To help get the maximum out of our campaign, we have researched and found 3 theories to help with our understanding of social media, persuasive technique and how to catch the attention of the Generation z. 

Gen z & Social Media influencers – Alexandra Wolff

Wolff theory is very beneficial to us as a campaign because it conducts research into understanding the impact of influencer marketing on the Generation Z. Wolff’s theory believes there if the perception of two different type of influencers, Larger influencer and Micro influencers.

We as a campaign fall into the category of a Micro influencer because ‘micro influencers have a general following between 1,000 and 100,000 people on a singular platform.‘ Being a micro influencer allows us to get the best connection with our following building a relationship with them allowing us to reach the maximum influencer. We aim for our posts to provide genuine, wholesome content, and knowledge, applying these qualities ‘is how the generation relates to influencers.‘ Therefore allowing us to spread maximum awareness and helpful resources to those who are struggling with the pressures of social media.

From the research Wolff conducted it has been founded that ‘the generation as a whole has more trust in micro influencers, feel more connected to the smaller influencer who share similar interests, lifestyles, and are more open about their life.’ This puts us intro a great position because we aim to connect with our viewers and build a sense of trust and community. Our subject can be quite upsetting to talk about so we want to make sure they receive a positive experience out of what we are campaigning and make a change.

Modes of Persuasion – Aristotle 

Aristotle’s Mode of Persuasion consists of three categories, Logos – logic, Ethos- emotions and Pathos – ethics, morals and characters. This theory is key into helping our understanding as to building knowledge into how to persuade our age demographic to take attention towards our campaign and partake in the challenge to battle the pressures that occur in social media.

The mode of persuasion Logos are beneficial to our campaign because ‘a persuader uses facts, statistics, quotations from reputable sources/experts, as well as existing knowledge.’ We will use our knowledge to provide them with beneficial information creating engagement with our content, our persuasive techniques aim to provide the viewer with the capabilities of understanding how they feel and a solution to solve this.

Our Pathos ‘is the emotional vehicle that carries the logos to the audience.’ Therefore, we must ensure we are empathetic with our audience and provide that emotional appeal. The subject we are covering is a sensitive issue so we must take the precautions to ensure our posts and campaigns are not offending anyone and provide a sense of safety.

Finally, our Ethos has to do with who we are as a campaign. Our ‘identity will have a great impact on how the audience takes the message.’ We want to create a strong media presence through our Instagram posts and TikToks to portray to create a sense of trust and community through the way we communicate. We aim to achieve this by providing clear and trustworthy research and resources, while also balancing the sensitivity of the campaign with the relationship and trust we are trying to build with the audience.

Generational Social Media: How Social Media influences the online & in person relationships of Gen X, Gen Y, and Gen Z – Veronica Giarla

This theory has a major impact into how we wish to go about producing our campaign to utilise it the best way possible to maximise it’s effect on the younger generation. From the research gathered our age demographic have been the most involved with social media and technology advancements, ‘ Generation Z has influenced digital marketing, online communication and social media trends for the modern times.’ We aim to take use of this information by conducting our campaign on two social media channels that are very popular with them, TikTok and Instagram to receive their full engagement.

We aim to use social media to create content our generation will understand and make a change. Gen Z’s ‘view social media as a way to make political and environmental changes, bring social issues to light and represent those who are underrepresented.’ We want the younger generation to know their voices are being heard and to know that we care, by creating this campaign we hope to get them involved in a sense of discussion of communicating what they find helps them when they’re feeling low. We hope they take advantage of the helpful information and sources we are supplying them with in order to make a change.