This is not the article claiming the future of marketing is on A.I. as that future is already here. Instead, this article is about the future of social media. As I shuffle my Tarot Cards, the first card I pull is “The Tower.” This card signals a change or a shake-up to the status quo. Having worked in social media full-time for more than ten years, I feel this change is coming slowly, but it will pick up speed soon. Why and how? Keep on reading and join me as I share my prediction.
Fatigue has Set In
As social media matures, it has entered the stage where it’s been seen, engaged, and done as users experience social media fatigue. These habits have created a new niche for minimalist phones meant to reduce anxiety and screen time. Fatigue and the shift to more entertainment content platforms like TikTok put Meta and Twitter on the losing end. Both companies have laid off thousands of employees between 2022 and 2023. On a side note, TikTok is not considered a social media platform but an entertainment one. Similar to Snapchat, as it’s self-labeled as a camera app versus a social platform.
Social Media Users Crave Genuine Connections
People crave what made social media great initially: authentic and real connections. The era of the large centralized platforms will be replaced by smaller platforms that are not siloed but speak to each other. These legacy social media platforms are centralized at their core. Even though you can share some types of content from one to the other, they could be better at collaboration, and their algorithms keep content creators at the edge of their seats.
The Rise of ActivityPub, Decentralization, and Open Standards
One development that can enable this collaboration is ActivityPub’s Social Media protocol. This protocol is designed to give users more control over their data and to provide a more decentralized, open-source approach to social media by employing blockchain-based technology, allowing for secure and transparent sharing of user data. This signals a huge departure from the centralized approach taken by most social media platforms today.
Implications for Marketers
The implications to marketers are that we will no longer be able to cast a wide net easily and hope for the best. We will have to work smarter to create more genuine connections. Our content will not only need to speak to a demographic but a smaller niche that takes into account subcultures and specific themes. Ideally, these platforms will work with ad networks or exchanges, allowing us to balance deployment at scale with customized messages that respond to niche interests. I look forward to seeing how these future smaller platforms will impact the distribution and value exchange between consumers and brands, as from the look of it, the balance could be more even. Remember marketers, always stay relevant, always stay genuine and bring true value to the consumer to be memorable and dependable. What are your predictions? Are you reading this in 2030? Let me know in the comments what happened.
Until next time!
Further Reading:
- NIH – Research on social media fatigue
- The Verge – Can ActivityPub save the Internet?
- ActivityPub – Official Site
- Wikipedia – The Tower Tarot Card
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