2025. Learn up or Die Off. A cautionary tale of how the fragmentation of the social media ecosystem EQUALS the fragmentation of marketing channels.

Fragmentation of the Social Media Landscape is here and it’s getting Bigger. ?

Social media has become increasingly fragmented, as users flock to a range of platforms to meet their diverse needs and confirmation bias.? As consumers, we are more tribal than ever before. ??Elon Musk’s 2022 acquisition of Twitter marked a turning point, triggering a wave of users seeking alternatives. Mark Zuckerberg’s Threads, as well as decentralized platforms like Mastodon and Bluesky, have since emerged, providing new options for public discourse. This fragmentation is expected to continue, with users needing to manage their online brand identities across various platforms, each with its own set of norms and features.

All of them offer Advertising. Which do you choose?

As social media becomes more diverse, maintaining a consistent brand identity across different platforms will become more challenging. Users may find themselves adapting their online brand based on the platform they’re using—what works on X may not work on Instagram or YouTube. Each platform caters to different types of content and communities, requiring companies to tailor their engagement and messaging accordingly.

This presents a challenge. And challenges requires decisions.

Here’s the Problem.

As social media platforms become more narrowed in tone and audience, these critical marketing decisions are left up to the marketing team.? Remember when you placed ?that 27-year old in charge of these decisions or cut the marketing research budget?

Yep. These are complicated decisions that C-level executive bean counters want a spreadsheet to solve without any front-end methodology or budget put behind it.

What is the Solution?

A polarized and fragmented online world is not coming. It’s already here. The good and bad news is simple.? The good news? These solutions already exist. Customer surveys, conversion tracking, data appends, focus groups, A/B testing. None of this new. But it is forgotten.? The bad news? It costs money to do this. And it’s becoming a lost art. What is old is new again. There are no quick answers to these methods. So invest 15% of your marketing budget to gaining knowledge. If you think Google Analytics can solve these challenges for you, then your command of the marketing profession is lacking.

The more we get polarized, the more you need to ask your current and prospective customers questions. You will get the answers you need to grow.

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