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Welcome back to mass media via social media
26 Jun 2015
In the early 90s I sat in the Communication Science class and in the late 90s I sat in the Advertising specialisation class. Both in these instances it was drummed into my mind that 'mass media is dead, long live niche media!' media specialists had a field day promoting their 'niche' channels which were a great match to the 'new' niche marketing concept that was the in-thing of the time.
Fast-forward to the present. It seems as if the tide has turned as new media channels such as the social media are changing all that as they evolve turning the entire industry back to mass media. Every brand worth its salt is on social media.
It's a no-brainer that billions of people log on to Facebook and Twitter and many other channels to engage with their real friends and 'virtual' ones, all connected due to their shared values and interests. Marketers have been quick to piggy-back on these developments in a bid to target billions of people found on these social media platforms which are mass media in form.
Image via 123RF
A new inclusive society has been created, which has improved transparency and connectedness as anyone with a smartphone and data is now able to connect and have a discussion with anyone, irrespective of one's social standing. Presidents of big or small countries, CEOs of small or big companies, the schoolboy of the rural Cinci is able to follow the posts of Messi in real time, the exclusive and elitist mentality of the yesteryears which is characterised by 'niches' is slowly becoming irrelevant, or is it not?
A Facebook promotional video of a premium brand can't have control on who clicks the 'Like' icon, in fact in some quarters, more 'Like' clicks there are, the better the social media campaign!
The accompanying 'new' concept to social media is 'content marketing' everywhere one goes, the new language is 'storytelling' unfortunately this is not a new concept. PR people, copywriters are faced with blank pages almost every day to write marketing content, in fact content creation is as old as the communications discipline. What are new though are these multiple communication channels which are mass media in form and how the audience engages with the content therein.
It's not only the communications experts who are able to create content, audiences are creating their own as that social media question always asks: What's on your mind? The voice of the masses is back via social media.
About Musa Msane
Managing Director and Founder at Voiceland An avid reader of literature, biographies & business magazines. A serial jazz collector who has a practical approach to life! www.voiceland.co.za
