The social media panorama is more and more fragmented, a results of each regulatory adjustments and evolving algorithms. That is fueling a race amongst manufacturers to ascertain fairness and relevance in rising digital areas, a prospect that understandably worries social entrepreneurs. For many of them, their largest concern is their audiences migrating to non-public, closed, or area of interest platforms.
These fears are well-founded, as almost 40% of entrepreneurs report that their viewers has already begun to shift extra of their time in direction of rising platforms like Threads, Bluesky, Lemon8, and Mastodon, per the Q1 2025 Sprout Social Pulse Survey. And 51% of customers plan to spend extra time on community-driven platforms like Reddit over the following six months, in response to our Q2 2025 Pulse survey.
This shift has been a very long time coming, so why are so many manufacturers nonetheless struggling to adapt? Having labored in digital and social media for 20 years, I’ve seen a lot change on this house — apart from one laborious reality. Social entrepreneurs aren’t getting the assist they should take huge swings on new platforms.
Investing in rising platforms
Staying related on this trade requires manufacturers to have a relentless pulse on the place their viewers is most engaged and the place they might be heading subsequent.
Manufacturers focusing solely on established or legacy platforms danger being left behind as new networks emerge. Being an early adopter of rising platforms presents a major benefit, permitting your model to face out amongst rivals and trade friends.
I am not saying it is best to divest from established social media platforms, however diversifying your methods will help you join along with your viewers in a wide range of areas.
Our 2024 Social Media Content material Technique Report discovered that, when customers had been requested the place they needed manufacturers to cease exhibiting up, their reply was considerably shocking: nowhere. Each social media community presents distinctive alternatives for manufacturers to search out and develop their neighborhood. It’s because social media customers use totally different platforms to meet totally different connection and content material consumption wants.
However figuring out you may’t merely transfer your model to each new house, success lies in understanding that at this time’s customers worth genuine, connection-driven engagement over simply having a presence. Even dipping your toes into one or two experimental platforms could be sufficient to diversify your investments and canopy your bases. However this is the kicker: You will have to make a robust case to your management staff that it is well worth the effort.
Easy methods to advocate for platform experimentation
Let’s be trustworthy: So many social groups nonetheless wrestle to construct belief with their management and make the case for less complicated content material approval processes or extra manufacturing assets. Efficiently advocating for investing in a brand new community begins with capturing the suitable knowledge and defining a concrete plan.
Use viewers knowledge to tell the place you need to take a look at
Probably the most subtle groups already faucet social knowledge to remain attuned to cultural tendencies and make smarter selections about what content material they create. These insights may be potent alerts to assist decide the place your model wants to begin exhibiting up.
For instance, are you or your rivals seeing viewers dimension declines on legacy networks? Are folks beginning to discuss your model or trade in locations the place you don’t have a proper presence at this time? Or are creators related to your trade efficiently migrating to new areas?
Collect any obtainable insights to indicate (not simply inform) the place and why you need to experiment. And bear in mind: Nothing spurs leaders on like figuring out they’re being outpaced by different manufacturers. Don’t hesitate to floor examples of different firms which have already diversified their strategy.
Set concrete targets to maintain your efforts in scope
Exploring new platforms will possible require reevaluating the place your staff’s time is spent. And that is okay! The secret’s to be upfront in regards to the bandwidth you will have to reallocate — maybe 20% — and the way which may alter your traditional content material output.
Your strongest argument for this transfer will probably be a transparent, contained experiment with concrete targets. For example, you may suggest, “Over the following three months, we’ll use this new platform to develop our neighborhood by X%.” Keep in mind, metrics like viewers engagement and progress are likely to seize the eye of selling leaders.
Must you face pushback, encourage leaders to replicate on how rather more progress your model can actually obtain on networks the place you are already well-established. Whereas new platforms do not assure prompt viewers growth, they do open doorways to untapped potential. You may also suggest leaning extra on user-generated content material and influencer partnerships in your present channels to handle any dips in efficiency proactively.
Manufacturers staking a declare on rising networks
The excellent news for risk-averse manufacturers is that this: There are companies setting a platform experimentation precedent (and thriving).
For over a yr, luxurious trend home Louis Vuitton has maintained an lively Discord server. They invite greater than 10,000 neighborhood members to take part in varied dialog threads — from digital actuality, expertise, and humanities and tradition — whereas sharing unique model content material and, most lately, an immersive gaming expertise.
Louis Vuitton’s success is an instance of a wider pattern we’ve noticed: Model accounts are popping up on community-driven networks. From Sephora internet hosting Reddit AMAs with their magnificence administrators to Tory Burch’s new Substack, manufacturers are creating areas for genuine neighborhood and forging stronger parasocial relationships with their audiences.
Given how unpredictable social networks may be, doubling down on neighborhood administration simply is sensible. Platforms come and go, however a vibrant, engaged neighborhood is one thing that lasts (and might even thrive!) regardless of how a lot the social media panorama adjustments.
Should you’re unsure which new platforms to discover, start line is to search for locations the place individuals are already speaking about your model. For instance, right here at Sprout, we have discovered success by actively constructing our neighborhood on Reddit, which is residence to the second-largest viewers of B2B decision-makers, with three out of 4 saying they plan to make use of it to tell future purchases.
Success on Reddit lies in understanding its distinct, member-centric strategy. As an alternative of blatant self-promotion, entrepreneurs should present real worth and change into lively and contributing members inside related subreddits to foster significant conversations. The platform presents nice perception for manufacturers to higher perceive their customers and inform proactive methods.
For Sprout, Reddit customers discuss their MarTech stacks and provide unfiltered suggestions about our product. Not exhibiting up was a possibility price we couldn’t afford.
Embrace change, construct resilience
We perceive: It could really feel overwhelming to carve out time to experiment with new platforms, and there is danger in stepping away out of your principal networks. Nevertheless, doing nothing is a better one.
The social media panorama is consistently evolving, and types ought to view instances of change as alternatives to construct extra resilient ecosystems centered on long-term progress. Social entrepreneurs have already got many expertise wanted to achieve these new areas. Leaders want to provide them the assist and suppleness to prepare dinner.
Nobody can say for certain which social media platforms will stick round, however one factor’s for sure: placing effort into constructing robust, engaged communities will all the time repay.
Comply with Layla Revis for insights on model storytelling and her award-winning work main social technique for Fortune 500 firms.
Edited by Jigmee Bhutia
