At work, we have increased our Facebook audience through various communications initiatives to reach a wider target audience with key messages. Because of Facebook Insights’ thorough date collection, we know who we are reaching and how we are reaching them. We also know who we are not reaching as well as we’d like to: youth.
Reaching youth in Nunavut with relevant messages is very important. Demographically, youth in Nunavut are predominantly Inuit, some from traditional families, some from modern families, some from a mix of both, many of which are blended. Many youth are in high school, some have chosen to leave school. Youth are active in sports, are hunters, participate in cultural performances. Some youth are employed, others hang out at youth centres or participate in youth councils. Some youth are not participating in many activities at all. We will conduct focus groups and surveys to get a clearer picture of the psychographics of Inuit youth so that our initiatives are relevant and inline with their values.
The goal is to reach this diverse target audience with current messages that instill hope, empowerment and resilience. We will test our initiatives to ensure they reflect regional and community realities. We will use Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat and look at other online sites where Inuit youth are hanging out. And most of all, we need to have Inuit youth at the table when we are drafting these messages to ensure they are relevant.
There is a growing musical movement among Inuit youth that is documenting struggles and empowering youth to be proud. Young performers are successfully reaching their target audiences by posting their new music online at Facebook, SoundCloud and YouTube. We plan to host an audio/video song contest for youth to produce music that provides uplifting messages.
Algonquin College Social Media Certificate Program 