Engaging Young Audiences through Social Media Video

In partnership with 10 public media stations across the country and with support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, The WNET Group officially launched the American Graduate: Jobs Explained. project in May 2023. Prior to posting social media videos about various in-demand industries and jobs on Instagram and TikTok, the newly recruited social video specialists at each station attended a series of WNET-led, virtual professional development workshops . In an effort to make these workshops available and accessible to the larger public media system, WNET recorded, edited, and supplemented those sessions with best practices, resources, and learnings about Engaging Young Audiences through Social Media Video.

In these seven learning modules you will find a video presentation, discussion questions, short quizzes, and additional downloadable resources covering a range of topics. The modules explore how we, as a public media community, can use social media video, specifically shortform vertical video, to capture the attention of 13 to 18 year olds by creating engaging, informational content to create community on the platforms teenagers most frequent - TikTok and Instagram.

1. Impact of Social Media Video
2. Jobs Explained Project Overview
3. Understanding Young Audiences
4. Creating Social Video Content
5. Recruiting Creators
6. Using Data to Strengthen Your Work
7. The Power of Advisors

The videos in this course feature the Jobs Explained team at WNET: Aaron Siegel, Ariel B. Alvarez, and Tarana Parekh as well as their colleagues from the WNET Kids Media and Education team: Kristina Kirtley and Hannah Dawe, the WNET Digital Video team: Chelsea Rugg and Maya Mandell, and several experienced social media creators. Together, they thoughtfully present the information in a robust but digestible way to set you up for success on your own journey to Engage Young Audiences through Social Media Video.

While these videos make many references to Jobs Explained, we believe these learnings can be applied to any station-led digital media project that aims to engage new, young audiences with audience-centric, platform-intentional and community-focused strategies.

Thanks for your interest in this topic!