The use of social media has attracted many corporates to adopt it as an ideal marketing platform targeting a given issue (Haberer, 2012). Sales and marketing heavily relies on the social media as an ideal avenue for communicating with the target audience (Corcoran, Osano, Weakland, J& Hollingshead, 2009). With regards to the Greenpeace’s agenda of communicating to the youths about environmental sustainability through this avenue; it is indeed a well-thought idea that if conducted well will generated the intended impacts (Wells, 2013).
Youths are considered as the strength of the community, and they have the prowess to disseminate information within a shorter span of time. Therefore, the intention to integrate environmental campaign awareness on the social media by targeting the youths will play a positive role toward the dissemination of the information to the rest of the community members (Goldsmith, 2015).
However, communicating this agenda must be structured through select youth groups and club who will trigger faster spread of information to the rest. The youth groups through their leaders form the first strand of opinion leaders to the effect of the environmental protection program (Carayannis, 2012). In one way or the other, these groups have social groups either on Facebook or on WhatsApp, and thus these social media avenues will foster faster dissemination of the program to the youths (Chow, 2012).
The discussion among the youth groups will either contribute to positive or negative opinion and reception about the intended programs. If communication of the program is poorly done, then it is obvious that the reception will be poor. On the other hand, a well-laid down frameworks of communication on the social media sites like Facebook and the WhatsApp will trigger positive opinion about the program and its success (In Mueller, & In Tippins, 2015). In fact, the opinion formers will be the group members through their leaders.
Social media has a greater social influence among the teenagers who are virtually interconnected on many networks. Thus, the social influence of social media relates to the fact that social medial channels have persuasive impact to the society. For example, social media connects people as a communication mode, and thus acts as an effeminate media for disseminating information. The campaign approach will refer to the “#environmental conservation,” that will trend on every social media platform. This slogan will mainstream most social media sites that the youths are accustomed, and its trend is expected to create an impact to these youth groups.
In a nutshell, the applications of social media to this program must be orchestrated within the social lines of the youth groups, and their line members. Once the groups give the program a positive reception, other members of the society will be compelled to accept it. Indeed, communication on the social media needs a through scrutiny and channeled communication through the opinion leaders.
References
Carayannis, E. G. (2012). Sustainable policy applications for social ecology and development. Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference.
Chow, K. W. (2012). Social media 247: Everything you need to know to leverage social media for business success.
Corcoran, P. B., Osano, P. M., Weakland, J. P., & Hollingshead, B. P. (2009). Young people, education, and sustainable development: Exploring principles, perspectives, and praxis. Wageningen, The Netherlands: Wageningen Academic Publishers.
Goldsmith, E. B. (2015). Social influence and sustainable consumption.
Haberer, J. (2012). Sustainable development research. Place of publication not identified: Europaischer Hochschulver.
In Mueller, M. P., & In Tippins, D. J. (2015). EcoJustice, citizen science and youth activism: Situated tensions for science education.
Wells, G. (2013). Sustainable business: Theory and practice of business under sustainability principles. Northampton, Mass: Edward Elgar Pub.
