For those who had been an MTV devotee between the years of 2006 and 2010, you’ll keep in mind Heidi Montag as Lauren Conrad’s friend-turned-foe from the beloved actuality sequence, The Hills. What you might have blocked out, nonetheless, is Heidi’s music profession.
Within the 2010 single, “Extra Is Extra,” she sang: “Extra is extra on the dance ground / It’s f*cking chaos in right here.”
14 years later, the flip of phrase is a becoming description for what number of entrepreneurs really feel about social media saturation.
Immediately, over 5 billion individuals use social media worldwide, with the common particular person utilizing greater than six networks monthly.
Audiences are in every single place and seemingly nowhere, as platform algorithms floor content material based mostly on pursuits fairly than tangible connections. The speedy fireplace tempo of pattern and meme tradition, paired with a stream of AI-generated content material flooding feeds, has created a ceiling on the quantity of content material customers are mentally and emotionally in a position to course of.
We sat down with two social media consultants to discover the forces behind this phenomenon, and what entrepreneurs can do to fight it.
Why we’re at peak social media saturation
As a lot in regards to the social media panorama modifications, the one fixed is content material—and a number of it. On common, manufacturers revealed 10 posts per day throughout networks in 2023, in keeping with Sprout’s 2024 Content material Benchmarks Report. For sure industries, that quantity doubles and even quadruples.
“We’re transferring towards peak inundation,” says Nathan Allebach, Artistic Director at Allebach Communications and former “Steak-umm Twitter man.” “It’s arduous to say how a lot of it’s the saturation versus the shortage of content material novelty. Loads of the problems entrepreneurs face as of late may need extra to do with the truth that social media has been round for therefore lengthy and has gone by means of totally different iterations. Each type of disruptive advertising has been so deeply explored throughout classes, throughout industries, that it’s getting robust to seek out new methods to interrupt by means of.”
Let’s look deeper at what’s contributing to the problem:
Content material manufacturing pressures
It’s inconceivable for shoppers to actively have interaction with all the social content material they see. Actually: One analysis crew discovered people’ display screen consideration spans dropped from 2.5 minutes in 2004 to 47 seconds in 2023.
The irony is, as tendencies transfer quicker and audiences flock to short-form content material codecs, the strain to churn out the next quantity of posts intensifies. The sheer variety of accounts competing for customers’ fleeting consideration exacerbates this dynamic.
“Whereas actually extra handy to think about {that a} model is barely competing with its rivals, the fact is, a model’s content material is being pitted up in opposition to the most recent viral submit, an influencer’s giveaway, different manufacturers, and household and mates,” stated Carolyn Cohen, Content material & Social Lead at H&R Block.
Allebach provides, “It’s all people versus all people. So for those who’re a model on the opposite facet of the display screen and also you’re attempting to tug me out of my private feed, that takes a number of effort to get proper.”
AI’s impression on viewers expectations
Bots have been crashing the feedback part on social for years. However the latest proliferation of instruments like ChatGPT, DALL-E and others have opened up the floodgates to much more AI-generated posts throughout networks.
Greater than 80% of shoppers really feel AI-generated content material will make their social feeds extra saturated than they already are, and a comparable quantity say it’ll add to misinformation on social, in keeping with a Q2 2024 Sprout Pulse Survey. For instance, a sequence of computer-enhanced movies selling the brand new season of HBO’s “Home of the Dragon” sequence despatched audiences spiraling in June 2024—main many to consider Westeros flags had been actually flying on the Brooklyn Bridge.
On one hand, customers have gotten extra accustomed to AI filters and AI-generated content material, which can solely desensitize audiences extra over time. From a model security standpoint, entrepreneurs will more and more should juggle their very own content material manufacturing on prime of monitoring feeds for misinformation about their companies.
Platform uncertainty
Immediately’s social media ecosystem is fragmented throughout networks with distinctive algorithms and audiences. How shoppers use every to satisfy their wants for connection and consumption is all the time evolving.
“Again within the day, your model positively had a Fb and Instagram [account], in all probability a Twitter, and now it appears like these pillars are rather a lot much less positive than they was once. Now communities are segmented throughout totally different, smaller platforms,” says Allebach.
The previous few years alone have seen the emergence (and fast decline) of platforms like BeReal, together with regular progress of alternate options like Threads, Bluesky and Mastodon. For a lot of entrepreneurs, it’s now not a query of tips on how to be in every single place all of sudden—however how to decide on the suitable locations to indicate up on your target market. With every platform prioritizing barely totally different content material codecs, it additionally raises questions round whether or not short-form video continues to be the very best funding, or if groups ought to reallocate their focus to extra textual content and static picture posts.
Find out how to overcome social media saturation
The problem of social media saturation isn’t going anyplace. AI applied sciences will proceed their ascent and the platform panorama will proceed to diversify, no matter whether or not entrepreneurs are prepared. What social groups can do, nonetheless, is undertake new rituals to enhance their odds of reducing by means of the noise.
Spend money on authentic content material
Practically 4 in 10 shoppers say essentially the most memorable manufacturers on social prioritize authentic content material over leaping on tendencies, in keeping with The Sprout Social Index™. Even modifications to the Instagram algorithm to crack down on aggregator accounts sign a platform push towards distinctive IP. Whereas capitalizing on sure tendencies will all the time be a side of social, tendencies alone are usually not a long-term technique for reaching model attain or relevance.
“I’ve discovered that a mixture of authentic and trend-driven content material tends to be the suitable mixture. The pattern content material brings the viewers in, retains them engaged, tagging mates, and many others. This then tells the algorithm to maintain exhibiting them content material, so while you do have a extra product-heavy piece of content material, that will get served too,” says Cohen.
Calibrate your content material round viewers preferences
Step one to capturing your viewers’s consideration is to deeply perceive what they need to devour.
For instance, with virtually each platform supporting a menu of video choices, social groups should get much more exact with the place they submit, the size of their content material and whether or not it’s grid-worthy. Over the past six months, Reels, Instagram Tales and TikTok posts had been the highest three video codecs shoppers engaged with most, in keeping with our Q2 2024 Pulse Survey. Within the subsequent six months, shoppers anticipate participating with Instagram Tales, Reels and Fb movies most.
“Edutainment” posts—which offer details about your services or products in a enjoyable approach—are the kind of model content material audiences discover most entertaining, in keeping with our Q2 2024 Pulse Survey. By comparability, solely 4 in 10 shoppers say that is the case for meme-based posts.
“Trending memes blow up within the zeitgeist after which go away in per week or two, tops. For those who’re a model, there may be an urge to leap within the feedback part or recreate it on your personal accounts, and that’s superb. You’ll get numbers doing that. However what’s that doing long run? As a consumer, I’d assume it’s humorous for a second, however it’s not making me really feel a deep relationship to that model,” says Allebach.
Develop new rituals to spark creativity
The idea of social media saturation goes hand-in-hand with viewers content material fatigue. However it could even have a powerful impact on marketer burnout. Stress from exterior rivals and inside stakeholders to maintain up with the pace of social, generate extra content material and drive outcomes with fewer assets is pushing groups to their limits.
These are the occasions when it’s most essential to carve out house for open-ended, inventive considering and different rituals for sharing inspiration. The crew at H&R Block has taken this to coronary heart.
“You will need to get out of our bubble, particularly in an business like monetary providers. A method we obtain that is by means of a rotating ‘Exterior Inspiration’ train,” says Cohen.
“Every week, one particular person is assigned a presentation on—fairly actually—something they need. The one rule is that we should be capable to draw a parallel or direct inspiration to H&R Block. We’ve coated matters together with the rise of skincare, a historical past of denim, the impression of Ralph Lauren, bananas as the unique content material advertising case examine, classes from 24 seasons of Survivor…the listing goes on!”
The train is a refreshing approach to step past their day-to-day roles and find out about matters not everybody the crew is conversant in.
Take into consideration low-lift methods you’ll be able to incorporate related motions into your present conferences or processes. Perhaps it’s a devoted Slack house for sharing async social examples (from exterior your business). Or maybe it’s inviting common “visitor audio system” from different firms to share a behind-the-scenes take a look at their inventive course of.
Redefine the way you measure success
As social platforms proceed to check the bounds of simply how a lot content material audiences can course of, now may be a very good time to advocate for brand spanking new social success metrics. Our Index knowledge exhibits that the majority entrepreneurs already prioritize engagement metrics (shares, feedback, and many others.) over attain and impressions. In spite of everything, what’s extra invaluable: somebody seeing your submit and scrolling on, or somebody discovering it so related they tag a good friend within the feedback?
Social groups can use this over-saturated second to make the case for setting extra focused group progress and engagement objectives (fairly than reaching a sure variety of eyeballs).
“For manufacturers to interrupt out of the algorithmic demise (of dropping direct entry to followers and competing with different individuals and types), it’s a must to get extra area of interest. It’s important to work out: What’s my worth add to the individuals who comply with me?,” says Allebach. “It helps to interrupt by means of the muddle, and it makes it so that you’re not essentially going up in opposition to the macro tendencies that appear to dictate the discourse on platforms day by day.”
Social media saturation is a problem—and a chance
Immediately’s social platforms (even people who existed again in 2010) are extra nuanced, and the individuals who use them are extra plugged in than ever earlier than.
Consequently, manufacturers should be much more strategic—and versatile—to make sure their investments in social repay.
Regardless of the obstacles social media saturation presents, it additionally offers social groups a chance to reset their content material methods altogether. Run a short-term experiment to check the impression of decreasing manufacturing quantity and creating extra authentic content material. Prioritize a brand new method to brainstorming, or a brand new crew ritual to interrupt everybody out of their day after day.
Social media might run on algorithms, however discovering success is something however formulaic.
For extra inspiration to interrupt by means of an more and more crowded house, try our masterclass webinar with Rachel Karten.
