To Create Social Impact With Digital Media, Message Must Be Clear

Advent of the digital age has revolutionized the use of media. In this new world people follow what they see online. The rapid uptake of digital technologies has hugely impacted how we communicate, relate, learn, work, and affect the community that surrounds us. Digital technology has the potential to address social challenges and impact by opening them up to scrutiny, participation and innovation. It enhances the process of developing and deploying effective solutions to social challenges.

The progress and evolution of Digital Media is fascinating to observe. There is a lot of change and influence that can be made through it . After all, that’s where majority of people are spending most of their time. It is changing people’s everyday lives and the way they connect and collaborate in the broader societal context, at work and in civil society. However, nothing can be defined, specially when we know that societal conditions shift invariably. Much of the impact of this heightened use is beneficial to both individuals and society.

Much of the impact of this heightened use is beneficial to both individuals and society.

Digital is a powerful medium for brands and social organisations, primarily creating an opportunity to connect in all and easy forms. Due to its interactive and real-time nature, digital creates the opportunity for people to be more open which is believed to be the crux of any social impact or change.

In order to create a social impact it is important that the message is clearly portrayed, and it works, with many using visual content to provoke emotions and persuade their audience to donate, volunteer or spread awareness. It also gives a freehand to be used and expressed in the manner which is widely understood and easy to execute.

We can't say that the use of media is an easy process as lack of funding and technical know how are the road blocks which might hamper the entire phenomenon. The basics never change, thus it has to be made sure that whatever is being done has to be user centric and is utilized to its full capacity.

Learning who your audience is and how your non -profits’ community is segmented based on preferences, age, gender, and other relevant factors determine the digital experience needed to further develop online platforms.

Infact, the government is running the Digital India campaign which plans to connect the remote areas with the internet and various social platforms. The motive behind this campaign is to bring the most disconnected people among the society to a level where they can connect with the world. The four drivers of digital social innovation that can be used for making a social impact  are open data, open networks, open knowledge and open technology. The internet and digital media promises in some ways that we would reignite our sense of agency and the belief of belonging to one community where all social change can happen.

Clearly, it is important to understand the opportunities and the risks in increased digital media usage, so that both industry and users can learn how best to exploit the benefits while mitigating the negative effects.

Photo Credit: NOAH SEELAM/AFP/Getty Images

Anupriya Agarwal  is a Brand Marketer & Social Media Strategist with an experience of seven years. The views expressed are author's own.