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Thursday, March 28, 2024

The Onion, a satirical news network, produced a parody of TED Talks titled “Using Social Media To Cover For Lack Of Original Thought.” In the video, a young presenter wearing flashy clothes references a snapshot of Cheetos’ Facebook page.

“Any teenager could have done what we did for no money — and much faster,” he says smugly, implying that his advertising team created the page. “...In the new social media economy, you just have to look like you’re doing work, and people will pay you for it.”

The satire is a bit harsh, but it highlights a real issue: Some professionals see websites like Facebook as a cure-all because they’re trendy, cheap and easy to use. Now that UF has introduced an online master’s degree in “Social Media,” it has an opportunity to redefine the buzz phrase.

First, what does “social” mean? For the purposes of a communications campaign, the word should apply to all media that inspire audiences to congregate, share ideas and take action. Film screenings and live performances are less sexy than Twitter, but they can be more engaging.

The Bridge Project, a fundraising campaign sponsored by Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, courted donors with personal events and movies. I edited a documentary and mailed DVDs to the prospects instead of using YouTube. Without Web-based tactics, the project raised several million dollars for cancer research.

A broad definition of social media may also include high-tech gadgets. Breakfast, a New York-based design agency, uses robotics to connect the virtual and physical worlds. To promote major gallery openings, the agency built iPad-controlled blimps that broadcast live video among crowds in different rooms.

With so many exciting “social” tools at their disposal, how should communicators decide which to employ? Great campaigns tend to base the decision on audience research rather than technology trends. For example, the Bridge Project chose personal events because its audience was small and centralized in Boston.

To be fair, websites offer instant statistics that may be helpful to you, depending on your major. If you’re a journalism student whose mission is to inform, “likes” and page views may prove you’ve succeeded.

For public relations majors, the stats tell an incomplete story. A PR campaign must persuade audiences to act for a cause, whether it’s quitting cigarettes, getting an HIV/AIDS test or buying stock in a company. Because “raising awareness” is a taboo in the field, students have to do extra research to prove “likes” and tweets translate into a measurable impact on people’s behavior.

Research-backed websites can be wonderful tools for mobilizing people. Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest developed www.wheredidyouwearit.com — an interactive map that lets users describe where they had sex and how it felt — to promote condom use. As of July 16, about 20 people had reported wearing condoms on or near the UF campus.

Building a custom site is generally better than anchoring a campaign around Facebook. You can always hire a nerd who knows how to program or simply use a content management system. As a programmer — OK, a nerd — I appreciate having greater control over a site’s design and behind-the-scenes code.

Facebook intentionally limits your reach to make you pay for greater exposure. While Reddit’s news-sorting algorithm is open to the public, Facebook’s code is proprietary, meaning it’s harder to predict how posts will be ranked. Plus, the last time I checked, Facebook doesn’t offer condom-shaped buttons — a must-have for every campaign.

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Despite The Onion’s parody, I don’t think social media are inherently silly or useless, but “social media,” the phrase, is desperately lacking. Communicators should broaden it to include the dozens of exciting formats at their disposal, then let audience research dictate the medium.

Cody Romano is a UF public relations senior. His columns appear Thursdays.

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