Being Social Media Responsible: Audience Matters
Updated: Jul 12, 2020
As Told By Russhaine Berry......
Baxcova! If you are reading this, no, I didn't just use profanity, that was just my corny attempt at finding an attention grabber for this piece that I’m definitely not writing at 2 am in the morning. Well, now that you’re wondering where this is headed, let me introduce myself. I am Russhaine Berry, more popularly known as ‘Dutty Berry’. I’m a content creator with over 220,000 subscribers on YouTube, a recipient of the Prime Minister Youth Award (Jamaica) and dare I say the social media personality that signalled to corporate Jamaica that online talents can become brand ambassadors too. I have achieved all of this, not just because of my talents, but because of my understanding of social media and how to navigate it whilst being socially responsible. So here a few things you may want to consider if you intend to use online platforms in a responsible way.
My word! Please be very aware of the social climate while you formulate ideas and narrate your experiences online. What do I mean by this? If you have a brand focused on women’s empowerment, it may not be a great idea to post a picture of Bill Cosby with the caption “Happy Birthday”. Can you imagine the outrage? The brand would be considered tone deaf, lacking sensitivity to the current ‘Me Too’ movement, as well as a slap in the face to persons who follow you online. So, mistakes do happen, but by trying to keep up to date with the news and developments across the world you can prevent these moments from occurring.
My sentence! Knowing your audience is key. It’s the lock, it’s the chain, IT IS EVERYTHING! When I first started my ‘Top Ten Social Media Countdown’ video series (a YouTube review show of viral videos) I was quite reckless with some of the content I added, expletive language and all. Then after studying my analytics, I discovered the videos had more of a family audience; this meant censoring profanities and explicit videos. Technically, I didn’t have to do all that. I’m not Miss World fighting for world peace. However, I knew it was not ideal to bombard kids with expletives and vulgarity while they sat with their families. Now, my content is imaginatively contracted with the Disney Channel.
My paragraph! If anyone intends to have true influence, it’s imperative that you stand for something. At the start of my career, it was my desire to be a cool Youtuber. Over time, my desire to inspire, educate, and shed light on talented young people grew and with that my content shifted to meet those needs. I also touch on issues that would challenge the status quo or raise awareness on important matters of the day. So conversations about Black Lives Matter, childhood obesity, career choices, abusive relationships and gender identity became topics on which I could share useful information with my audience, so they could hopefully improve their everyday lives.
My essay! You’ve made it to the conclusion of this written execution. Being socially responsible is a challenge that we should all undertake if we want our brands to have real value, connect with our audiences and impact the society in a significant way. Since I’m a Youtuber, allow me to leave you with this. Thank you so much for reading this. Don’t forget to like, comment and share this article. Bye [inserts random ad]
The Contributor
There is more than meets the eyes when it comes to Jamaican internet sensation Russhaine Berry, popularly known as 'Dutty Berry'. He came to fame following the release of his comical commentary videos of Tessanne Chin's performances on the US-based talent show, The Voice. Berry, is a graduate of the University of the West Indies, Mona, with a degree in Language ,Communication and Society and is a past student of the Excelsior and Meadowbrook High School. Berry is now a veteran of the social media space, boasting over 220,000 subscribers and more than 31,311,045 million views on Youtube alone, as well as a sizeable following of loyal "Berridos" as he calls them across his social media platforms.