I read online some questions from the Opposition Leader about the Prime Minister’s social media presence. Mr. Philip Pierre seemed awfully perturbed about the cost of such publicity and the source of the funds. The more I read, the funnier the opposition MP’s questions seemed to me. I wondered: Why hasn’t Mr. Pierre questioned government’s spending in relation to radio and newspaper promotions? His own party, more often than not, carries live on the Internet its demonstrations, platform meetings and town hall gatherings. So, as far as I know, there have been no public announcements regarding cost or where the money came from to pay for such exposure.
Then why pinpoint the PM’s social media funds? Social media is no longer a shunned, bad habit that people fear becoming addicted to; it’s become the only media that matters. The days of complaining about the amount of time your kids spend on Facebook and Instagram ore over. Sorry to break it to you, but we live here now and we’ve dragged all of you in with us. Job application forms now have slots to enter your personal website and LinkedIn information.
Even the requirements for a visa to the United States now ask for social media details. It’s where many youths make money and, if it’s not direct income, it’s used to market our best selves. It’s how we communicate with our friends and put on airs to make our enemies jealous. That is where we “throw shade” and criticize politicians (we’re truly not happy with any). Prayers are shared and philosophy is offered in the same place where half-naked ladies can be screenshotted as a forever-memory in an instant.
It’s the easiest way to get to us, our eyes are glued 24/7. If there is something you want the youth to see, upload it and there would be an average of 9 hours a day that you have to your advantage to throw it into our faces. We will see it on one of the at least five apps. That is what Allen Chastanet is doing, not just because he’s a politician and his posts are merely tokenism but also because, like I said, his communications department—which is a standard unit for any government—understands that a large voting demographic has built livelihoods in social media accounts.
Taking a close look at the @opmsaintlucia handles, it’s easy to tell that it is all strategic. The pages are eons ahead of a couple of birthday shout outs and reposting of house debates on Facebook, like Pierre’s social media. That’s not what we look for anymore, we want short, sweet and colourful content with incredibly sharp images. We want to see our friends smiling, happy kids, scholarship alerts, everything that’s newly opened and anything that would benefit us. We want the tough-to-chew loan agreements broken down for us in a few short paragraphs. And yes, we actually want to see the Prime Minister rolling on the ground with some of the biggest names in football; it makes us laugh.
It’s not about the money spent on someone following him with cameras, but the person graphically designing the posters, announcements and videos and thinking of captions that a 20-year-old is willing to read. It’s also about the person who was able to gain 1,224 followers (as of press time) on their Instagram page. These are the keys to success! These are the survival skills for social media.
Do you think Donald Trump would have been popular without Twitter? Who knows? It doesn’t matter anyway because social media is inescapable.
