In the Communication Theory, the mission of the sender is to ensure that the information is encoded, or presented in a clear manner. I relate encoding to the process that a teacher may use to educate their students. Is it best in audio, kinesthetic, or visual? Is it best with humor or in debate? Is it best in a book or in a lesson? The way that a teacher plans out their class session, is the same way that a sender on social media may decide to present their thoughts on their platform or channel. There are three forms of decoding that relate to social media here, The Soap Boxer’s Way, The News Reporter’s Way, and The Entertainer’s Way.
One thing to keep in mind for all categories is the attempt that all senders may have to be favored. The key word here is cognitive dissonance. This term of inconsistent ideas and perceptions is one that a sender of the Communication Theory would avoid causing at all costs. Social media influencers would not be favored if there are drastic inconsistencies in their role, or the way in which they present themselves and their messages. Viewers comeback, because of what they saw before. So, one strategy to combat that is role playing, sometimes though, at the cost of not appearing well-rounded.
Social Media as the Sender
The Soap Boxer’s Way could revolve around self-branding, making their virtual presence or their public image somewhat calculated through feedback, and engagement analysis. The way that their viewers, subscribers, or followers react and interact with them online can give the sender or the influencer great insight as to how to present themselves and how to present their message depending on the platform that they are most successful on. For example, if their platform is on YouTube, the sender may focus on creating visually appealing videos within a certain timeframe for each video clip, as well as noting how often they should release their content to maintain relevance to their viewers.
The News Reporter’s Way may encode with a diluted form of emotion when presenting information to appear unbiased. The reporter and their crew may keep presentation time to under five minutes per topic to make room for a bigger story at the end of their show or to keep their viewers interested in every topic. The Reporter may control sound and background music to cue in where there is less content to cover, in the attempt to continue to keep the viewer engaged. The encode may also entail interviews with others who are in the featured field to present detailed information for the viewer at times. The quality of video and sound are very important in presenting on this platform.
The Entertainer’s Way is in the form of movies or shows, also entails good quality video and sound equipment. Scripts and talented actors are also helpful to the directors and producers to help convey an emotion, or an idea through each scene. The Entertainer’s Way in music involves talent in instrumental and vocal performance as well as creative writing for songs. Many skill sets and collaborations are done in this field to create a finished product for viewers to decode.