Project Proposal

Title: Social Media Overdrive

What is social media?

Social media is a commonly heard term nowadays, and it's normally used to describe Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat and many others.

To understand the term "social media" a little better, we can look at it from the angle of each word separately:

The "social" angle: this pertains to one's interactions with other people through a certain platform for communication, whether it's to share or receive information (Nations 2018).

The "media" angle: this pertains to the communication platform that connects individuals (i.e. the website or app through which people create accounts and exchange information), as well as the device used to access that platform (e.g. smartphones, iPads, computers) via the Internet (Nations 2018).

WHO'S THE ACTIVE USER?

(Bolton et al. 2013; Spredfast 2018; We are social 2018)

What are possible issues or problems with using social media?

We have named our project Social Media Overdrive because the word "overdrive" can have multiple connotations. First, like a computer or machine, people may experience their lives being "overly driven" by social media due to spending so much time on it. Also, the title can suggest how "overly driven" people are to gain more popularity or approval from others through social media.

We intend to show everybody that one might be a victim of Social Media Overdrive – because of being overly engaged in social media platforms – if one faces these problems:

1. Stress

Specifically technostress, which refers to changes in "attitudes, thoughts, behaviours, or body physiology that is caused either directly or indirectly by technology"(Brooks 2015, p. 32). Technostress relating to social media can come in the form of the following:

• Constantly worrying about popularity/recognition online

• Always comparing oneself to others on social media

• Feeling like you're not enough based on the number of likes, friends, followers, etc.

2. Sadness/Loneliness

Studies have shown that one's increased stress can lead to lower levels of happiness (Brooks 2015).

3. Lack of person-to-person communication skills

This, in other words, is about not being able to socialise and interact well with others in the real world.

4. Lack of good judgment while expressing oneself

These days, anyone has the means to broadcast their opinions, thoughts or reactions to anything in a matter of clicks via social media. Part of the reason people are into doing so is that social media platforms "satisfy the need of belong of individuals" (Kaya & Bicen 2016, p. 375). However, some people become tactless while posting a tweet or photo of themselves, as they only think about how popular their content will be (especially with those in their circle) instead of the consequences later on.

Our project pitch

our target audience

Social Media Overdrive is meant to target those whose lives are being "overdriven" by social media. Our primary audience will be young adults aged from 18-24 globally. They are university students, fresh graduates, as well as the first generation to have really engaged in the more recent auto-delete apps like Snapchat. Besides Snapchat, their favourite social platforms are Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

Meanwhile, our secondary audience will be adults aged from 25-30 who are mostly professionals working full-time jobs. They are mainly engaged in Youtube, Facebook and Instagram.

our campaign PLAN

We will use three platforms for our campaign: our own website, Facebook and Twitter. We have chosen both Facebook and Twitter as these two are known to currently drive more traffic than other social media platforms (Read 2017).

The website will contain 3 blog posts that will cover topics such as (1) studies on sadness or loneliness in relation to using social media, (2) how people make an effort to post popularity-boosting photos on social media, and (3) tips on using social media in a healthier way.

There will also be an interview with a psychologist – both in video and podcast formats – published on the website. It's important for us to see the issues of social media from the perspective of a professional, from someone who understands the science behind why people feel the way they feel or act the way they act while using those platforms.

To complement the content on the website, we will employ these social media strategies:

Social Media Strategy #1: Facebook Live & Facebook posts

Facebook, in comparison with other platforms, still has the "most daily active users" (Chaffey 2018). That is why we plan to set up a Facebook page and engage with our target audience through Facebook posts, especially each time there is a newly publish blog post on our website.

Additionally, we will hold a Facebook Live session and Q&A with everyday people to discuss social media. We want our audience to feel like they're not alone when it comes to facing personal problems behind the stuff they present online, because the reality is these problems are common and serious. With more awareness, people will be more inclined to support one another to overcome such problems.

Social Media Strategy #2: Daily Tweets

We plan to publish at least one tweet a day (starting from 27 August) that will include the hashtags "#SocialMediaOverdrive" and "#SMO". The tweets themselves can be memes, fun facts, images or even re-tweets, as long as they’re related to the topic of using social media. This way, we can consistently reach out to those on Twitter to make them curious about our Twitter account (which will have links to the website and Facebook page) and what we're trying to promote.

Timeline

our end goal

We want to spread more awareness as well as educate the youth on the issues with being too engaged with social media. There's a healthy and well-balanced way for one to tweet, post selfies on Instagram, browse their Facebook feed, etc. As the saying goes, too much of anything is not good for you, and that includes all activities involving social media.

References

Bolton, R N, Parasuraman, A, Hoefnagels, A, Migchels, N, Kabadayi, S, Gruber, T, Loureiro, Y K & Solnet, D 2013, ‘Understanding Generation Y and Their Use of Social Media: A Review and Research Agenda’, Journal of Service Management, vol. 24, no 3, pp. 245-267, viewed 13 August 2018, EmeraldInsight database.

Brooks, S 2015, 'Does personal social media usage affect efficiency and well-being?', Computers in Human Behavior, vol. 46, pp. 26–37, viewed 11 August 2018, ScienceDirect database.

Chaffey, D 2018, 'Global social media research summary 2018', Smart Insights Digital Marketing, blog post, 28 March, viewed 14 August 2018, <https://www.smartinsights.com/social-media-marketing/social-media-strategy/new-global-social-media-research/>.

Kaya, T & Bicen, H 2016, 'The effects of social media on students’ behaviors; Facebook as a case study', Computers in Human Behavior, vol. 59, pp. 374-379, viewed 11 August 2018, ScienceDirect database.

Nations, D 2018, 'What Is Social Media?', Lifewire, blog post, 6 June, viewed 14 August 2018, <https://www.lifewire.com/what-is-social-media-explaining-the-big-trend-3486616>.

Read, A 2017, 'Who, What, When? Analysing Social Media Traffic and Demographics', Further, blog post, 26 June, viewed 14 August 2018, <https://www.further.co.uk/blog/analysing-social-media-demographics/#ANotes>.

'The 2018 Social Audience Guide', Spredfast, viewed 15 August 2018, <https://www.spredfast.com/social-media-tips/social-media-demographics-current>.

'We Are Social – Digital Report 2018', We Are Social, viewed 15 August 2018, <https://digitalreport.wearesocial.com/>.

Images used for this website:

Peer Pressure And Social Media, n.d. photograph, viewed 14 August 2018, <http://www.cvdapc.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Peer-Pressure-And-Social-Media-1-768x512.jpeg>.

1519075953939.jpg (931x524), n.d. photograph, viewed 14 August 2018, <http://a57.foxnews.com/images.foxnews.com/content/fox-news/travel/2018/02/20/hotel-offering-discounts-for-people-who-stay-off-their-phones/_jcr_content/par/featured_image/media-0.img.jpg/931/524/1519075953939.jpg?ve=1&tl=1>.

Images used for infographic on "Who's The Active User?" section:

Social Media Icon Design, n.d. photograph, viewed 15 August 2018, <https://www.blogtrepreneur.com/5-important-aspects-social-media-businesses/>.

Cartoon Young Man Icon Royalty Free Vector Image, n.d. photograph, viewed 15 August 2018, <https://www.vectorstock.com/royalty-free-vector/cartoon-young-man-icon-vector-12133325>.

Young Man Taking Selfie Photo Isometric Icon, n.d. photograph, viewed 15 August 2018, <https://www.canstockphoto.com.au/young-man-taking-selfie-photo-isometric-45515586.html>.