Week Four Essay: Future of Written Media

I'm excited about what's coming next for media. Since I'm in public relations, I see a lot of where the industry is going and how people will communicate in the future. What amazes, interests and intrigues me specifically, is social media. Aside from normal daily use, I've had experience using many platforms for business purposes. Learning about target audience, reach and how to attract visitors has been exciting and interesting for me as a student and young professional. Using social media for personal reasons is much different from business use, and it has made me more aware of how businesses are implementing social media plans to reach their marketing goals.

What I think is most exciting is the platforms themselves. I've seen so much creativity and innovation from brands on Snapchat, Twitter and Instagram. Who knew brands like Taco Bell and Urban Outfitters had Snapchats, and successfully reach their target audience through detailed stories and audience engagement on this platform? I think what is so cool about social media is the parameters that confine each post. If you only had 140 characters to reach your audience, foster engagement and get your message across, what would you say? It forces PR professionals and creatives to get to the point, be selective with language and really understand their audience. It's exciting to be challenged like this, and I'm really interested in the direction that social media is taking public relations.

(Source. Just a sample of the types of things they promote on Snapchat. They also have voting competitions and other engagement opportunities.)

I always feel so nerdy, but I love when brands interact with each other on Snapchat, especially some of my favorite brands. Behind each Twitter account is some creative team, working to carve out a personality online. They have to be engaging, funny and original, and this really shines through when they interact with each other. I think it's exciting to see -- almost like two of your good friends becoming friends.

I don't know if social media will always be around, but I think that communication and media is going in this direction. We can't go back from it now, and even if Facebook isn't here in 20 years, something will replace it and it will be shorter, more interactive and more engaging. These platforms are hard, because there's so much clutter to fight through, but also an excellent opportunity to directly reach readers. I think the future of media is going towards digital, and I hope to be there helping businesses connect with their audiences.