Social 2.0 Social media’s survival of the fittest, and how marketers fit in

20,000 foot view: The history of social media has long been defined by continual evolution and iteration, but now shifts across the value chain are becoming more substantive, heralding a new era. Social platforms themselves are changing, and so too are the attitudes, expectations, and behaviours of their users, with audiences’ appetites for carefully curated, heavily edited posts turning sour, and their thirst for authentic, participatory content growing stronger. We are moving to a new, creator-first era which will require marketers to rethink strategy and that will see most value reside with influencers who best reflect the values of their audiences. This is the era of social           

Key insights:

• As a            of the redirection to creator-led            media, platforms are shifting from            are the product” to “creators            the products’ product”
• Social needs            than ads:            of consumers pay            to ads that are relevant            them – with the remaining            skipping the ad            letting it            without paying attention            or not            noticing it           
• Creators represent            new monetisation frontier, with consumers            being incentivised to pay for            to support their favourite creators
• China represents            scale but is hard to            for Western brands, with WeChat            registration, approval, and costs a            in point
• TikTok and            saw the most growth for            age group during            oversaturated attention           
• So long            updates are complimentary to their            social platforms can evolve successfully            adopting and adapting popular features            other apps
• Consumer desire            authenticity and interest in real-life,            information is what pushes content            be viral most
• Advertisements in            concerts and games livestreams are            the tip of the iceberg,            long-term virtual communities driving future            success
• Brand deals            influencers are becoming more intricate            entertaining, and reflect the growing            interest in reality and relatability
• Creator funds            making “influencing” a possible full-time            for creators, as opposed to            hobby
• However, the            from relatability a celebrity or            gets, the more supporters they            lose, making this a social            conundrum

Companies and brands mentioned in this report: Addison Rae, Aldi, Amber Heard, BeReal, Big Brother, Brookieandjessie, BTS, Colin the Caterpillar, Discord, Dixie D’Amelio, Don’t Worry Darling, Elon Musk, Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Florence Pugh, Footasylum, Footasylym Locked In, Friendster, GkBarry, He’s All That, IGTV, Instagram, Johnny Depp, Ken Russel, Kim Petras, LinkedIn, Marks & Spencer, Meghan Trainor, Meta, Musical.ly, Myspace, Netflix, Olivia Wilde, Pete Davidson, Redbyrd, Sam Smith, SixDegrees, Snapchat, Super Follows, Taylor Swift, Tefi Pesoa, TikTok, Tumblr, Twitch, Twitter, Twitter Blue, Vine, WeChat, WhatsApp, WordPress, Yahoo! GeoCities, YouTube, YouTube Shorts, Zebr, Zine