Ah, 2003—what a time to be alive. The year was brimming with landmark cultural moments: Martha Stewart’s indictment, Michael Jackson’s arrest warrant, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s role-switch to California’s “governator,” and the U.S’s declaration of war on Iraq (along with the president’s response to certain Chicks from Dixie decrying his decisions). There were some celebrity deaths (Charles Bronson and Katherine Hepburn) and assuredly many births of not-so-famous people, too.
I could keep going, and I’m sure many of you have thought of some things we could most definitely add to the list. But who knew that in the same year that Michael Jordan would play his final NBA game and Lebron James would join the league’s ranks (what a swap-out, eh?), the world would enter a complete revolution of connection, commerce, and communication that would flip everything on its head? Myspace was born on August 1, 2003—the same day my beloved grandma made her 78th trip around the sun and a new cyber age dawned for us all.
A lot has happened since that fateful late-summer day when status posts, friends lists, and customized profile pages became everyday concerns. It’s been slightly over two decades, so we’re officially in a time when some adults don’t remember when social media didn’t exist. In fact, Myspace has since fallen and been replaced by the Big Five (Meta, Instagram—a Meta Company, X, YouTube, and TikTok). The name changes, ownership swaps, and alternating popularity of the most prominent social companies (not to mention the countless lesser-known social networks that flood the app) prove just how much has transpired over the last 22 years. They also demonstrate, underscore, and highlight that the advertising strategies that worked online back then cannot and DO NOT work today. So why are so many businesses still trying to connect with their audiences as if it’s 2003 and social media is new?
In the early oughts, the internet was the wild west. Most platforms were user-driven and organic; it was a weird, magical place where new things were always happening, and people were uploading, connecting, chatting (AOL Instant Messenger, anyone?), and blogging without significant incentives. Then, we saw a shift when online shopping entered the game. Marketplace, auction, and e-commerce sites such as eBay, Craigslist, and other pioneers made it possible to find just about anything you could think of and get it in your hands without ever leaving your home. And that’s when a lightbulb went off for corporate America: organizations realized how many eyes were online and how much money could be made through digital shopping experiences. Ads, sponsorships, and brand partnerships began to flood the net, and we’ve been in overdrive ever since.
Sidenote: I recommend this site if you’d like to fall down a rabbit hole of the fascinating history and evolution of the World Wide Web. Side effects include endless scrolling and contact with wacky, niche information. You’ve been warned.
Starting a page on any platform and expecting instant engagement in our current virtual climate is unrealistic. It’s not enough to simply BE online; everyone, including your nosy next-door neighbors, aunties, community leaders, and competitors, is already there. In addition to that, algorithmic dominance, increasing AI control, and market saturation make capturing people’s attention increasingly complex. Today, internet platforms are no longer primarily user-driven but equally data and commerce-driven.
So, how can you hope to stand out and reach your audience? We need to rethink social strategy and focus on the quality of our content instead of quantity.
No one likes being overwhelmed with meaningless, “pretty” ads that do nothing for them. No one appreciates a feed that looks like an ad agency threw up all over it and hasn’t stopped running to the toilet yet. Folks are S-I-C-K of it (see what I did there?). Luckily, there is a better way. It’s not the way of garnering one million followers overnight (which, let’s be honest, is as likely to happen as Natalie Maines and George W. Bush hosting a charity event together). However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel for those who want to reach THEIR people and tell THEIR story in a way that can create community, which in turn, helps generate sales.
In a tag-team worthy of WWE (formerly “WWF,” as my fellow “Attitude Era” kids knew it), I’ve brought in Abigail Slocum, BREAD’s Advertising Strategy Manager and queen of content planning, to offer expert insight into utilizing today’s social media landscape to support your business goals more effectively.
Think before you leap:
Defining a word before using it is always helpful to ensure the correct context. What does developing “strategy” truly mean for your business? Typically, the first big mistake most business-owners and their marketing teams make is that they focus more on strategizing for posts, rather than purpose. “It’s not just a plan, it’s the intentional string that connects what a brand WANTS to say with what the audience NEEDS to hear,” Slocum advises. “A lot of people throw the word ‘strategy’ around like it just means being clever or calculated. But to me, it means creating with purpose. Every ad, every post, every headline. We’re not just being clever. We’re trying to move the needle. I think great strategy pushes boundaries, but always with a reason.”
Value impact over noise:
Society has been online for so long, we’re all used to being inundated with ads. Sometimes, businesses go wrong in trying to stand out by using shock value instead of finding ways to add value to their audience’s lives authentically. Slocum warns against this. “I’m not interested in doing things differently just to be rebellious. I want to do it differently because it works better. That might mean breaking a few rules from time to time, but only if it brings better results and a stronger connection. At the end of the day, strategy should act like a compass. It keeps creative bold, but focused. It helps brands show up in a way that’s not just loud, but loud in the right room, saying the right thing.” If your service or product truly improves their lives, people will remember and respond to you. Focus on showcasing those qualities of what you have to offer.
The “Big Three”:
You may be thinking by now, “Okay, I hear what you’re saying! But where do I start implementing these principles in developing my new strategic process?” Slocum lives by three rules of thumb when it’s time to strategize:
01. Know who you’re talking to—not who you hope is listening, not who your CEO thinks the brand is for. I’m talking real audience insight–what they care about, how they talk, and what makes them stop scrolling. If you don’t start there, you’re just shouting into the void.
02. Define what success looks like. “More likes” is not a strategy, and neither is “going viral.” You need to know what you’re measuring and why. Is it awareness? Engagement? Conversions? Whatever success means to your business. Otherwise, you’re just making noise and hoping for the best. That’s not a plan, that’s a gamble.
03. Leave room to play! The algorithms favor movement, and so do people. Test weird stuff. Try new formulas. Break your own rules sometimes. Social is where brands can show a little extra personality, so don’t be afraid to get scrappy, fun, or even a little unhinged (on purpose). You learn fast by doing, not over-planning.
Ultimately, the shift in consumer behavior points to a desire for more authentic, simplistic engagement. My dad’s best friend, Pitt, is a judge who gives a HILARIOUS impression of late soul crooner Teddy Pendergrass, known for his growly, powerful, preacher-esque tone and delivery (even on ballads, which creates an interesting contrast, in my opinion). Pitt says the key to his impression is to remember that Teddy would essentially “scare” the girl he was singing to into being in a relationship with him because of his big voice. Though clearly a joke, it made me consider our topic and offer a final tip: examine your strategy and consider if you might be doing WAY too much and scaring your customers away. “If your brand is posting just to post, that’s a red flag,” Slocum says. “A lot of businesses treat social media like a content treadmill: keep it moving, keep it constant, don’t stop. But if there’s no strategy behind the volume of content, you’re just adding to the scroll with zero return. Doing too much often means you’re overcomplicating what should be clear. If the message isn’t landing, more content won’t fix it. Smarter content will.”
In doing “the most,” you could lose your authenticity, which could be the death sentence for your brand. So when deciding how you want to show up online, don’t be a part of the problem fueling the dumpster fire of internet chaos. Instead, be the thoughtful strategist who plans to make a meaningful connection with your community, rather than a relationship with their wallet.