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How To Build A New Brand On Social Media Without Overspending

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Sourced from Forbes

For early-stage brands, marketing on social media can feel like a choice between gaining visibility or controlling costs. With limited budgets and high expectations, marketing leaders for young brands often need content strategies that move the needle without relying on big productions or paid reach.

Below, Forbes Agency Council members offer their best advice on what budget-conscious brands should prioritize. Here’s how to create social media content that cuts through the noise, builds trust with audiences and drives real impact for a brand that’s just starting out.

1. Start With LinkedIn And Canva

I run a PR firm, but early in my career, I worked at a social media agency, where the key to growing a community was engagement. For early-stage, budget-conscious B2B brands, I suggest leveraging LinkedIn, as it’s often the best place to start. Invest in Canva for simple design needs. Any PR coverage can then get amplified via social, extending impact and reach without added spend. – John McCartney, Jmac PR

2. Create Clear, Real Content

Prioritize clarity over polish. Content that clearly answers real audience questions consistently outperforms overproduced work. Consistency and authenticity scale better than spend, which is something I see reinforced repeatedly in peer discussions among agency leaders. – Mike Demopoulos, hosting.com

3. Publish Short-Form Video Content

Start publishing short-form video content on every social platform: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube. Then allocate some ad budget to the best-performing videos. Things to consider before you begin creating vertical videos: 1. the hook (you have two to three seconds to capture attention); 2. positioning of yourself; 3. storytelling; and 4. a punchline or call to action. – Nikos Xydas, Humble

4. Prioritize The Message, Not The Medium

When working with a limited budget, you need to ensure your marketing cuts through the clutter, avoids becoming “just another solution,” and stands out in a crowded marketplace. Don’t rush the creative process; think about the one thing that your customers will remember. – Darrell Keezer, Candybox Marketing

5. Establish Your Founder’s Brand First

Focus on building the founder’s brand first. This will get you a wider audience faster, and the company brand will ride on its coattails. Today, founder content outperforms content made by the business brand content by a wide margin. – Dean Seddon, Maverrik

6. Answer These Three Questions

Answer the three most important questions: What am I selling? Who am I selling it to? Why should they care? Then craft every single message with that in mind. Write like you talk, and be human. – David Farinella, Farinella LLC

7. Build Topical Authority On Community Platforms

Prioritize building topical authority on community platforms like Reddit and Quora over high-production visuals. In the AI era, generative engines look for “human-verified” expertise found in long-form discussions to validate a brand’s credibility. By solving problems in these niches, you create high-value references that boost your authority in AI-driven search without advertising spend. – Uri Samet, Buzz Dealer

8. Focus On Insight, Not Volume

One sharp perspective grounded in real client outcomes—what worked, what failed and why—outperforms constant posting. Thought leadership compounds when content teaches, not entertains, and credibility scales faster than budget. – Anton Kovalchuk, QliqQliq

9. Trade Time And Expertise For Visibility

“Give me time or give me money” is the old adage for gaining broad market exposure. Being early stage means time investment over ad spend, so stretch those marketing dollars by sharing and amplifying your industry expertise through podcast appearances, guest contributor articles and thought leadership blog posts. In other words, create a trust “footprint” that SEO and AEO will recognize and reward. – Phillip Davis, Tungsten Branding

10. Treat Marketing As A Non-negotiable Expense

Treat marketing as a core startup expense, not a leftover line item or an afterthought. When it’s built into your operating financial model, it scales with revenue instead of becoming a cost you fear. Impactful social content doesn’t require big budgets; it requires a deep understanding of your audience and how your story connects emotionally. Efficiency comes from clarity, not spending. – Cagan Sean Yuksel, Dreamspace

11. Establish And Follow Clear Brand Guidelines

“Build it and they will come.“ Design a social media brand guideline that establishes who you are and what you stand for. Follow that guideline for consistent posting and responding. Naturally, a community will grow. Teaming with the right publicist or social team can take that weight off of you so you can focus on building the company. – Pierce Kafka, Kafka Media Group

12. Plan Content In Advance And Batch The Work

Plan ahead. Start by locking in your key messages, then use your favourite generative AI platform to draft content in batches. Review it, humanize it and schedule it out. Chunking up the social media work and leveraging tech saves hours and staves off the weekly scrambles. – Chintan Shah, KNB Communications

13. Create Content From Real Use Cases And Moments

Prioritize content that comes from real use cases, customer questions and behind-the-scenes moments. These are cheaper to produce and tend to feel more authentic than staged shoots. When content reflects how people actually interact with your product or brand, it builds trust and drives engagement without requiring a large budget. – Hernan Tagliani, Tagliani Multicultural

14. Leverage Creator-Generated Content Across Channels

Prioritize creator-generated content from influencers that you can reuse everywhere. One CGC partnership can populate your organic feed and fuel paid social, often for less than in-house production. You get platform-native content that performs, and you own it outright, with no ongoing usage fees. – Danielle Wiley, Sway Group

15. Reuse Strong Ideas Instead Of Reinventing Them

I’d tell early-stage brands to prioritize reuse over reinvention. Early brands overspend trying to make everything new. One strong idea can show up as a post, video, comment or a founder’s point of view. Repetition builds recognition, and recognition builds trust. Amplifying a message across channels, in more than one way, is what drives impact. – Jacquelyn LaMar Berney, VI Marketing and Branding

16. Maximize The Tools You Already Have

Prioritize the tools already available to you, especially AI tools with free trials. Test them hands-on and find image or video platforms that genuinely fit your brand. The right setup can turn one photoshoot into dozens of usable content variations without increasing production costs. – Bernard May, National Positions

17. Build Recognition With Consistent Visuals

Make sure your graphics are prepared with care and intent from the beginning and stay unified with a brand look and feel. Consistency on social media builds recognition faster, and a simple visual system adds credibility without overspending. Repetition through templates isn’t a limitation for new brands—it frees teams to focus on message and timing. – Goran Paun, ArtVersion

18. Document What You’re Already Doing

Prioritize documenting what you already do every day instead of creating content from scratch. Record short explanations, decisions, mistakes and customer conversations, and then shape them into posts. This costs nothing and builds credibility fast. When people see how you think in real situations, trust grows naturally and leverage comes from repetition, not production spend. – Vaibhav Kakkar, Digital Web Solutions

19. Build A Personal Brand On Social Platforms

Building your personal brand on Instagram, Threads and TikTok is the lowest barrier to entry. Post consistently with authentic, unpolished content that addresses your audience’s problems, not your achievements or product features. Raw, value-driven posts that speak directly to what your customers need will outperform expensive campaigns every time. Focus on reach first and engagement will follow. – Fernando Beltran, Identika LLC

20. Have An Opinion Worth Arguing About

Budget-conscious brands can’t outspend competitors, but they can outthink them. Take a clear stance on something your industry gets wrong. Thought leadership doesn’t require a production budget—it requires courage. One bold point of view generates more engagement than a year of safe, forgettable posts. If done well, it opens up conversations and doors! – Kathleen Lucente, Red Fan Communications

Feature image credit: Getty

Sourced from Forbes

ByExpert Panel® COUNCIL POST | Membership (fee-based) Successful PR, media strategy, creative and advertising executives from Forbes Agency Council share trends and tips. Visit Expert’s website.

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Instagram CEO Argues Social Media Is Not “Clinically Addictive”

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Sourced from FLIPBOARD

Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri told a court during a Los Angeles trial that he does not believe that users can be “clinically addicted” to the platform. His testimony was part of a series of significant social media trials accusing companies of intentionally designing addictive features that negatively impact young people’s mental health. Mosseri, the first executive to testify in the trials, refuted claims that the platform prioritized making money over the mental health of young users. “There’s always trade-off between safety and speech. We’re trying to be as safe as possible and censor as little as possible,” Mosseri said. He emphasized the importance of distinguishing between “clinical addiction” and “problematic use” when it comes to social media. Mosseri defines problematic use as “someone spending more time on Instagram than they feel good about.” The 43-year-old emphasized Instagram’s commitment to teen safety, noting that the platform tests new features for young users before launching them. The case centres around a 20-year-old referred to by the initials “KGM,” who claims her mental health was adversely affected by the platform’s addictive features. When asked about the plaintiff spending 16 hours on Instagram in a single day, Mosseri responded, “That sounds like problematic use.”

Sourced from FLIPBOARD

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What Excessive Social Media Means For Older Adults

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By Angelica Mari

While we once worried about older adults being left behind online, the digital divide narrative has shifted as they fully embrace social media. Now, the question is: what happens when they dive in too deep?

Seniors are now among the fastest-growing 13 globally. In the US, adoption among those aged 50 and older has soared, with 90% engaging with such platforms, according to data from AARP, with nearly half of older adults spending over an hour daily on platforms such as Facebook and YouTube.

Similar patterns can be seen elsewhere. In Brazil, where the population is highly connected, the percentage of social media users aged 60 and over jumped from 44,8% in 2019 to 69,4% in 2024, according to data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).

Many seniors discovered digital connection during pandemic isolation, and some never logged off. A number of studies have established links between social media use with positive effects such as higher wellbeing, social support and sense of community.

On the other hand, studies have been mainly focused on younger users and given that large economies are aging rapidly, the debate is now moving to the downsides of using social media, particularly when it is done so in an excessive way.

But, what constitutes as abnormal use of social media among older adults, and what could be the consequences?

Potential issues

From a cyberpsychology perspective, problematic social media is characterized by compulsive behaviour with uncontrollable and excessive use. This could be accompanied by a fear of missing out on something, for example, and even phantom perceptions (like assuming the device is vibrating with notifications when it is not), a Turkish study with seniors has found.

This usage pattern is driven by the way platforms are built, with features such as infinite scrolling and instant notifications. Algorithmic design also means that even problematic use can be perceived as rewarding, despite all the negative impacts this may bring, including poor sleep and sedentary behaviour. Increased depression and anxiety among seniors were also linked to use of social media for over six hours a day, according to a 2025 study with over 15,000 retirees in Shanghai.

For older adults, platforms built for excessive use can potentially become a bigger issue. That is because natural changes within the prefrontal cortex can make compulsive checking harder to resist. Suddenly, staying connected with grandchildren can turn into YouTube rabbit holes and Facebook refreshes every half an hour.

In addition, seniors might be encountering algorithmic persuasion at a vulnerable life stage, a point in life which can include major events including retirement identity loss, bereavement, and health issues such as reduced physical mobility. In that scenario, the promise of constant connection can feel like a salvation, rather than a product being sold.

Fragmented attention caused by constant task-switching within social media platforms can also be a problem. Attention split between games, messages, videos, news and notifications coupled with infinite scrolling may contribute to cognitive strain or undermine protective habits like deep reading.

Vulnerability to online crime is another significant issue that can impact older social media users, since they are more exposed to scams tailored for them, including prizes, lottery and investment scams or fake emergencies involving relatives.

Numbers on financial fraud impacting seniors demonstrate the sheer size of the problem. Estimated total losses including underreported cases cost older adults up to $81.5 billion in the United States during 2024 alone, mostly due to investment scams advertised on social media, according to data from the Federal Trade Commission.

However, none of these risks mean that older adults are uniquely incapable of navigating digital environments. The problem is not age itself, but the interaction between platform design, life stage, and patterns of use. Recognizing structural vulnerability should not slide into portraying seniors as passive victims.

Agency within risk

While problematic use patterns of social media can create psychological and cause harm to more vulnerable senior users, it is important to challenge the infantilizing narrative around older users and technology, and assuming that all of them are vulnerable to the same kind of dynamics. Research on smartphone use reveals this double-edged sword, arguing that device engagement appears to be cognitively protective, countering the assumption that intensive use always harms older brains.

Intensity of use alone doesn’t determine harm, but the quality of engagement matters, the study suggests. That is why active, purposeful use of social media (for communication or learning, for instance) can support cognitive functioning, while compulsion-based use creates stress, or phantom perceptions for example.

It is also important to distinguish misinformation from information overload – and the research has highlighted older adults’ agency in managing both. Overload is a cognitive and attentional challenge (too much, too fast, with insufficient filtering tools) while misinformation is an epistemic challenge, with content designed to deceive.

An older adult struggling with notification fatigue needs different support than one who shared false health content. Lumping them together produces generic digital literacy interventions that address neither well.

Frequently, the seniors and social media debate tends to adopt a blanket approach, framing them as passive algorithmic victims that are credulous, overwhelmed and in need of rescue. However, treating seniors as uniformly gullible could be a form of ageism that shapes paternalistic policies, condescending digital literacy campaigns, and communication strategies that talk at rather than with older populations.

As the debate on social media use among seniors advances, designing for intentionality could be one of the ways forward. Platforms and public health campaigns should help users develop metacognitive awareness of, for instance, why they’re reaching for their phones, rather than assuming older users specifically need supervision.

Also, strategies that distinguish the overload problem from the misinformation issue could offer older adults filtering tools for the former and critical framing support for the latter, without assuming they are incapable of thinking for themselves.

And finally, research models should involve older adults as co-investigators of their own digital experience rather than simply framing them as subjects to be studied and protected. Solutions built on ageist assumptions will consistently miss the mark.

Feature image credit: Moment Editorial/Getty Images

By Angelica Mari

Find Angelica Mari on LinkedIn.

Sourced from Forbes

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Why Leaders Can’t Fake Authenticity In The Age Of Social Media

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By William Arruda

People can spot a fake from a mile away. Building an engaged audience isn’t about putting on a persona or pursuing polished perfection. It’s about authentic branding. Aura farming, the practice of curating a highly stylized persona that’s disconnected from reality, is flooding social platforms, and it’s starting to experience a backlash. The term went viral after many celebrities began appearing a little too perfect in their online posts. Travis Kelce, for example, participated in a TikTok trend showcasing highly stylized, meme-worthy vibes. While playful and entertaining, this approach can backfire when you try to create a persona solely to capture attention rather than build trust. What grabs viewers’ attention quickly typically loses credibility just as fast.

Why Authenticity Matters More Than Ever

SEO agency Studio 36 explains it this way. “Consumers, particularly Gen Z, are hyper-aware of authenticity. They can tell when a persona is engineered solely for engagement, which risks eroding trust instead of building it.” At its core, personal and corporate branding have always been about authenticity. In the age of AI, that foundation is even more important. AI can easily generate a shiny, manufactured persona and produce attention-grabbing content at scale. But attention is not the same as emotional connection, and it doesn’t inspire enduring trust. Sure, it’s tempting to take on an AI-generated perfect persona or engage in aura farming, but it won’t help you reach your goals. Being real will. A 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer report revealed that 65% of consumers would stop buying from a brand if they felt it was inauthentic online. For leaders, that makes inauthenticity a business risk.

Trying to farm a vibe is tempting because there’s so much noise online. It’s becoming more challenging to stand out and get noticed. Aura farming could get you some short-term notoriety, but research tells us that it’s unlikely to translate into ongoing, meaningful engagement. Fake personas see 25–30% lower retention on content engagement than authentic storytelling, according to a 2024 Influencer Marketing Hub study. Brands that are perceived as genuine grow community loyalty twice as fast over 12 months, even if their social content isn’t “meme-perfect.”

Aura Farming Is The Opposite Of Authenticity

Aura farming may seem fun and innocuous, but it can negatively impact your brand. It comes with a lot of challenges:

  • Confusion. Trying to mimic viral trends can take you away from what’s real and create confusion among the members of your audience.
  • Short-Lived Attention. Meme-driven hype fades quickly, leaving little long-term impact. You get a spike of engagement, which feels exciting. Then, people move on, and you’re forgotten.
  • Public Scepticism. Audiences can detect inauthenticity and often publicly call out contrived content. That gives you the wrong kind of brand visibility. In the age of AI, real, human connection is what builds confidence.

Brands Should Create An Experience Based In Authenticity Instead Of An Artificial Aura

Being real is the most important of 17 personal branding trends for 2026. But being authentic doesn’t mean ignoring social media trends altogether. It’s about integrating content that aligns with your mission, humanizes your brand, and engages your audience consistently. Short-term virality can be fun, but long-term loyalty comes from values, transparency, vulnerability, and relatability. “Brands that invest in a real digital aura, not a manufactured one, will see better engagement, higher trust, and sustainable growth,” said Digital Marketing Expert Andrew Witts from Studio 36. He advises businesses to focus on five authentic, sustainable strategies:

1. Define Your Brand Mission and Values

You need a solid foundation on which to build your communications. Don’t chase every trend. Know and communicate what your brand genuinely stands for. Brand clarity creates consistency, which is the key to building brand connection and loyalty.

2. Showcase Relatable Human Stories

User-generated content, behind-the-scenes glimpses, and employee perspectives resonate more than staged imagery. Real people outperform perfect visuals when it comes to building credibility and emotional connection.

3. Align Social Content with Your Area of Expertise, Product, or Service

Everything you publish online should reinforce your core message rather than mimic virality. Put your content through a brand test and rework content that feels off-brand.

4. Engage Consistently, Not Opportunistically

Regular, honest engagement builds trust. Sporadic meme hijacking risks backlash that could tarnish your brand. Every post should reinforce what you’re known for, not chase what’s trending.

5. Measure Engagement Beyond Likes

Retention and sentiment are the signs of loyalty. Likes only reveal a passing interest. Although it’s tempting to publish content where the like-ometer increases rapidly in real-time, those likes will be forgotten just as quickly as they accumulated.

Be Real. Authenticity Is The Key To Genuine Engagement

Authenticity is no longer optional. Audiences, employees, and clients can tell when a brand is performing instead of being real, and the cost is trust. Personal branding consultant Bhavik Sarkhedi put it this way, “I’ve seen this up close, and I genuinely believe manufactured personas work like credit, you get attention now and pay for it later with lost trust. Authentic branding is cash: slower to build, but it never defaults. The strongest personal brands don’t spike for a moment; they quietly compound over time.” Engage in regular, on-brand communications. Leaders who resist the urge to chase trends and instead commit to clarity, consistency, and connection will build brands that create deeper, more emotional relationships. That type of connection far outlasts the social media fad du jour.

Feature image credit: Getty

By William Arruda

Find William Arruda on LinkedIn. Visit William’s website.

William Arruda is a keynote speaker, author, and personal branding pioneer. He speaks on branding, leadership, and AI. Watch his AI-Powered Personal Branding Session to learn more about the intersection of AI and personal branding.

Sourced from Forbes

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How to repurpose one great idea into a week’s worth of social posts

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By Jeremy Knauff

Jeremy Knauff helps you develop a leveraged approach that efficiently turns a single topic into a mountain of content that you can publish to all social media platforms

I bet that there’s a particular agent who constantly shows up in your social media feed and gets tons of engagement. It probably drives you crazy because they’re not smarter or more charismatic than you, but they still get the lion’s share of the attention in your market.

You know you need to publish more content to stay in front of your audience and build brand recognition and trust. This may seem impossible because you’re already so busy providing top-notch service to your clients, but the truth is that you can keep serving your clients just as well, while building a mountain of content that keeps you in front of your audience and builds brand recognition and trust.

Write a comprehensive article

You might be wondering, “Why write an article if I just want some social media content?”

The answer is simple — it becomes the foundation to build a mountain of content that you can then publish on social media, plus you can also publish the article on your website.

But I want to be clear — you absolutely should NOT use AI to write this article.

Your unique insight and voice is what will make people interested, so this is a critical element.

You should aim for about 750-1,500 words, focus on one key topic and hit on three to five key points to support that topic. You also need an engaging opening that explains why it matters and a closing that brings it all together.

Craft long-form posts

Once your article is written, you can easily craft half a dozen or more long form posts that are perfect for Facebook and LinkedIn.

The first is to address the topic itself and why it matters to your audience, which you can draw from the opening of your article. This should be an informative post about the topic and how it impacts your audience without digging into the supporting points yet.

Next, you’ll write a post for each of the key supporting points from your article, briefly reiterating the topic and why it matters, followed by the supporting point, which should make up the bulk of the post. This should give you another three to five posts.

It’s important to note that you’re not going to just copy and paste from your article for these posts. Instead, you should write something new based on the info from your article.

Extract short-form tweets

When it comes to X, short-form content really shines — especially when you can leverage questions or controversy.

The first thing you’ll do is pull all of the powerful one-line statements from your article to use as individual tweets. And you can take things a step further by creating a quote graphic that you can share with tweets. These can also be shared on other platforms as well.

Next, you’ll pull a few longer sections, making sure to keep them under 280 total characters each. This ensures that your audience can see the entire tweet without clicking the “see more” link.

It’s relatively easy to generate a dozen or more pieces of short-form content using this tactic.

Record a long-form video

Your article gives you a framework to record an informative long-form video on the topic, which you can upload to YouTube and other social media platforms.

The key here is to use an outline rather than trying to read the article as a script. This ensures that your video sounds natural and engaging instead of robotic and boring. And remember to make eye contact with the camera — if you stare down at your notes while talking, your audience will tune out.

I try to keep my videos under 30 minutes because most people have a short attention span today. It’s usually pretty easy to make one video on the topic, but you may be able to record a few videos from one article.

It’s also important to complete all of the available fields when you upload your videos to YouTube, including a short, engaging title, a well-designed thumbnail, a robust description and a list of tags. This helps ensure that your video shows up in feeds and search results.

Extract short clips

Once you’ve recorded your long-form video, you can extract short-form clips from it to publish on every platform. These are especially effective on YouTube, TikTok, Facebook and Instagram when limited to three minutes. And this is a powerful way to rack up a ton of views and quickly earn more new subscribers.

You can do this manually with video editing software, like Adobe Premier or Camtasia, or you can use AI tools like Descript or OpusClip to automatically extract multiple short clips on autopilot. And these AI tools also automatically generate captions that match your branding, which is critical for maximizing watch time since many people scroll social with the audio turned off.

You’ll find that in most cases, you should be able to generate anywhere from half a dozen to several dozen short-form videos from your long-form video.

The algorithms that power social media platforms prioritize video content, so this is an essential element of your marketing efforts today.

You need to publish more content

Consistently creating lots of content is a must in today’s noisy marketplace, but it doesn’t have to mean slaving away in front of a camera or at your computer all day.

It just requires a leveraged approach that efficiently turns a single topic into a mountain of content that you can publish to all social media platforms.

When you do this properly, it enables you to demonstrate your expertise, build authority status and cut through the noise to stay in front of your audience so that you’re the one they think of when it’s time to make a buying decision.

This is your blueprint to do exactly that, and if you follow it consistently, you’ll build a more resilient business that generates predictable and scalable revenue.

By Jeremy Knauff

Jeremy Knauff is the founder of Spartan Media, a speaker, author and Marine Corps veteran.

Sourced from inman

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Social media marketing falls flat as a signal of quality, research finds

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Edited by Sadie Harley, reviewed by Andrew Zinin

Research published in Information Systems Research finds that social media marketing (SMM) does little to help high-quality firms stand apart from competitors. Instead, it often pushes companies of all quality levels toward similar spending and pricing strategies, blurring the very signals firms hope will differentiate them in digital marketplaces.

The INFORMS study, “Signalling Quality to Consumers: The Role of Social Media Marketing,” was authored by Qinquan Cui and Kenan Arifoğlu of University College London and Dongyuan Zhan of the University of Science and Technology of China.

Social media platforms have transformed the way consumers learn about products. Unlike traditional advertising, where firms broadcast one-way messages to increase awareness, SMM allows consumers themselves to generate and share information such as reviews, ratings, comments, and peer recommendations, all of which influence perceived product quality.

As a result, firms increasingly rely on SMM both to expand their customer base and to influence the external information consumers receive.

“Firms often believe that spending more on social media marketing helps signal superior product quality,” said Cui. “However, when we modelled this environment using a game-theoretic approach, we found that high-quality firms cannot reliably use SMM spending to separate themselves from mid- or low-quality competitors.”

Game-theoretic approach is a way of analysing situations where multiple decision-makers (players) interact, and the outcome for each depends not only on their own choices but also on the choices of others. Game theory provides a formal mathematical framework to predict behaviour, identify optimal strategies, and understand incentives in competitive or cooperative environments.

To analyse the strategic interactions in their study, the researchers studied two scenarios: a benchmark case, where SMM only increases product awareness; and an information-revelation case, where SMM also improves the precision of online reviews and other external factors.

In the benchmark case, the researchers found that firms cannot credibly signal their product quality simply through different SMM spending levels. What they found was that two things can happen: first, there can be something called “partial pooling,” where low- and mid-quality firms choose the same level of SMM spending, while at the same time, high-quality firms separate by spending less; second, there can be “full pooling,” where all firms spend the same amount.

“We discovered that higher-quality firms actually limit their SMM spending to maintain a smaller but more profitable customer base,” said Arifoğlu. “Spending more would invite lower-quality firms to mimic them, making separation impossible.”

That said, when SMM does play a specific information-revelation role, meaning it makes online signals like reviews more accurate, the challenge intensifies. The study found that only full pooling or a limited form of partial pooling can occur, and that high-quality firms find it even harder to distinguish themselves from lower-quality firms.

In a sense, when all firms spend at the same level on SMM, a commoditization of messaging and branding can happen.

“In situations where SMM enhances the precision of online reviews, mid- and low-quality firms actually lose some of their incentives to pool with high-quality firms,” Zhan said.

“But high-quality firms also cannot set themselves apart. In the end, the information glut created by SMM spending by mid- to low-quality firms makes it more of a challenge for high-quality firms to differentiate.”

The authors conclude that SMM may not be the most effective quality-signalling tool for firms in competitive environments. Rather, high-quality firms may benefit from moderating their SMM spending rather than increasing it, and being more focused and innovative in their marketing to their highest-value market segments.

Feature image credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

By Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences

Edited by Sadie Harley, reviewed by Andrew Zinin

Sourced from Phys.org

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16 Big Social Media Trends B2C Brands Should Be Acting On This Year

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Sourced from Forbes

Social media is one of the most important channels modern B2C brands use to get discovered, shape audience perception and spark real interest with consumers. As people change how they browse, shop, buy and interact with brands online, social media platforms are evolving along with them, favouring authentic content that builds a sense of real connection.

For B2C brands to stay relevant and meet audiences where they are, it’s essential to stay up on major shifts and developments in social media to understand how to best leverage or prepare for emerging trends. Here, 16 members of Forbes Agency Council explore the biggest social media trends influencing B2C marketing today to help brands make informed decisions about where to focus their efforts.

1. TikTok Ads

TikTok ads are winning the game when it comes to B2C advertising. Often, they are overlooked, and now with new advancements in TikTok Shop, buyers can click through to purchase seamlessly. TikTok advertising also seems to be less expensive than buying Meta ads, and the platform often offers advertisers incentives for coming on board. – Adrian Falk, Believe Advertising & PR

2. Raw, Real Experiential Content

There is a big shift in B2C brands moving away from their ultra-polished, longstanding brand messaging toward raw and real experiential content that taps into a consumer’s vibe. Social media platforms are rewarding brand content that looks less like an advertisement and more like something a real person would post: content with personality. Brands should get on board or risk being left at the station. – T. Maxwell, eMaximize

3. Social Platforms As Search Engines

Social platforms are becoming powerful discovery and search engines, especially for younger audiences. B2C brands should treat them like modern storefronts—optimizing content for searchability and relevance. The key is knowing your audience, how they search and the type of content they trust and engage with. – Dani Mariano, Razorfish

4. Reddit

Consumers are talking about your brand and competitors’ brands in subreddits. And the major AI players weigh Reddit heavily as a trusted source. Brands that aren’t sure whether they should treat Reddit as a valuable community should check their analytics and use platforms like SparkToro to see if their target audiences are on Reddit. – Joanna Wiebe, Copyhackers

5. More Intimate Connections

One of the biggest shifts I’m seeing is the rise of intimate social—brands moving away from chasing mass virality and instead cultivating smaller, high-trust spaces like Close Friends lists, private communities or creator-led collaborations. People are tired of performative marketing; they want belonging and truth. If it deepens connection, it’s worth it. If it’s just noise, pass. – Jacquelyn LaMar Berney, VI Marketing and Branding

6. AI-Generated Creativity

AI-generated creativity will be a major trend that B2C brands need to adopt. Brands should take a closer look at AI characters, as some may fit their storytelling. Today, this approach can have a second life, especially across social platforms. Another closely related trend is AI-empowered user-generated content. However, this is an ethical question for brands, as it carries significant reputational risks. – Oksana Matviichuk, OM Strategic Forecasting

7. Short-Form Video

Authentic, short-form video continues to drive engagement across TikTok, Reels and YouTube Shorts. At our company, we guide brands to participate only when the content aligns with their tone, values and ability to sustain consistent storytelling. The key is relevance and real connection, not replication of trends. – Durée Ross, Durée & Company, Inc.

8. Authenticity Over Aesthetics

One major trend right now is the shift toward authenticity over aesthetics. Audiences are responding to real, unfiltered content like behind-the-scenes clips, founder moments and quick, honest storytelling. Before jumping in, brands should ask if it aligns with their values and voice. Authenticity only works if it’s genuine, not forced. – Bryanne DeGoede, BLND Public Relations

9. Social Commerce

A significant social media trend for B2C brands is the rise of social commerce. Brands can assess participation by considering product suitability for visually driven shopping, audience readiness and the ability to offer a seamless checkout experience. When these align, social commerce can convert engagement directly into measurable sales. – Jessica Hawthorne-Castro, Hawthorne Advertising

10. Conversations With Consumers

Being involved in community conversations across social platforms and directly conversing with the consumer is of huge importance for brands today. It helps establish brand identity and build trust with your core audience. Brands should not shy away from this, but they should be mindful of how they communicate with consumers. – Jordan Edelson, Appetizer Mobile LLC

11. DM-Driven Commerce

One trend I’ve been seeing recently is commerce moving into direct messages. Comments and messages on Instagram and TikTok are turning into carts and loyalty moments. Brands that can consistently reply and route chats into their CRM system can jump in. They can test a two-week, DM-only drop and regroup if their response time slips or the payback isn’t there. Done right, it feels like a boutique conversation at scale. – Gabriel Shaoolian, Digital Silk

12. Storytelling

Storytelling is still king. It’s what sets human creativity apart from AI content. But not every brand needs it. Some just need to give clear instructions so customers can grab the content they need and move on. While that’s true for, say, utility companies, in life sciences, for example, stories build trust with patients or healthcare providers. – Nataliya Andreychuk, Viseven

13. ‘Algorithmic Authenticity’

The biggest shift is the rise of “algorithmic authenticity.” Raw, unfiltered content now beats polished ads because audiences trust what feels real. But not every trend is worth chasing. Before you jump in, ask: Does it serve your story, or just the algorithm? If it’s not building real connection or credibility, skip the hype and focus on impact. – Lars Voedisch, PRecious Communications

14. Creator Ecosystems

The biggest trend is the rise of authentic creator-style content over polished brand ads. Consumers trust faces more than logos. Smart brands now build creator ecosystems instead of running isolated influencer deals. Before jumping in, brands should assess fit—whether a creator’s audience shares your values, tone and desired emotional response, and if they’re your target demographic. – Tony Pec, Y Not You Media

15. Private Groups And Niche Communities

There does seem to be continued growth of private groups and niche communities. Platforms such as Next-door, a private social network that connects neighbourhoods to discuss local issues, offer opportunities for brands to hyper-target not only geographically and democratically, but also behaviourally and by interest. – Ellis Verdi, DeVito/Verdi

16. Creator-Driven Microcontent

A major social media trend for B2C brands is the rise of authentic, creator-driven microcontent—short, unscripted videos that build trust faster than polished ads. Before jumping in, brands should assess whether their voice fits naturally in that space. If authenticity feels forced, it’s better to collaborate with creators who already embody the brand’s values and audience tone. – Paula Chiocchi, Outward Media, Inc.

Feature image credit: Getty

Sourced from Forbes

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TikTok child data protection inadequate, Canadian privacy officials say

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By Peter Hoskins

TikTok’s efforts to stop children using the app and protect their personal data have been inadequate, a Canadian investigation has found.

Hundreds of thousands of children in the country use TikTok each year despite the firm saying it is not intended for people under the age of 13, according to the findings.

The investigation also found TikTok had collected sensitive personal information from “a large number” of Canadian children and used it for online marketing and content targeting.

TikTok told the BBC that it will introduce a number of measures to “strengthen our platform for Canadians” although it disputes some of the findings.

Feature image credit: LightRocket via Getty Images

By Peter Hoskins

Sourced from BBC

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The ‘Sift’ strategy: A four-step method for spotting misinformation

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By Amanda Ruggeri

Pioneered by digital literacy experts, the “Sift” strategy is a technique for spotting fake news and misleading social media posts, says Amanda Ruggeri.

It’s no secret that misinformation is rampant on social media. And it’s even more so in some subjects than others. Research has found, for example, that around two-thirds of the most popular YouTube videos on vaccines contain misinformation. The fall-out can be dire: an uptick in inaccurate anti-vaccination content online correlates with a decline in vaccination coverage, especially among children. That has led to larger outbreaks of potentially deadly diseases, like measles, than have been seen in recent years.

“Misinformation is worse than an epidemic,” Marcia McNutt, president of the US National Academy of Sciences, put it in 2021, implicitly referring to the Covid-19 pandemic. “It spreads at the speed of light throughout the globe and can prove deadly when it reinforces misplaced personal bias against all trustworthy evidence.”

HOW NOT TO BE MANIPULATED

In today’s onslaught of overwhelming information (and misinformation), it can be difficult to know who to trust. In this column, Amanda Ruggeri explores smart, thoughtful ways to navigate the noise. Drawing on insights from psychology, social science and media literacy, it offers practical advice, new ideas and evidence-based solutions for how to be a wiser, more discerning critical thinker.

There are many reasons why misinformation travels so quickly – according to some research, even faster than accurate information. One reason is that people are far more likely to share a claim when it confirms their pre-existing beliefs, regardless of its accuracy. This cognitive bias may help explain why even more misinformation seems to be shared by individuals than by bots. One study, for example, found that just 15% of news sharers spread up to 40% of fake news.

That’s a sobering statistic, but there’s an upside. As long as individuals are the ones responsible for sharing so much misinformation, we’re also the ones who – by being more mindful of what we “like”, share, and amplify – can help make the greatest change.

When it comes to not falling for misinformation, being aware of our human fallibilities, such as our quickness to believe what we want to believe, is a good first step. Research shows that even being more reflective in general can “inoculate” us against believing fake news.

But it’s not the only thing that we can do. In particular, researchers have found there are several simple, concrete strategies that we all can (and should) use, especially before we’re tempted to share or repeat a claim, to verify its accuracy first.

One of my favourites comes with a nifty acronym: the Sift method. Pioneered by digital literacy expert Mike Caulfield, it breaks down into four easy-to-remember steps.

Javier Hirschfeld/Getty Images STOP: Take a moment before you hit 'share' (Credit: Javier Hirschfeld/Getty Images)Javier Hirschfeld/Getty Images
STOP: Take a moment before you hit ‘share’ (Credit: Javier Hirschfeld/Getty Images)

1. S is for… Stop

Perhaps one of the most pernicious aspects of the modern era is its urgency. Thanks to everything from our continual phone use to nonstop work demands, far too many of us seem to be navigating the world at a dizzying speed.

Being online, where both news cycles and content are especially fast-paced and often emotive, can put us in a particularly “urgent” mindset. But when it comes to identifying misinformation, immediacy is not our friend. Research has found that relying on our immediate “gut” reactions is more likely to lead us astray than if we take a moment to stop and reflect.

The first step of the Sift method interrupts this tendency. Stop. Don’t share the post. Don’t comment on it. And move on to the next step.

Javier Hirschfeld/Getty Images INVESTIGATE: Look deeper into the source (Credit: Javier Hirschfeld/Getty Images)Javier Hirschfeld/Getty Images
INVESTIGATE: Look deeper into the source (Credit: Javier Hirschfeld/Getty Images)

2. I is for… Investigate the source

Posts show up in our social media feeds all the time without us having a clear sense of who created them. Maybe they were shared by a friend. Maybe they were pushed to us by the algorithm. Maybe we followed the creator intentionally, but never looked into their background.

Now’s the time to find this out. Who created this post? Get off-platform and do a web search. And because search results can be misleading, make sure you’re looking at a reputable website. One that fact-checkers often use as a first port of call might surprise you: Wikipedia. While it’s not perfect, it has the benefit of being crowd-sourced, which means that its articles about specific well-known people or organisations often cover aspects like controversies and political biases.

While you’re investigating, ask:

  • If the creator is a media outlet, are they reputable and respected, with a recognised commitment to verified, independent journalism?
  • If it’s an individual, what expertise do they have in the subject at hand (if any)? What financial ties, political leanings or personal biases may be at play?
  • If it’s an organisation or a business, what is their purpose? What do they advocate for, or sell? Where does their funding come from? What political leanings have they shown?

And finally, once you’ve run your analysis (which can take just a couple of minutes), the most telling question of all: Would you still trust this creator’s expertise in this subject if they were saying something you disagreed with?

Javier Hirschfeld/Getty Images FIND: Seek out better coverage (Credit: Javier Hirschfeld/Getty Images)Javier Hirschfeld/Getty Images
FIND: Seek out better coverage (Credit: Javier Hirschfeld/Getty Images)

 

3. F is for… Find better coverage

If, from the previous step, you find that you still have questions about the source’s credibility, now’s the time to dig a little further. What you’re looking for is whether a more trustworthy source, like a reputable news outlet or fact-checking service, has reported and verified the same claim.

No surprise, but I find Google has some of the best tools for doing this. Obviously, there’s Google itself, and if you’re specifically looking to see if news outlets have covered something, Google News.

But I sometimes prefer to use the Google Fact Check search engine, which searches just fact-checking sites, specifically. Just keep in mind that Google says it doesn’t vet the fact-checking sites it includes, so to make sure your results are reputable, you’ll need to do a little further sleuthing – I like to see if an outlet has signed up to Poynter’s International Fact-Checking Network, which you can check here.

If it’s a photo you’re investigating, use a reverse image search tool to see where else the image comes up online. Google has one, but I also like TinEye and Yandex. (You can also use these for video: take a screenshot from the video and put that in for your image search).

Your goal? To see whether there are any credible sources reporting the same information as what you’re seeing, and saying that it’s verified.

Javier Hirschfeld/Getty Images TRACE: Find the original context (Credit: Javier Hirschfeld/Getty Images)Javier Hirschfeld/Getty Images
TRACE: Find the original context (Credit: Javier Hirschfeld/Getty Images)

4. T is for… Trace the claim to its original context

Often, you’ll wind up doing this at the same time that you’re trying to find better coverage, at least if you’re using the tools mentioned above. But the idea here is a little different. You’re trying to find out where the claim came from originally.

Even if you see that a claim has been reported on by a credible media outlet, for example, it may not be original reporting; they may have gotten that claim from another outlet. Ideally, the original story should be linked – so always go there – but if it’s not, you may need to search for it separately.

Crucially, you want to figure out not just whether something like this really is true, but whether anything was taken out of context. If you’re looking at an image, does how it was described in the social media post you saw line up with what its original caption, context, and location? If it’s a quotation from a speaker, was anything edited out or taken out of context or, when you see their full interview or speech, does it seem like perhaps they misspoke in that moment?

Taking these steps before deciding whether to simply share a claim might feel onerous. But the time investment of just a few minutes may save you not only embarrassment – but help ensure you’re not spreading misinformation that, at its most dramatic, can even lead to illness and death.

Today, anyone can make a claim on social media. And anyone can be the person whose re-sharing of that claim is the one who makes it go viral. That means it’s the responsibility of each one of us to make sure that what we are posting, liking, and sharing is, first and foremost, actually true.

Feature Image Credit: Javier Hirschfeld/Getty Images

By Amanda Ruggeri

Amanda Ruggeri is an award-winning science and features journalist. She posts about expertise, media literacy and more on Instagram at @mandyruggeri.

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How These 2 Social Media Growth Opportunities Will Transform Business in 2024

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BY ASHLEY HUBKA.

Social media platforms are great tools for “listening” to ongoing conversations to understand what is important in your community.

As we move into 2024, two trends are reshaping how businesses engage with their customers. The first is the shrinking gap between awareness and purchasing, which is evident in the skyrocketing popularity of social commerce, which merges social media discovery with e-commerce. The second is the growing consensus nationwide that businesses should contribute to the well-being of their local communities. This expectation transcends traditional notions of corporate responsibility and asks companies to take the lead in building strong local economies and more resilient communities.

Both trends present opportunities for businesses to generate competitive advantages and growth opportunities, and why an organization’s social platforms should be a strategic priority in the year ahead.

Bridging the discovery-purchase gap

With a growing demand for convenience and immediacy, consumers are moving through the consideration phase of the traditional awareness-consideration-purchase journey online and at lightning speed. This shift requires businesses to focus on converting customers in real time. Social media is quickly becoming the first option for consumers to engage with their favourite brands, shop for the products they love and discover new ones. Because digital discovery often leads directly to purchase, integrating shopping experiences into consumers’ social media feeds is essential to satisfying their desire for convenience and immediacy. This approach caters to the shift in consumer behaviour by emphasizing seamless and personalized interactions with brands in familiar online spaces.

Social media platforms regularly roll out new features and functionalities. For example, last year, TikTok launched its TikTok Shop, and Instagram replaced its “Live Shopping” section with the “Buy Now” and “Add to Cart” buttons to make it easy for users to purchase products as they scroll through their Feed and Reels interfaces.

Retailers are realizing that social commerce platforms like TikTok Shopping, Instagram and YouTube Shopping have become vibrant marketplaces. This is not a fad; Statista projects social commerce will generate $3.37 trillion by 2028 at an annual growth rate of nearly 30%!

Walmart tapped into the power of social commerce last December with our innovative “Add to Heart” shoppable series that combined the holiday season traditions of shopping and watching holiday movies. This first-of-its-kind shoppable commercial series featured over 330 products featured in the series available for real-time purchase, including furniture, holiday décor and clothing items the cast members wore. Customers could watch “Add to Heart” on TikTok, Roku, YouTube and Walmart’s social media channels, and TikTok’s Video Shopping Ads and Roku’s “Ok to Text” feature enabled them to shop whether they were at home or on the go.

The applications and benefits of social commerce are not limited to consumer retail. LinkedIn’s native lead generation is a short hop to something like in-video actions to bridge the gap between discovery and B2B sales. Social commerce is also a viable sales platform for service providers. An insurance company may not offer products its customers can add to a virtual shopping cart, but it can distribute engaging content via social commerce to generate leads and sales.

For now, capitalizing on this trend requires businesses to create interactive, entertaining content that engages audiences who may never set foot in their physical locations. But with the ever-changing social platforms and the tools they provide, what works today might not work tomorrow. That’s why it’s essential to regularly review customer engagement and social media strategies and adapt to and take advantage of them.

Make community building a business priority

While social commerce platforms are transforming traditional sales models, an equally important shift is occurring in how businesses interact with their communities and the role social media platforms play in those interactions.

Organizations of all sizes should make fostering the well-being of their local communities a top priority in 2024. Companies can achieve higher visibility and create positive change by gaining an understanding of what matters most to their community. Demonstrating a commitment to communities, employees and customers is a strategic choice and a key driver for long-term success.

At Walmart, we know that applies to us too. Walmart is a big company, but we are also a collection of businesses in more than 4,600 communities committed to being good stewards of the places our associates and customers call home. We aim to:

  • Create value for communities by providing convenient access to affordable, quality goods and services through our omnichannel business model and everyday low prices.
  • Contribute to economic vitality by providing quality jobs, training and career paths, investing in local suppliers, and contributing to local economies.
  • Strengthen community resilience by supporting local organizations and causes that matter to our customers and associates, increasing food access, and preparing for and responding to disasters.
  • Build more inclusive and engaged communities by advancing equity, supporting caring and connected communities, and deepening engagement between our stores and clubs and their surrounding communities.

Consider how your social media strategy can help you optimize your approach. Social media platforms are great tools for “listening” to ongoing conversations to understand what is important in your community. They also identify opportunities to get involved and make meaningful contributions to the things that matter to your community. Humbly sharing a business’s involvement on social media will help increase awareness and favourability, strengthening its reputation.

BY ASHLEY HUBKA.

ENTREPRENEUR LEADERSHIP NETWORK® CONTRIBUTOR

Senior Vice President & General Manager, Walmart Business, Ashley Hubka, oversees the retailer’s eCommerce experience built to empower SMBs and non-profits. She oversees strategy, operations and growth drivers. Prior, she served as SVP, Enterprise Strategy, Corporate Development & Strategic Partnerships for Walmart.

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