Post, Pivot, Repeat

Inside the chaos and clout of social media's next era

Photo by Mariia Shalabaieva on Unsplash

Social media constantly reinvents itself. With over 4.9 billion users worldwide, platforms are more powerful than ever — but also more unpredictable.

TikTok shapes how people search. Artificial intelligence is changing how they create. Meanwhile, new networks pop up faster than users can download them.

Just ask anyone who built a following on Blab, Vine or Clubhouse — platforms can rise and vanish almost overnight. So when asked, “What’s next for social media?” the only honest answer might be: It’s complicated.

Engagement, Expertise and Reliability Build Your Social Trust

In fact, queried if a new social media platform launched tomorrow, what would power users want it to do differently, there was no embrace of the future. Instead, three solo entrepreneurs longed for a past before platforms that were not broken got “fixed.”

“I’d want a new platform to work like the old Twitter,” said Ghareer Chaudhary, a corporate controller and a photographer.

Likewise, Ivana Taylor waxes nostalgic.

“I miss how platforms were before: more authentic, no ads, no unrealistic pitches,” she said. “I really like the idea behind LinkedIn, but what good is it if you don’t know most of the people you’re connected with?”

Taylor also grows frustrated when sites get corrupted, taking her “five minutes to log in with all the codes and passwords and resets.”

That is particularly irritating because she owns DIYMarketers, “committed to helping small-business owners get out of overwhelm.” Normally, she would be the one guiding clients through such travails.

Real or Fake

Iva Ignjatovic, a marketing, strategy and business consultant, feels similarly put upon, sorting through living, breathing followers and robots.

“I hate how I have to verify everything,” she said. “That happened before, of course, but nowadays people are out of control for seeking clicks and likes.”

Through the years, small businesses have changed how they use social media.

“Today, social media is used by small businesses to market their products and services,” Chaudhary said. “Examples include Facebook pages, LinkedIn posts and TicTok videos.

“Email marketing has declined in recent years with focus on social media platforms,” he said.

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Small businesses seem constantly into social media as far as asking for reviews about every little visit or transaction.

“I both agree and disagree,” Taylor said. “As someone who recommends these things, you’d be amazed at how many review requests you need to distribute to get just one good one.

“There’s a clear shift toward community and conversations over just promotion,” she said. “Simply growing quickly doesn’t mean that you’re going to stay relevant. Threads got tons of users because it was Instagram. There’s too much of everything.”

According to Statista, designed to make data-driven decision-making easy, the three fastest growing social platforms are Instagram, Pinterest and LinkedIn.

“LinkedIn is becoming a social media platform instead of a typical boring job page,” Chaudhary said.

In a similar vein, Ignjatovic noted that more brands are prioritizing authenticity over perfection.

Sad Departures

All three lamented venerable social media trends on their way out. That includes tagging and hashtags, the cornerstones of once prolific Twitter chats that have slipped away as the platform endures new management.

“Nobody likes written, but they want more visual content,” Chaudhary said. “We have to emphasize the human touch. Otherwise, people think it’s artificial intelligence-backed material. I always leave little imperfections to keep content human.”

Perhaps there are fewer food pictures on Facebook, or maybe just a matter of algorithms feeding users what the machines think people want to consume.

“I never see what I want to see,” Taylor said. “I’m mostly seeing posts from things I don’t even follow — mostly ads.

“Imperfect websites are a hard sell with some of my clients, but the data still shows that ‘ugly’ designs convert best,” she said. “It’s all about the copy. Over-design graphics with zero personality. People want real.”

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That embodies knowing the audience, an example DIYMarketers touches on in its article, “How to Research Your Target Market in 5 Quick Coffee Break Moves.”

“Both Twitter tools are still relevant, especially tagging, but it has to be meaningful. Otherwise, it won’t work,” Ignjatovic said. “Sometimes content without hashtags gets more attention because it’s more authentic.

“The exception is for Twitter chats,” she said. “That’s the only way to follow the conversation, but other than that there’s small use of them.”

Since it was created, Bluesky has not had a problem with hashtags and encourages them as seen by the number of Twitter chats that have migrated to the new platform.

Weighing Self-Interest

Yet, users on any platform face the prospect of being followed by actual people and beings created through software. That might or might not matter, depending on the user’s interests.

“Unless your strategy is to monetize on the number of followers, having random people makes no sense,” Ignjatovic said. “Meanwhile, too many great Twitter chats have disappeared, although podcast saturation is everywhere.”

Small businesses should pay attention to particular platforms in the coming years. Chaudhary, for example, keys on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and LinkedIn.

“You have to find where your customers are and talk to them,” Taylor said. “TikTok and YouTube Shorts — if you’ve got short-form video, go there.

“Each new platform seems to open up new opportunities for different kinds of businesses,” she said. “That’s what I noticed with TikTok and short-form videos.”

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Statista adds that YouTube, Facebook and TikTok are the top three social media platforms for U.S. mobile users.

“LinkedIn is evolving fast,” Ignjatovic said. “It’s great for business-to-business marketing and thought leadership.”

With that in mind, small-business owners should prepare for what is next on social media.

“Invest time in learning new trends,” Chaudhary said. “Communication and networking is key.”

Small businesses might want to have a social media manager on retainer if not affordable full time. That person should have a feel for rapidly changing online trends.

“Stay curious,” Taylor said. “Follow trends, test new features and adapt.”

High Price for a Dream

“Going viral” is a common aspiration among those online. That dream can be reality, but at a hefty price.

“Don’t put all your content eggs in one platform basket,” Ignjatovic said. “Diversify.”

At the same time, be ready to pivot with content.

“Have a content library somewhere else other than the cloud or a third-party space like a website,” Ignjatovic said. “One day, platforms might crash. No one should lose their entire content because of that.”

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There are wish lists for the future of social media.

“Better algorithm transparency — let us understand what works,” Taylor said. “Save Twitter chats. I love how I can engage and have conversations without talking and being on screen.”

For being social, social media can be increasingly unsociable, enabled by the cloak of anonymity.

“We need tools that support more meaningful interaction — not just vanity metrics,” Ignjatovic said.

Those tools would enhance productivity by being reliable, flexible and dependable.

“Have less hate and more responsible fact checks,” Chaudhary said. “We need to have social media regulations to stop fake news and spams.”