Content in Context
As I become more immersed in working in media, it becomes blatant that context is everything. Take it from Gary Vaynerchuck, business guru and author of Jab Jab Jab, Right Hook; he says: “Context is God.” But what exactly is that context? Well, in terms of marketing, it’s this combination of knowing your audience, your brand, and the general cultural context of the day.
This concept draws me back to the summertime. The country erupted in protests and calls for dismantling our broken systems. We saw some of the largest, most inspiring social justice protests of our lives, as well as some of the most frightening reactions from law enforcement officials and counter-protesters.
The most popular astrology app out there, Co–Star, decided to take this pivotal societal moment to meme.
A screenshot of the now deleted post
People’s reactions were rightly outraged, and the post was swiftly deleted and replaced with a more serious call to action that just looked disingenuous at that point – too little too late.
This is an example of how not to use context. Co–Star’s social media team probably thought they had the ingredients of a perfect post: a common astrology meme format (“the signs as…”), and a timely cause their demographics supported. But what they failed to realize was how removed they sounded from the activism and “demo’s” they attempted to convey. It looked performative and tone-deaf at the same time.
Social media put the company on blast, calling for people to delete the app. It hurt their brand. As more socially-minded people were soured by the company’s mockery of these important cultural events, it shifted their demographics.
In every form of media – from socials to art to writing, context is the key to genuinely speaking to an audience. It creates a relationship between yourself and strangers on the internet that have chosen to see your content.
As a writer, that rule rings clearly. Knowing your topic, your audience, and your world gives your writing a knowledgeable and relatable quality. When I write an article about women’s feminist power of screaming in music, I know that my audience will be interested in both the music itself and cultural commentary. Because although it is a topic that is sort-of niche and incredibly personal to me, it aligns with the brand of the publication– a woman-powered music zine.
Being a writer includes having a vision, from profound auteurism to brand copywriting. The point of writing is to speak to people. And if our vision fails to translate, especially in today’s world of content overload, we may as well be talking to ourselves.