suggests that these organizations bring their tactics to the next generation. The key is to go where young people are, and to speak the language that they do.

Social media outreach. Millennials grew up with Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites, and these are the places on the internet where they feel the most comfortable. It is important for associations to make their outreach interesting and authentic so young people will have a reason to follow their activities.

Keep meetings interesting. "If you're still holding your annual meeting in outdated session rooms of older convention halls with the buzzing florescent lights, metal chairs and one-way speaker communication," Olbrantz writes, "you're risking your members being uncomfortable, board and not engaged." Try a more social approach, with themed events and rousing presentations. Even small changes to the format can make an otherwise boring meeting much more engaging.

Be available. Social media networking is a good start, but many associations have to do more to ensure that newcomers are finding the information they need on the internet. Gone are the days when a simple printed flyer would do the job—young people are increasingly reliant on their smartphones, tablet and e-readers. Associations may want to put helpful information on a flash drive and hand those out during the meeting. Better yet, store it on the cloud where potential members can access it at any time.

Young members can bring much to an organization. They have energy, drive and a willingness to learn and build experiences. Don't panic if communicating to them across the generational divide sometimes feels like speaking a different language.

To stay viable and plan for the future, an association executive must focus on both membership recruitment and retaining. It is important not only to practice good member management and foster improvement among those who are already part of the organization, but also to ensure that new people are always willing to join.

Associations conduct a wide range of activities that serve to advance their mission while also attracting new members. They host special events, attend major conferences and are highly active on social media. Which of these activities is the most effective? If the retention rate at your association appears to be significantly lower than that of others, it might be time to take a closer look at the ways in which you are reaching out.

Obviously, these days an active social media presence is one of the most important tools an association can utilize. If run properly, these profiles can act as extensions of conferences and other events. For example, this year's digitalNow conference in Nashville, Tennessee is a popular destination for those who are interested in digital innovation, but those who cannot attend have plenty of opportunities to keep up with the events as they unfold via Twitter. With judicious use of the #digitalnow hashtag, associations can play an important role in the conversation surrounding the event and attract significant attention from those who may already be interested in learning more.

Being active on social media does more than provide an association with data that can be used to target new members. It also helps build an organization's reputation among its followers—which is excellent for retention.

As this blog has written in the past, associations are a great place for recent college graduates to find initial employment. They can utilize their prodigious energy, critical thinking and communication skills in a field where they will learn many important lessons going forward.

The same can be said for internships with associations. Given that many of these organizations rely so much on volunteer work anyway, offering an internship is a perfect opportunity to bring college students on board before they graduate and give them a taste of what they might experience once they earn their diplomas.

However, while such an arrangement might benefit both the student and the association, there is still reason for organizations to be cautious. Internships—particularly those that are unpaid—have come under fire recently for demanding too much from participants while offering too little in return.

According to a recent article on Business Management Daily, the primary purpose of an unpaid internship is to be educational. However, lawsuits have arisen with interns claiming that they were expected to work schedules that were as long or even longer than those who were paid wages. For example, in the case Wang v. The Hearst Corporation, a group of interns accused the magazine publisher of forcing them to work five days a week while school was in session, for as long as 11 hours per day, without pay. The case is heading to trial.

Associations need to make sure that they are setting up beneficial arrangements with their interns. For those that have never run such a program before, it may help to seek out association management training programs.

Given that many associations rely so much on volunteer work anyway, offering an internship is a perfect opportunity to bring college students on board before they graduate and give them a taste of what they might experience once they earn their diplomas.