Chaaya Baradhwaaj on young talent in social media industry

Context and promptness have emerged as the key drivers of engagement for brands on social media. As brands attempt to establish meaningful relationships with online consumers, social media agencies and professionals are going the extra mile to develop memorable experiences that engage audiences and captivate minds.

A sense of urgency and contemporary tone of expression have become necessary to stay relevant on the medium. They not only differentiate a brand from the rest but also draw consumer interest and inspire people to get invested in it.

Such contemporary expression, especially on social media, is not the domain of the seniors of the social media industry but of young talent instead. I believe that it's these digital natives who know and understand the medium well enough to treat consumers as friends and not just demographic units.

While anybody and everybody can be social media savvy if they want to, it’s these youngsters who in my opinion have naturally developed a mature and practical perspective of social media. They are prepared and naturally comfortable in sparking new ideas over online conversations.

Having grown up communicating through social media, absorbing all its odds and ends, they are going to be tomorrow’s smartest social media professionals.

Luckily there is no dearth of young and fresh minds in social media and digital agencies. In fact in my own experience, they are the key when it comes to keeping pace with today’s huge demand for innovative digital content.

A couple of weeks ago we concluded another Box-Out workshop, which is a bi-annual gig at our agency. It is basically a potpourri of digital inspiration cooked up by randomly formed teams. They come up with ideas and design new digital campaigns for the brands allotted to them while us seniors judge the show.

The brains behind the fresh thinking in these workshops belong to the youngsters. What’s really excites me is that these sessions have led to some of the most innovative campaigns we have executed recently.

This is precisely the reason why the social media industry needs to identify and mentor this talent right now. And its wonderful to have Social Samosa lead the way with #SS30Under30 awards to appreciate the best professional talent under the age of 30 years in India.

I would compel all young social media professionals to make the most of this opportunity. True, only some will make it to the final list. But the jury members will remember every entry, every proactive effort.

On that note, I’d like to congratulate the jury members on being entrusted with this important responsibility of hand-picking the best young talent.

Most importantly, to all the young pros nominating themselves or their peers for the #SS30Under30 – here’s to your ongoing efforts and hard work! Wish you all success and fame in the near future.

The article is written by Chaaya Baradhwaaj, Founder - Managing Director at BC Web Wise.