For many brands, finding an authentic home on socials can be tough. It requires an entirely different mindset from traditional media. In fact, to succeed, you must almost forget everything you know about marketing and learn an entirely new set of codes.

Unlike traditional media, social is not top down or linear, and this alters how content circulates, the type of content that works and the type of responses people have to it. The comfort, palatability and neutrality of traditional media are replaced with a desire for provocation, opinion and new perspectives. Brands must ditch their long-held obsession with omnipresence and wake up to the reality of attention dynamics, understanding that less is truly more, and you will be rewarded by finding your crowd rather than attempting to speak to everyone.

Today’s social looks and feels pretty different to the previous decade. Audiences have maxed out on watching brands race to the bottom in a player vs player mentality producing so much noise with little to no accountability for the content pollution they leave in their wake. We are tired of the spectacle and giving our time to a space that brings out the worst in us and elevates the worst among us.

Any social strategist worth their salt knows that if you have market dominance, then your output is likely mid. In a world where everyone is chronically online, the real currency and klout lies in the specific – audiences want niche, random and unexpected experiences.

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Interestingly, a handful of luxury fashion houses have been setting the bar on social. From Marc Jacob’s iconic XL Sack Bag tumble and Loewe’s Tomato Meme Luxury Clutch to Bottega Veneta famously deleting their Instagram account at the height of their popularity and Jacquemus’ surreal storytelling. These brands all found the sweet spot of being online while remaining on brand.