Is social media dead? Or just boring?

By Greg Wilson, director, Limitless.

In the last ten years, predictions about the death of all media except social media have been rife.  

But a recent survey by Kantar has revealed that the reputation of ‘mainstream news media’ remains largely intact, while social media and digital-only news platforms have sustained major reputation damage, partly as a result of the ‘fake news’ narrative during recent election cycles.

The study, which surveyed 8,000 individuals across several countries about their attitudes to news coverage of politics and elections, finds that efforts to brand ‘mainstream news media’ as ‘fake news’ have largely failed.  

The reputation of traditional print and broadcast media outlets has proven more resilient than social media platforms and online only news outlets, primarily as a result of the depth of coverage being delivered.

Print magazines are the most trusted news sources, followed by TV, radio and then newspapers, while social media sites and messaging apps are least trusted around the world. ‘Online only’ outlets are trusted significantly less than print and broadcast news.

So does that mean social media is dead? Of course not.

Social media is definitely here to stay.  But, in my opinion, its effectiveness as a marketing tool is in danger primarily from itself.

In mainstream media, you have to say something interesting just to get published. On social media, you can publish what you want. Result: lots of boring content. You attended an event today? Great. You really enjoyed a meeting you just had? Fab. Your product has some features? Congratulations. Are you being a bit boring? Maybe. Are you a marketer? Stop.