Navigating the Changing Landscape of Social Media: A Marketer's Perspective

Recent predictions and news reports suggest that people are growing increasingly dissatisfied with the quality of social media platforms, leading to a potential decline in user engagement. 

The internet, in general, and social media, specifically, have become critical for marketers to advertise to consumers and buyers. How do marketers adapt?

Understanding the Decay in Social Media Quality
The Gartner Marketing Predictions for 2024 indicate that 50 percent of consumers may limit their use of major social media platforms by 2025. This decline in engagement can be attributed to several factors, including the rise of bots and disinformation, which have eroded the trust and authenticity once associated with these platforms.

Bots are automated accounts that mimic human behavior, often used to amplify certain messages or spread misinformation. The prevalence of bots has led to a decline in the quality of social media interactions, making it difficult for users to distinguish between genuine content and artificially generated noise.

In addition, an NPR news story today highlighted the growing concerns about the internet becoming less informative and less fun. The proliferation of disinformation has contributed to this perception. Misleading or false information can easily spread on social media platforms, leading to a loss of trust and a decline in user satisfaction.

Pivot to “H2O” Content
As people become more skeptical and disengaged from major social media platforms, marketers face the challenge of cutting through the noise to connect with their target audience effectively. To overcome these hurdles, it is crucial to adopt strategies that prioritize transparency, authenticity, and value. 

We have a shorthand for this which we call “H2O” -- Hero, Human, and Overly Helpful. Before you post any content, make sure you check it against these principles:

• Hero. Too much content from brands is about the brand and not about how the brand can make its customers the hero of the story. Focus on your consumer or buyer. What are their pains? How does your solution relieve those pains? Adjust your content to put your audience at the center of the story which will help establish trust and differentiate your brand from the noise.
• Human. As marketers, we throw around the terms “B2C” and “B2B,” but the brutal fact is, people buy from people. "Human to Human" is really the shorthand we all need to remember. Engage with your audience on a personal level, responding to comments and messages promptly. Encourage user-generated content and leverage influencers to amplify your brand's authenticity.
• Overly Helpful. In the early days of social media, our Rakas team remembers preaching “helpful” content over loud content because it was a new medium and people didn’t trust brands in the space. At first, that’s what many brands did. But over the years, it became too easy to churn out brand messages and bombard users to get “exposure.” Not anymore. As our friend and fellow marketer Matt Hunt says, your content needs to make your reader more awesome in 5 minutes or less. If you’re not overly helpful, no one will listen.

The perceived decay in the quality of social media platforms and the rise of bots, disinformation, and fake news pose significant challenges for marketers. However, by prioritizing transparency (Hero), authenticity (Human), and value (Overly Helpful), marketers can cut through the noise and connect with buyers effectively. Embracing emerging platforms and focusing on building genuine relationships will be key to navigating the changing landscape of social media and ensuring long-term success in the digital marketing realm.