Picture this: you’re scrolling through Instagram and you see a brand posting about mental health awareness. It sounds good, right? But then you realise it’s a fast fashion company that has been criticised for exploiting garment workers with impossible working conditions. The message feels hollow because there’s a mismatch between what they’re saying and the context of what they actually do.
That’s context. And once you understand it, you can’t unsee it.
Context is basically this simple idea: you cannot communicate effectively if you don’t first understand where, with whom, and under what circumstances you’re communicating. It sounds obvious, but I promise it’s not obvious to most people creating content online.
What I Learned About Context (And Why It Matters for Your Work)
During my Masters in Strategic Communication, one of the very first things my professors drilled into us was this: context is the foundation of everything. Before you even think about what to say or how to say it, you have to understand the context. It’s a lesson that stuck with me, and honestly, it’s changed how I approach every piece of content I create
Think of it like this: strategy is about intentional planning, not just posting when something feels right or jumping on trends without thinking. And that planning always starts with understanding the social reality you’re working in.
Context has two parts that usually work together:
The institutional part is the formal stuff – the organisations, rules, goals, and power structures at play. For example, if you’re posting as a brand on social media, there are expectations about how professional you should be, what you can and cannot say legally, and what your audience expects from you based on your industry.
The interpersonal part is the human stuff – the people behind the roles, their emotions, histories, identities and relationships. A CEO isn’t just a CEO; they’re a person with a reputation, a history of past statements, maybe a personal story that shapes how people perceive them. A social media manager isn’t just executing a strategy; they’re a human being making real decisions about real people.
Both are always present. You can’t ignore one and focus only on the other.
Why This Changes Everything in Social Media and Marketing
Here’s where context gets really practical for anyone creating content or running campaigns.
Let me give you two examples from real campaigns that either nailed it or completely missed it.
The Pepsi Ad That Backfired (2017)
Pepsi released an ad featuring model Kendall Jenner at a protest, handing a Pepsi to a police officer, and magically bringing peace to the situation. The intent might have been to position the brand as a peacemaker, but the execution ignored the entire context of what was happening.
What was the context they missed? Protests weren’t just aesthetic moments; they were responses to serious issues of police brutality and civil rights. People were risking safety to fight for justice. Pepsi’s ad treated this like a shallow backdrop for a product placement. It was insensitive to the gravity of the situation and the pain people were experiencing.
The result? The ad was pulled from air, the company faced massive backlash, and people remembered Pepsi as tone-deaf. The context destroyed the message because the message ignored the context.
Starbucks Getting It Right (2018)
Fast forward to 2018. Two Black men were arrested at a Philadelphia Starbucks while waiting for a friend. When news of this incident spread, people were rightfully angry. What did Starbucks do?
They didn’t just apologise. They closed stores nationwide for an afternoon and held training on racial bias. This action was a response to the context. The company recognised that their audience expected more than words, they expected concrete action. They understood the social moment and the weight of the situation.
Could they have just posted a statement saying “we’re committed to diversity”? Yes. But they understood that the context demanded more. That’s why the response felt meaningful.
How to Actually Use Context in Your Own Work
Okay, so understanding context sounds great in theory, but how do you actually apply it? Here’s what I’ve learned works:
First, map out your interaction field. That’s a fancy term for the social space you’re operating in. Ask yourself:
- Who are the stakeholders involved? (Your audience, your brand, influencers, competitors, maybe critics)
- What roles are they playing? (Are they customers, activists, journalists, skeptics?)
- What are the shared goals or commitments? (What does everyone agree matters here?)
- What are the constraints? (What can’t you say? What does the situation require of you? What’s the history that shapes how people will interpret your message?)
Then, think about the people, not just the roles.
Your audience isn’t just “18–35 year old females interested in wellness.” They’re people with jobs, relationships, anxieties and values. They’ve had experiences that shape how they receive messages. A 25 year old who has struggled with an eating disorder will interpret wellness content differently than someone who hasn’t. Someone who has experienced discrimination will read diversity statements through a lens of skepticism built on real experience.
This doesn’t mean you have to know everyone’s story, but it means remembering that people are more than data points.
Finally, consider what you can actually change about the context itself.
Sometimes you’re not just responding to a context; you can design it. For example, if you’re launching a campaign where you know comments could get toxic, you can set expectations upfront. You can design the conversation you want to have instead of just hoping people will behave well.
I once helped plan an event where I knew there would be people with conflicting views. Instead of ignoring that tension, we built it into the design, we set norms at the beginning about being kind and curious, we chose a format that encouraged conversation instead of argument, and we created a safer space because we didn’t pretend the tension didn’t exist.
Why This Matters Right Now
Social media is noisy. Brands are constantly trying to seem authentic, relevant and human. But most of them skip the hard work of understanding context. They see a trending topic and post. They see a social cause and add their logo. They respond reactively instead of strategically.
When you understand context, you have an advantage. You know why a message will work or fail before you hit post. You know what audiences need in that specific moment. You know whether you’re actually part of the conversation or just trying to profit from it.
And honestly? In a world where people are tired of performative marketing and fake activism, understanding and respecting context is how you actually build trust.
It’s the difference between saying the right words and saying the right thing at the right time to the right people in the right way.
That’s what makes communication strategic instead of just loud.
One More Thing
Context isn’t something you analyse once and then forget about. It’s dynamic. It changes as situations evolve, as audiences respond, as new information emerges. The context of a social issue today might be completely different tomorrow.
That’s why strategic communicators are always listening, always scanning the environment, always asking “what’s different now?” It’s not paranoid; it’s professional.
The brands and communicators who thrive on social media aren’t the ones shouting the loudest. They’re the ones who actually understand the room they’re talking to.
And now, so do you.
Amanda
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