Lab Podcast — Episode 50 🎉

The Future of Social Media & Online Communities

Scott Elchison
Nov 1 · 2 min read

Welcome to our big Hawaii Five-O episode, where we take a deep dive into the future of social media and what it will mean for brands. Joined by Christina, co-hosts Scott and Adam discussed everything from the rise of TikTok to the new connected communities that are forming online as social media is slowly being unbundled into new platforms and niche communities, social media advertising will need to evolve with the advances in social platforms and how people communicate and connect with each other online.

What We Covered:

  • Why cultural context matters for understanding the TikTok memes and jokes
  • Prognosticating whether TikTok will have staying power in the West
  • How Gen Z use different social media platforms (TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, etc.)
  • Facebook’s pivot towards private social channels (messaging and groups)
  • How does the state of social media impact their ad products and consumer attention
  • How social media is being disintegrated into various emerging platforms and connected communities based on niche interests, such as The Woolfer
  • How these growing trends in social media are changing the way brands can reach consumers online and engage with online communities
  • We laugh about Scott’s niche interest (strange obsession) in “birds with arms”

Listen to this episode and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Google Play.

You can also read about our take on this topic here.

IPG Media Lab

The media futures agency of IPG Mediabrands

Scott Elchison

Written by

IPG Media Lab

The media futures agency of IPG Mediabrands

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