We’re all living in a social media bubble, and it’s a brand’s job to pop it
Filtering is a worrying byproduct of social media’s complex algorithms but it could present brands with an opportunity to burst through the bubble, says Stewart Gurney, chief strategy officer of PHD Australia.
Over the last year or so we’ve being increasingly warned about the dangers of ‘echo chambers’. How the bubbles of filtered information we surround ourselves in give us a limited perspective of the world and can result in things like Trump, Brexit or worse: a general apathy to bigger societal issues.
While this is obviously worrying, there could be an interesting upside.
As consumers continue to chase what’s relevant, and surround themselves in these cocoons of information that reaffirm their world view, brands could start stepping in to provide counter perspectives. The role of mainstream advertising could evolve to smash these echo chambers.
As brands strive to combat the threat of being filtered out, they will have to find more interesting and polarising things to say, moving from messaging-based ads to purpose driven communications.
Filtering isn’t technology. It’s how our brains cope with all the information and stimuli we receive during our waking hours. It’s a relatively natural state.
Social media, on the other hand, is like a security blanket. If the Airbnb example is to be cited for the premise of this piece, I would like to see statistics pointing to its effect in changing people’s opinion on marriage equality. Otherwise it seems to me that the campaign is just fluffing the security blanket.