How to rise above the noise on social media

Social media use has been on the rise for some time, even before the COVID-19 pandemic. A recent report suggests that more than 3.8 billion people use social media, spending an average of almost 2 1/2 hours per day on these platforms. Recognizing its importance, many global development organizations have been steadily expanding their expertise in this area. With so many existing platforms, as well as new ones constantly emerging, social media teams increasingly require creative people and a range of different skill sets, said Aleksandra Kuzmanovic, social media manager at the World Health Organization headquarters, who has seen her team grow from two to five people since the start of the pandemic. So how are development organizations leveraging new platforms and features to rise above the social media noise? Create platform-specific content Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram are still the main platforms that development organizations use. Who constitutes the target audience — whether policy officials, advocates, or the general public — and where they are based in the world can influence which platform is best for the job. The priority is ensuring the content is right for the platform “rather than just broadcasting it across everything,” said Louise Arlington, senior social media manager at the ONE Campaign. This means keeping up with the constantly changing algorithms for each channel. Instagram, for example, is now more geared toward saves and shares. With this platform, graphics and GIF-based content with visible information work better, while Twitter and LinkedIn allow for specialized content that encourages users to “click through,” she said. Innovate and experiment, but don’t overlook what already works WHO joined TikTok in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in a bid to educate younger populations about health risks. But the United Nations agency’s traditional output didn’t fit the platform’s style, so more resources were required to develop creative and engaging content, Kuzmanovic said. With social media changing so fast, she said her team is always adapting and learning about new features or platforms. During World Immunization Week at the end of April, for example, the organization kicked off its first Twitter Spaces chat. The platform’s new audio feature will make it “easier to actually engage our staff from all over the world [and] from the field so that we can show the impact [that WHO is having] in countries,” Kuzmanovic said. Plan International has found success with Instagram Reels — providing short, TikTok-style videos — according to Social Media Editor Chanun Singh. Her team is steadily starting to use TikTok more, too. “It's becoming more obvious that we need to delve into that world, [since] we're also really trying to talk to and appeal to a Gen Z audience,” Singh said. “People are more likely to follow individuals and engage with [them], be moved and motivated by what [they] say on social media.” --— Hugh Reilly, head of social media news and emergencies, UNICEF Hugh Reilly, head of social media news and emergencies at UNICEF, said keeping an eye on trends and experimenting are both important. But knowing which new platforms are worth investing in is difficult, he acknowledged, noting that Facebook and YouTube are still the two most widely used social media channels globally. While their use has declined in some countries, the agency has seen huge growth in its presence on Facebook in markets such as Bangladesh and Egypt, Reilly said. Arlington’s team at the ONE Campaign is also “focused on looking at how [to] better use those [established] platforms first and ... making the most of the different tools that we have at our disposal already,” she said. Identify trends Social media experts have noticed a growing demand for certain types of content. According to Alyssa Kinney, social media officer at the International Rescue Committee, that has included people turning to digital platforms “to find a sense of community” and feel connected to a larger conversation. Instagram Live, where audiences can tune in and participate in conversations with IRC or its celebrity ambassadors, has performed well for the organization, she said. There has also been a “great surge” of social media activism, with these platforms becoming “a central place for people to voice and raise awareness” about different issues, Kinney added. Singh’s team has found an appetite for “authentic content,” including videos and storytelling directly from the girls supported by Plan. “What has done well, and what there's been a little bit of an allowance for, has been less polished [content]. … More real content has tended to resonate with people,” she said. The experts also identified a growing demand for educational content on topical issues. WHO and UNICEF both noted that posts providing practical guidance for individuals — such as hand-washing techniques or mental health advice — have performed best. Beyond practical information, Kinney suggested that people are turning to social media to learn what COVAX — the global initiative for equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines — means for low-income countries and how the pandemic has affected responses to gender-based violence, among a number of other topics. “By looking at data, [we] have realized that there's this hungry young Instagram audience that also is really eager to learn and to just be informed and educate themselves,” she said. Work with others Videos and live content have been important in helping organizations build trust and reach new audiences. Kuzmanovic’s team “wanted to bring a human face to the content,” and as more of WHO’s scientific experts utilize social channels, there is a visible building of trust between them and the agency’s followers, she said. “People are more likely to follow individuals and engage with [them], be moved and motivated by what [they] say on social media,” Reilly said. In addition to UNICEF staff accounts, Reilly’s team enlists the support of influencers, celebrities, and goodwill ambassadors to reach new audiences. Other organizations have collaborated with local musicians or put the spotlight on their youth ambassadors’ social accounts to expand their reach. Evolve metrics When all is said and done, how should impact be measured? Overall engagement — including shares and comments, rather than just likes — is an increasingly important indicator of success for many social media teams. While likes are still valuable, those “deeper-level engagements of shares and saves is what we're turning an eye towards more and more,” Kinney said.