People go about their daily lives exposed to, captivated by and influenced by social media. In the Philippines, the social media capital of the world, this can’t be more true.
Filipino social media user identities now exceed 86 million, according to the January 2024 Digital Report by Meltwater and We are Social. This number represents 73.4 percent of the total population and is expected to continue rising.
Being active socmed users, Filipinos spend an average of 3 hours and 34 minutes daily on social media against the average daily internet time of 8 hours and 52 minutes. That’s almost half of internet time devoted to social media! The social platforms used per month average at eight, with the top five being Facebook, Facebook Messenger, TikTok, Instagram and X.
When a lot becomes too much
But what happens when there’s just too much content out there?
When the social media landscape is overabundant with content or information, it can present problems for both the end-user and creator, in the case of this discussion brands and companies. This content saturation is especially challenging when the “crowding” surrounds similar topics.
When brands constantly generate new material at a rapid pace, either out of need to provide regular content to keep their pages active or deal with competition, this results in a staggering volume of content that can be overwhelming for the audience to handle all at once. This makes it difficult for them to focus and process new data, worse to find the information they need or are looking for.
The constant barrage of data can lead to information overload, making it hard for users to absorb and retain important details. It can cause reader fatigue where the audience gets tired of seeing the same thing repeatedly and subsequently losing their interest, which for the brand and company could bring negative results.
Content saturation on social media can have serious business implications. Instead of standing out, it places businesses at greater risk of blending into the noise with their messages getting lost in the sea of content. This can diminish the effectiveness of their campaigns and reduce the impact of their communication and PR efforts. The content may not reach the target audience or demographic.
Declining social media shares can affect market reach and impact. Additionally, the competition for attention can drive brands to prioritize quantity over quality, which can lead to a decline in the overall value of the content being produced.
Combating social media saturation
Building and maintaining social media presence is crucial, but it is equally important to avoid saturation. Businesses and their PR partners must ensure intended messages are relayed effectively and received by the target publics.
Understand the audience and their behavior — It is important to identify the target audience and study their behaviors, habits and preferences. Knowing the audience enables brands and PR professionals to assess what the audience will likely engage with and based on that knowledge align their social media messaging and content strategies better. They can tailor the content better: Should it be just product posts or blogs? Or would mix of articles, videos, infographics and interactive content resonate better with the audience?
A good understanding of the target audience will also enable brands and PR pros to know what social platform to use and how to maximize that platform to keep users interested. This approach lets brands and PR pros cater to different user preferences and consumption habits, thereby keeping the audience invested without compromising the quality or effectiveness of the content.
All these will contribute to building a community on social media, which can translate to increased brand loyalty, sales and business success.
Monitor trends and find potential niche — Keeping the eyes peeled on market developments, movements and trends, including how the competition is using their social media, goes a long way. This will help ensure flexibility in managing social media content. By monitoring trends, businesses and PR agencies can steer clear of saturated topics and avoid being regarded as merely joining the bandwagon or trendjacking.
Awareness about what is currently trending can also help in developing content that despite tackling the same topics would stand out or be deemed as different and having added value compared to the rest. This helps in finding a niche for one’s content, offering readers something substantial and positioning a brand much more strongly.
Manage frequency of new content — Sticking to a consistent yet manageable schedule across the various platforms makes the work more manageable while creating a breathing space for social media consumers. The caveat: Daily posts is not the end-all or surefire approach. The frequency of posts should depend on data about how often the target audience does consume content on which platform.
Instead of overwhelming the audience with new content every day, it’s a good idea to consider breaks in between when possible. This allows newly acquired information to sink in with the audience first. If the schedule does not allow for breaks, concise or bite-sized content could do the trick.
Create more high-quality content — Quality vs quantity. If performance analytics data show frequent posting does not make much difference, high-value content can compensate and drive interest and trust. Quality content continues to provide value over time, driving more engagement. As such, businesses and PR pros can try for a mix of evergreen content and material on trending topics.
If the tendency is to tackle the same topics already covered by other social media pages, a different approach, new data or insights, even a counter perspective could make one’s material stick out. This is why some companies run a survey or study instead of just a blog when covering similar issues, with the former offering deeper insights and value to the reader. Using a different content format such as a short video about an existing topic can make for a more entertaining material.
Companies can also offer more value by providing personalized content or exploring various formats. If the target audience relates mores with videos, more immersive and engaging videos would then be the answer.
Leverage UGCs and build a community — Getting users to react and create content is an achievement in itself. On top of this, UGCs increase engagement and build trust and loyalty. Besides recognizing the value of UGCs, brands will do better to optimize the content not only to achieve social media goals but also to build a community.
PR pros can integrate UGCs in their clients’ social media campaigns and share such material (with permission from and credit to the creator of course). Short product video testimonials, for example, have proven effective, and is one reason influencer marketing has grown so rapidly.
In terms of building a community, more businesses are using their social media teams to handle queries and feedback, with chatbots aimed at doing so in real-time. Businesses that do respond on social media are seen as having reliable customer service, which aids in building brand following and community.
Measure content effectiveness and performance — A strategic social media content plan relies on data, and performance metrics are valuable in this regard. Besides measuring performance, these metrics are used as basis for modifying the content plan or adapting it to changes in audience behavior or preferences.
Metrics and indicators such as media impressions, views, clicks and reactions provide insights that can support brands and their PR partners in determining topics and content types that appeal to their target audiences. These offer insights into what is working and what is not, allowing for informed adjustments as needed.
Why social media will stay
Social media plays a big role in our digital lives, and it will continue to do so. Besides maintaining connections with loved ones, Filipinos use social media to discover new content related to their interests and access news stories. It serves not only as a tool of communication but also as a primary source of information and entertainment.
Brands and companies, aware of how deeply intertwined Filipinos’ lives are with social media, use its different platforms to engage their audiences and stay relevant. After all, product and brand research and purchase decisions are increasingly driven by social media. In fact, almost 80 percent of 16yo and older internet users use any kind of social media platform to access information about brands and products, according to the Digital Report 2024.
For smaller or new businesses, social media has proven beneficial in establishing presence and winning a follower base. Many companies have leveraged their social platforms to establish their market leadership.
Proof of this is how social media e-commerce continues to gain traction. A study by HubSpot reveals more marketers are making the most of social media apps to sell products, with 50 percent of surveyed marketers looking to boost their investment in social selling this year.
Social media engagement is part of PR and marketing companies’ strategies precisely for the reasons outlined above. With consumers spending more time in the digital space, it does make sense to be present there. PR pros know — and maximize — social media to broaden audience reach for their clients not just geographically but demographically as well. Social media PR has enabled companies to reach audiences previously untapped, thereby enabling them to grow their footprint.
The social media landscape is crowded and will continue to be for years to come. While there is no easy way to control the amount of content from other sources, there are opportunities to better navigate content saturation and come out a winner on the other side.
Sources:
- https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/hubspot-blog-social-media-marketing-report
- https://blog.hubspot.com/sales/social-selling-stats
- https://business.linkedin.com/sales-solutions/social-selling
- https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2024-philippines
- https://www.linkedin.com/advice/3/how-do-you-manage-media-saturation-advertising-skills-advertising
- https://www.linkedin.com/advice/0/how-do-you-overcome-social-media-saturation-your
- https://www.meltwater.com/en/blog/social-media-statistics-philippines