Introducing the Adweek Podcast Network. Access infinite inspiration in your pocket on everything from career advice and creativity to metaverse marketing and more. Browse all podcasts.
The role of the social media manager is not a quiet one.
New platforms, changing behaviors and fast-moving cultural trends make it a tumultuous landscape.
At ADWEEK’s Social Media Week event, experts discussed the future of Instagram, the use of X and brands’ involvement with community-driven platforms.
Brand strategist and culture writer Peyton Dix; author and social media consultant Rachel Karten; and founder and host of The Em Dash Co. and #CreatorTeaTalk Jayde Powell shared the most notable trends.
Frustration with Instagram’s reach
Creators posting to Instagram are frustrated that reach has been reduced, despite adhering to platform suggestions like posting more Reels and sharing content on Instagram stories, said Powell. (ADWEEK has reached out to Meta for comment.)
“[Instagram is] doing their creators a disservice by not helping them reach the people that they want,” said Powell. “There’s no right way to do social, but it’s up to the platform to provide a space where creators and influencers can amplify their reach when they’re posting content.”
Platforms have long imitated features of their rivals. Meta created Twitter-killer Threads, Instagram launched TikTok-like Reels, and now TikTok is developing Notes, a new photo-sharing app that could take on Instagram when it launches.
“I’m not trying to open TikTok and Instagram to have duplicative experiences,” said Karten, adding that Instagram might lose momentum with its audiences as it expands from its core identity as a photo-sharing app.
Threads, meanwhile, may be hitting a ceiling.
“When I go to check Threads, I don’t see new users or people that make me want to repost,” said Dix. “[Threads] might have a better interface for marketing and for ads the way that Twitter absolutely does not. But I do think that it’s a platform that’s already reaching a plateau.”
In a February earnings call, however, Meta claimed that Threads was “growing steadily” with an active monthly user count of 130 million.
Elsewhere, emerging platform Spill saw over 200,000 user sign-ups when it launched last summer. The platform, which focuses on uplifting Black, brown and queer creators, is on Powell’s radar.
“[This] is incredibly important across the industry,” she said.
X for testing content
Despite its many misfires—like content moderation disputes leading to advertisers fleeing—X, formerly Twitter, is still a platform where some creators can connect with their audience and build their discoverability using its advanced search functionality.
“It’s so easy to build community there,” said Powell. “[X] is also the space where brands can be a little bit more flexible in how they talk to their customers.”