The impact

 In 2010, Johanna Blakey gave a Ted Talk suggesting that the internet and social media will remove some stereotypes and/or advertising biases.  Online Advertisers will offer ads based on previous cookies, likes, and geographical data and less about your gender and age. This is a very refreshing idea. Perhaps I will get ads due to my research or browsing  rather then target stereo types for my age group and gender. Advertisers have honed in on campaign targeting and marketing.  The data analytics are very sophisticated. Social Media applications free us from the assumptions and stereotypes.  

Data analytics careers are on the rise. In fact so much so that The US Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that data analyst jobs will grow 25 percent between 2020 and 2030, much faster than the average for all occupations.  Data is driving what we consume, predicting what we might consume, and how long we consume. 

Take tonight as an example. In the news area of Google I searched for the phrase "banana prices in Montana". The first result speaks of raising wheat prices and the fact the Montana Wheat is not raising their process.  By the fourth recommendation they are recommending "30 cardigans I will want to wear everyday".  In the body of the article there is another link to Free People Montana Cable Cardigan, $148 at Free People. It did not take very long to get to an eCommerce site to possible make a transaction.  The link also had an affiliate code in the link so the online advertiser could credit to the recommendation but also the Free People could see where the referring link came from and grab my IP address info (time, location, date).  The data mining could be endless. And honestly, I still do not know the prices of bananas in Montana.

Monitoring clicks streams is big business.   They can determine where you stop in purchase on an ecommerce or travel sites.  Blakey, managing director at the Norman Lear Center  dedicates her professional time studying the impact of media, seeking to better understand the role that media plays in changing knowledge, attitudes and behavior among individuals and communities, large and small, around the world.  We know the impact is large but not sure we fully understand the rest of the story until more research is done.

Mass media plays a powerful role in shaping our social norms, attitudes, and behavior on a wide variety of issues, and could be a highly effective medium for promoting change. One example, has been a recent social media campaign to end child marriage.

As part of the United Nations goal – they are calling the world to end child marriage.  The organization  UNFPA-UNICEF Global Programme to End Child Marriage (GPECM) was created in 2016 to monitor the program and create advocacy and awareness.  It is a huge initiative for UNICEF, the United Nations, and European Union.  Social media campaigns have forced governments to take action.  When used for advocacy positive outcomes and can present themselves.  On Twitter from  “Accelerating the pace to end child marriage by 2030. Sustained and scaled-up funding is required to achieve the goal of ending child marriage for each and every girl.”  #endchildmarriage

Child marriage threatens the lives and future of girls. Watch the video to know how @UNICEF with the ongoing partnership with the European Union, is working to reduce the risks facing adolescent girls by empowering them and inspiring other girls, to be active and capable of change.

Non-profits create social media campaigns and cobrand with other organizations to get out the message.

Other non-profits can jump on board and share the collateral already created. Often times  the  campaign materials have different sizes and translated into different languages for a greater reach.  With out the digital options the campaigns would not be as accessible or have a far reach.

"Online marketing analytics systems allow organizations to view and assess, in real time, the impact of their social media messages. It also allows organizations to personalize and narrow messages for specific demographic segments in ways that mass media cannot " (Mercadal, 2023).  This summarizes things the best.  Online marketers have flexibilities and multiply strategies to get out the messages.

References

Mercadal, T. (2023). Social media marketing. Salem Press Encyclopedia.