The Great Black Hole of Social Media: Is It Oversaturated Already?
By :
Social media is a huge part of our daily lives and most
people rely on it for news and other information. However, currently there is a
lot of noise and oversaturation with meaningless memes and posts. We all know
who the big social media players are. However, every year new platforms emerge
and predictions are made if they will change the social media landscape. How
will we know if Facebook will grow or start to decline? Will Twitter disappear
or be replaced? Will Reels become the next big thing?
Over the last two years we have seen a substantial shift.
Big social media platforms such as Instagram, YouTube and Facebook are becoming
overly saturated with content. This opens up space for new social media
platforms to emerge and challenge the status quo. Whilst some come and go,
others like TikTok and Reels have exceeded all expectations.
But with great promise, questions arise: are they here to
stay?
Have we crossed the
saturation point?
Saturation is defined as “the state or process that occurs
when no more of something can be absorbed, combined with, or added.”
Read that definition again and consider the digital market.
The digital realm is enormous, filled with roughly two
billion websites. As this dominion continues to grow, the Internet-viewing
audience has plateaued. Billions of people are browsing the Internet daily, and
these people do not have the inclination or time to view more digital content.
So, how do you stand out in an over-saturated arena where the viewers don’t
have the mental capacity to take in your advertisements?
Niche or No Niche
In order for a new social media platform to succeed two
things must happen. First, the purpose of the platform must be established and
second, the platform needs to target a specific community.
Let’s look at a channel such as LinkedIn where the objective
is very clear – connecting professionals in order to build a network within or
across different industries. LinkedIn combines the best bits of a social media
app and applies them to the business world. In fact, it has never been easier
to connect professionals. Users can follow companies that inspire them and
reach out to them directly. This type of contact is something that no other
recruitment company can provide, especially on a global scale. We think that
the success of LinkedIn can be attributed to its originality, clear purpose and
ability to evolve based on its community’s needs. Unlike various ‘mainstream’
social media platforms, LinkedIn has created a ‘niche community’.
Although platforms such as Facebook and Instagram have
become a staple for brand marketing and advertising, it has become even more
difficult to target your audience on these platforms due to them being so
competitive. How can brands get around this saturation? If they focus on
smaller, niche platforms, perhaps this is a way to generate more success.
Over-saturation on social media platforms has become very
apparent in the last two years; if you want to be seen on Instagram, you will
most likely have to have paid media behind your brand or campaign. The
algorithms of platforms change daily, so it is almost impossible to post
something and have it reach your target audience organically.
However, within the current world of social media marketing,
targeting your community and gaining interaction organically has never been
more important for businesses. It’s the concept that it is more valuable to
have one hundred loyal customers than one thousand scrollers, essentially
strangers to your business.
Currently, features offered by platforms are starting to
overlap, so that it is becoming almost impossible to tell what makes each one
unique. When we think about the original purpose of Instagram, Facebook and
Twitter when they first emerged, their objectives were clear cut; but now what
they are used for and what they can do is arguably very different from that
original purpose.
The Influencer
Marketing Culture
You can’t scroll through Instagram nowadays without seeing a
perfectly posed photo posted by an “influencer” either selling something or
themselves. This hugely popular form of marketing has really taken off,
creating a new breed of celebrity and opening up now opportunities for
marketers.
However, you have to question whether influencers take
things a little bit too far and whether they are actually influential in the
first place. It’s all well and good working with a brand that you believe in
and want to recommend to followers, but the influencer world now seems to be
more about freebies than authentic recommendations. On top of this, there are far
too many people proclaiming to be influencers and giving the rest of the
industry a bad name through unfair demands.
While the influencer arena used to be a bit more
straightforward, the rules now seem to be a bit murkier, so is the juice really
worth the squeeze when it comes to influencer marketing or is it time to go in
a different direction?
It seems that people are completely over the perfect poses,
the far-too-pretty avocado toast and the life moments that look as though
they’re part of a magazine shoot. What the influencer world seems to need now
is authentic, real and maybe even slightly messy posts that show followers that
they are real people.
With people now putting more stores in online reviews
and friend and family endorsements, creating posts that feel authentic is
more likely to see results and allow influencers to cultivate relationships
with followers. This is perhaps why micro-influencers often have better
engagement when it comes to product recommendations, as they often have better
relationships with their followers than those influencers who have hundreds of
thousands of followers.
And Now for the
Solution
Because of the constant bombardment of digital and traditional
ads, consumers are becoming numb to the advertisements and declining in
responsiveness. This phenomenon is known as digital fatigue.
How can you combat both digital saturation and digital
fatigue to ensure your messages are not only seen but responded to? Here are
three helpful tips:
·
When you have a marketing strategy that
implements the same message over multiple channels, you are strengthening your
brand and becoming a leader in your industry. A well-thought-out and robust
strategy that is only on one platform causes your company to lose potential
customers who are on other channels. In turn, a weak and inconsistent marketing
strategy that’s implemented on several platforms will confuse the viewers and
cause them to doubt your brand. Create a consistent, multi-channel marketing
strategy and your company will have a better chance at success.
·
Use your
social media platform to establish your brand ethos and values. Make clear who
you are and what you stand for. It is this latter part which is of most importance.
Any brand can sit on the fence, but it won’t get you noticed — establish the
values upon which you hang your hat, and your audience will sit up and take
notice.
·
In a technological world filled with billions of
digital advertisements, don’t underestimate the power of traditional
advertisements. Traditional advertisements still have the power to grip the
viewer’s attention and ignite his curiosity. Consider reaching your audience
via traditional advertisements such as billboards, flyers, mailers, and newspapers.
·
Once your ads are on a digital platform, you
need to track how well they are performing. First, determine what activity is
considered a success for your company. Activities such as visitors sharing
their contact information, purchasing your products, and claiming special
offers show that your customers are responding to your ads! However, metrics
that show a high bounce rate, minimal purchases, and unopened emails tell you
that your approach needs to change.
