• by Charles Ifegwu , October 16, 2023

Nielsen’s Gauge reported this month that broadcast and cable television viewership dropped below 50% of TV usage for the first time in history. This shift is largely attributed to the meteoric rise of social media and the pivot to streaming TV services.

In order to address new media consumption, brands must reimagine how they approach creative, embrace native content, and innovate their distribution methods.

Top creators have built massive followings and capture more attention in the advertising industry than ever before. Brands are responding, with 67% of companies increasing their influencer-marketing budgets from 2022 to 2023, according to Business Insider.

Brands have consistently created campaigns that put creators in the driver seat. Creator-led campaigns authentically speak to how they use and appreciate the product. The brand then distributes the creator-developed assets using additional paid media, reposts on brand owned channels, and makes bespoke products for creator partners.

This approach has enabled both brands to engage with current trends, cultivate lively content experiences, and deliver seamless social media ad campaigns that genuinely connect with consumers.

By embracing creators as creative directors, brands can captivate the attention of viewers who are increasingly in search of fresh and engaging experiences. More importantly, giving creators creative freedom produces better assets at a fraction of the cost of traditional agencies. 

"Social-out" empowers creative excellence. Continued adoption of digital platforms necessitates embracing digital measurement. It's imperative to experiment, adapt and iterate in the face of significant shifts in new media platforms.

What we call a social-out approach, in which brands consider social at all points and across all channels in marketing executions, uses social engagement and feedback to inform creative output, and is an essential starting point to improve your digital, print, audio and OOH campaign cohesiveness. Leveraging real-time insights that social audiences can provide, responsiveness and effective testing mechanisms allow for the refinement of broader content strategies based on user engagement, demographics and performance data.

This meaningful analysis of data allows brands to create content that forms genuine connections across social platforms, empowering campaigns to reach audiences more effectively. Understanding your audience's preferences, behaviors, and aspirations on a granular level allows for the crafting of content that speaks directly to them, driving connections geared to building community.

With data as a guiding force, a social-out approach empowers brands to navigate our evolving transmedia world and engage audiences effectively with an approach that  builds community continually. Brands grow those communities by consistently creating compelling content that aligns with evolving consumer interests.

By embracing a social-out strategy, engaging relevant creator partners, and tailoring messaging based on feedback, brands can effectively grow in an era marked by rapidly transforming content consumption habits.