When likes shape message

‘Not too long ago, the pace of Bangladesh's communications industry moved at a leisurely speed through press releases, press briefs and newspaper headlines.

- BY RAFE SADNAN ADEL

Corporate news percolated through broadsheets; NGOs issued quarterly newsletters; ministries relied on bulletins and briefing notes. Communication was methodically crafted, scheduled and disseminated, with no space for debate in between.

Then came the wave, or storm, of social media.

In the last 10 years, platforms such as Facebook, YouTube and Instagram have revolutionised how communication happens in Bangladesh. What was once a platform for selfies, status updates, and memes is now Bangladesh's most powerful communication engine. Over 52.9 million Bangladeshis are on Facebook as of 2024.

Today, any serious campaign by a company, NGO, or the government begins not with a press release but with a Facebook video, a YouTube upload or a TikTok clip.

Communication strategy is now a content calendar. Press rooms have turned into content laboratories. Journalists stream stories in real time, and NGOs reach previously unreachable groups through voiceover videos in dialects, cutting out the middlemen. Even advertising agencies have repurposed themselves as digital-first storytellers, hiring reel editors, social media strategists, meme-makers and analytics experts.