Is Social Media Dead?

Is Social Media Dead?

We have heard “Facebook is dead” several years ago. Recently it’s been “Instagram is dead”, and I haven’t heard this one before but technically Twitter is dead and X is supposed to be charging people to be on the platform (so not sure I truly consider that a social media app anymore). I recently came across this article by Insider Intelligence basically saying that all of social media is dead and discusses what advertisers can do about it.

My take: Social media is not dead, social media how we know it is dead. A lot of brands have bene blaming the decline in algorithm on low Instagram engagement, and now even with TikTok views not being as high - and I agree - we tell our clients the same. But have we taken a moment to talk about the algorithm obviously changes to focus on paid ads, but the other half is for the user and what they are more-so engaging with right now. Although most brands are seeing a decline, not all of them are - and the ones that aren’t they do things A LOT differently. So maybe it’s time to fully re-think our strategies, KPIs, and how we create content.


KPIs

We have said for years (at least for Instagram) that followers are down and with TikTok it was never a priority for users to follow brands - we focus on the Explore Page/FYP. Users are allowing the algorithm to feed them the content they want to see. If you use this method you will notice without following someone but watching their videos and engaging you will still see almost everything they post. Otherwise, the big things that matter are the following:

  • Post Saves

  • Post Shares

  • Video Views

People are less likely to comment on a post vs just sharing the post via a DM. However when it comes to TikTok videos users are commenting when they want to add their options and have conversations publicly - these comments can go viral in their own right. A perfect example of why social listening is important for brands as well.

Content Creation

The content strategy you are most likely implementing are old school (aka 2-5 years old approach). Unfortunately brands are still continuing down this path and expecting the results they got years ago. STOP! New ways of content creation is here. Not only utilizing AI tools like Midjourney to create cool images like Flaus, Augmented Reality content like what Jaqumues has done, or working with UGC Creators (which also needs a major facelift) will not be enough - we have to think about micro-communities and appealing to smaller audiences (which ad people have been screaming since the dawn of time) as well as creating content that can be duplicated - essentially a template that people engage with and being able to recreate that over and over again - being “diverse” in your content across one placement DOES NOT WORK ANYMORE.

Rethinking Our Strategies
Here’s where to start when you being to re-think your social media strategy:

  • Audience - who is actually following you vs engaging with you (and your competition)

  • Re-define how you work with influencers and UGC creators - think more in terms of developing a content team and real content team members vs the very removed way we have approached this in the past

  • Find new communities to engage with

  • Develop a “social listening” strategy and goal - how can you show up in a way that matters through comments?

PRO TIP: Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Remember when Vine went away and so many people lost all their hard work of building followers? Same thing with Facebook. You have to remember that we are lucky to be given these tools for now and not fully rely on them (another great example is all the brands that saw a HUGE decline in sales due to iOS14). Build your email lists, explore other advertising options outside of social media.

Anna Sullivan