• by Shelby Loebker , August 28, 2023

The landscape of social media has always been constantly shifting, but things seem to be even more fluid these days. Since Elon Musk took Twitter private in October, active users have been leaving the platform, dethroning the longstanding trifecta that was Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Twitter isn’t even gone, simply transitioned to “X”, but already several comparable micro-blogging platforms have popped up––or risen to prominence––attempting to grab at the platform’s lost users. A lot of industry conversations have revolved around which of these platforms will become the “new Twitter,” but now––almost a year in and still facing Twitter/X uncertainty––it’s becoming apparent that no one clear successor is on the horizon.

In fact, we might be facing a totally new social landscape, one where platform strategy will take on a changed meaning and increased value. Unlike the past, these new platforms aren’t trying to be everything for everyone, but are remaining true to what makes them unique. We’ve even seen existing platforms scrapping their copy-cat features recently, like TikTok getting rid of its BeReal-esque “TikTok Now” feature.

This will likely be an easier world for new brands or brands just coming to social for the first time. For brands comfortable with their established social presence, the next few years might be a more challenging time. Audiences and organic engagement on larger platforms may become stale, while compelling brands and their agency partners internally expand into more-niche platforms.

As marketers adjust to this new landscape, experimentation, agility, and reframing their view of success will be key.

Measurement and benchmarks for success will change, and it will take time to adjust expectations to meet these changes. Social pros need to become accustomed to the idea of micro-virality, and understand that as platforms become more niche or form more niche community subsects, success may often look like winning within a particular subsect, rather than across platforms. 

It’s important to experiment now, while this new landscape is still solidifying. But we can’t be afraid to continue experimenting as things evolve down the road. As it evolves, social marketing is only going to become more audience-focused; it’s not just about the platform, but how your audience behaves on the platform. Social teams will need to become ingrained in these platforms, so we understand the changes on a user level.

Maintaining an agile strategy means that, as our experimentation yields results, we can adapt and incorporate new findings. What works for your brand is going to keep changing as platforms evolve.

However, this new landscape, when met with agile and targeted social media strategy, actually makes achieving micro-viral moments much more feasible. Strategists and content creators will know more about their unique audiences on individual platforms and will have the opportunity to target those platforms with unique messaging. Reaching multiple distinct audiences with lower-lift, social-first creative will likely net out similar overall results to the large-scale, cross-platform content we’re currently used to.

At the end of the day, we’re seeing the social media landscape become more robust, with more opportunities for deeper connection with users. The brands that take advantage of this new normal will find themselves with more usable insights, more effective messaging, and more engaged consumers.