Friendless feeds
Twitter melting down may dominate the headlines for the foreseeable future, but it is far from the only story about social evolving faster than people recognize (or appreciate). Let's start with another familiar old friend.
*Opens Instagram*
Influencer post
Meme account
Sensationalist news screenshot
Meme account
Shopping ad
“Viral Post” suggested content
Influencer post
Organic brand account
Friend’s vacation post
Influencer post
Promoted brand post
Hmmmmm.
The social feeds of 2022 are indistinguishable from the social media platforms of 2012, when Instagram was acquired by Facebook and both started rolling out ad products. Instagram’s founding vision was to help people see the world through their friend's eyes. Now you’re lucky to see one post in 10 come from someone you know offline on a “social” platform.
Social has changed.
But rather than bemoan the loss, let’s look deeper. What is happening on social platforms today, and is it, dare we say, better? To see the future of what all social platforms will start to look like (as they are all fast followers of any new feature), we have to look well beyond what Instagram and Facebook look like today to find the flourishing social experiments they will be copying tomorrow.
The safety of anonymity in a crowd
Reddit, which has been around since 2005 and is growing faster than any social platform not named TikTok, has more than 130,000 unique and active communities. These communities are self-organizing, diverse in their interests, and feature the hallmarks of a community – the ability to earn “status,” norms, cliques, jokesters, and the ability for anyone to hijack the attention of the group. Up until now it has been relatively distinct for two main features: it’s preference for allowing users to remain pseudonymous, and organizing your feeds (based on what you follow) by topic/community rather than following individuals/personalities. Anonymity online can and does often result in harassment, but reddit’s self policing and active engagement in banning bad actors have made reddit a surprisingly inclusive space. This intentional decision to prioritize the passions that bring people together rather than the posturing of “building a brand” has created a space where people consistently turn for advice, for belonging, for a humility check, and for comfort.
Intimacy, not at scale
The return of “Close Friends” will seem familiar, at least to those that remember the first launch of Google+. As the world’s largest social platforms skew more towards engagement-driven algorithmic recommendations, Twitter and Instagram have released tools that allow users to maintain that curated set of select few “inner circle” friends. This is in part a last-gasp push to maintain some of the core social aspects of their past, and a recognition that social intimacy at scale was a flawed concept from the start. The safety of the closed group allows for more authentic sharing that is normally only achieved anonymously (like on Reddit), and helps maintain the vibrancy of true social connections. Geneva, Mighty Networks, and to a certain extent, Slack, are all tapping into this space for creating intentionally small group spaces.
Forget the polish of post, let’s do it live
Twitch continues to be at the forefront of streaming social in the US, but it is hardly alone as a platform for creating a live connection between creators and communities. Twitter Spaces continues to drive live tune in and hosted conversations, and Discord has become a preferred “hangout” space for Web3 builders and gamers alike. TikTok, Reddit, and YouTube all have Live capabilities that bring people together collectively. Watch this space for interesting experiments in evolving typical broadcast staples like talk shows or reality-TV reaction shows – Lyle Forever (better known as Therapy Gecko) gives you a taste of where tune-in meets community can go.
In the moment
BeReal, Dispo, Poparazzi, the apps themselves may matter as a platform, at some point. But for now, they simply represent a shift away from “capturing” the perfect moment and a subtle push to focus on enjoying the moment. This is the same insight that lead to the growth of first Snap Stories, then Instagram Stories and Idea Pins. Lower the pressure to be perfect and planned, raise the genuine connection that can happen between people when you let them really “see” you.
Let the bots decide
By far the largest evolution in social in the last 3-4 years, is the steady rise of algorithmically suggested content. TikTok may get the credit for doing this most deeply, and potentially best, but it is far from the first or only platform to grow based on this approach. YouTube recommendation feeds have grown audiences for thousands of creators who understand how to create a niche community. Pinterest deeply understands that people’s dreams and inspiration connect them deeper than their geography or personal history, and the Pinterest home feed has been curated based on passion from the start. The engagement that platforms are deriving from the switch, and the serendipity people feel when the perfect piece of content is “gifted” to them by the algorithm is addicting. Just like gambling. But that hyper specialization doesn’t mean that breakthrough ideas don’t still breakthrough and create a shared sense of belonging. The sounds of 2022 will remind you that even living in an algorithmically disparate world, the weird and wonderful can still bring us together.
So, so, different. Yes, social isn’t “social” any more, in that it isn’t a way to facilitate intimacy or maintain a connection with people you know from elsewhere. But that doesn’t mean intimacy isn’t being created. That celebrations, advice, and fun aren’t being shared. It’s just happening in different, organically (if algorithmically intermediated) evolving communities.
What does this all mean for those of us looking to reach and connect with people on behalf of our brands?
First and foremost, it means that we can no longer think about social ideas as content-designed-for-a-feed. Making the video 1x1 and work without sound isn’t a social idea. And we can’t simply outsource it to influencers, that stopgap game has become too mercenary for genuine brand building to occur.
The smartest brands are changing their approach to planning for impact with three things:
Recognize that monoculture is gone. In every meaningful way, America is more divided than ever before. So having an approach that is designed to appeal to everyone is fatally flawed from the start. Be intentional about who you can matter to, and then work tirelessly to create relevance for that group.
Define your audience based on communities, not individuals’ traits. The deeper you understand the passions, interests, and true social connections of your audience, the better you’ll be able to find the places they are most excited to go. Knowing who you are trying to connect with starts with their existing connections.
Plan for shorter bursts. As social becomes more untethered from offline social connections, people will naturally drift between communities and topics more fluidly. Smart brands are planning to capitalize on a moment, build something that matters, and then plan for the next campaign. Building “islands” and long-term strategies for social platforms is committing to an investment with diminishing returns.
Don’t let the loss of “social” threaten your social plans. Design for groups, build up relevancy, and have some fun with it. The freedom should let creativity roam wild.
