Is Social Media Dead, Or Is It Rising From The Ashes Of Traditional Marketing?
January 9th 2007, the world looked on in excitement as Steve Jobs showcased the first iPhone to a crowd of gobsmacked tech-heads. Phones existed before then, and phones will continue existing well after, but that was a pivotal point. Apps flooded the digital world in droves. Apps to drink a pretend beer directly from your phone, apps that let you launch angry little birds at a mountain of oblivious pigs, apps that superimpose dog ears on your selfies. But what’s more interesting was the transformation of social media as we knew it.
This was no longer the world conquered by the likes of Myspace, Tumblr and the early days of Facebook. The new kids in town were a revamped Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Vine… More and more platforms leaked through over time, taking pointers from each other. And now? My phone has a folder for all my social media apps, and they all look suspiciously similar. Reels, Stories, Shopping, Creators Funds, the only thing that differentiates them are their carefully marketed and designed glossy little logos and even they aren’t far from merging into one another.
The biggest change however come in the forms of advertising. Nothing is safe. Every third post as you’re scrolling will be THE NEXT BIG THING. THIS WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE. INFLUENCERS LOVE THIS PRODUCT. And it’s not just your general run-of-the-mill consumerism. The digital culture has become so cut-throat and competitive, you can see the allure for non-for-profits to tap into a little piece of the TikTok pie to bolster fundraising efforts. More and more, NFP’s are merging their fundraising and marketing departments to create a team of Digital Fundraisers. These brand new ways of connecting are helping raise awareness at entirely unheard of levels to elevate small charities with big causes onto the global platform.
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4.48 billion?people currently use social media around the world, a number that’s doubled 2015 figures of 2.7 billion. The everyday user flicks between?an average of 6.6 various social media platforms. This is an absolute goldmine for most marketers, but now more than ever, these statistics will change the way we approach marketing in NFPs from now on.
Personally, as a NFP recruiter who works with the world of Marketing, I’ve noticed my clients voicing their recognition on the fact that more and more money is being raised by digital means. This means you’ll see more roles with the words ‘digital’ or ‘social media’ in their title. What do you think?