Social channels and online publishers are no longer solely a source of breakfast photos and restaurant reviews. They have a far greater responsibility in recent times, accountable for driving behaviour change that informs societal growth. So, why is behaviour change becoming increasingly important online? It’s essentially taking the discussion to where the people are spending time and consuming content, meeting the varied markets that exist within the bounds of the online space. Here’s why online channels should be included in your behaviour change mix.
It’s a diverse landscape
Online platforms are an ideal incubator for your behaviour change campaign. No matter what your message is, there is a platform that is best suited to your message and the market that you are directing it to. Your online behaviour change presence can be organic in nature, building a gradual and authentic following or engagement. You may also choose to advertise on one of the many powerful platforms, accelerating your growth and exposure.
A quick inspection of your phone screen time will highlight just how often we are consuming content on up to 5 online platforms, and that doesn’t include desktop time. As the years tick on, there are more digital native generations that are making up the majority of the Australian community. This is why online channels are increasingly important to your behaviour change presence.
UX design drives change
Five years ago, you would have had to work pretty hard to uncover the meaning and purpose of UX design (user experience design). In recent years UX design has shaped businesses and movements in the ability to acquire real-time feedback, exploring and pivoting the depth of a campaign to best serve the intention. Behaviour change UX design also allows for tailored content to be served to segmented audiences, diversifying your message based on demographics. This is enormously useful, as the traffic that comes to your central campaign page has been vetted to an extent, and they are an interested party.
There is also the opportunity to get creative with the delivery and execution of the message, as we have seen from emerging apps like MorningRoutine and GymPact. MorningRoutine is an app that elicits a wake up alarm each morning, and will only turn off once you have scanned a number of alarms around your home. GymPact is another controversial app, taking money from your account if you fail to attend the gym and reissuing the money to someone else with the app who does make the gym.
Authentic collaborations and ambassadors
It has never been easier to identify and engage an influencer or ambassador for your behaviour change campaign and message. Social media is infamous for churning out sponsored posts and content that is created by influential individuals and leading brands. But it extends beyond product-based promotion, it can be wielded to drive change.
There are ambassadors and influencers who are known as survivors of domestic violence and eating disorders, and they are ideal candidates to propel movements that support such causes. There is a wide range of individuals with strong values, who are likely to align with movements and organisations with a shared belief system.
Behaviour change is not only up to the government or entity that is driving the movement, it is up to all individuals present in the community within where the change is being driven. Online platforms work to bridge these critical behaviour change initiatives with the right audiences. Other traditional platforms have mass-media spread, but are unable to personalise and localise the message quite like online channels.
