Social media fatigue is here. PR teams need a new playbook
People are scrolling less. Feeds feel noisier. And a wave of low-quality AI content is pushing trust to the edge. If your brand strategy still chases volume, you'll pay more for less attention.
This isn't a blip. It's a user behavior reset. The winners will trade reach-at-all-costs for relevance-on-demand.
Why attention is slipping
- Feed saturation: too many posts, too little substance.
- AI "slop": generic, repetitive content erodes credibility.
- Doomscrolling burnout: users want fewer, better inputs.
- Algorithm sameness: everything looks and sounds the same.
- Ad overload: rising CPMs with flat or falling engagement.
What this means for PR and Communications
- Organic reach is volatile. Expect lower baselines and spiky bursts.
- Trust is fragile. Claims need receipts: data, sources, context.
- Dark social grows. More sharing happens in DMs, email, and communities.
- Search is changing. AI overviews and summaries compress brand real estate.
- News cycles get shorter but hotter. Preparedness beats speed alone.
From volume to signal
Post less, say more. Set a clear content thesis: three pillars you'll be known for, repeated consistently across channels.
- 60/30/10 mix: 60% original insight (data, POV), 30% community proof (customers, employees), 10% product utility (how-tos, templates).
- Minimum viable quality bar: every post should teach, clarify, or reduce risk for your audience.
- Edit for skim-ability: short hooks, tight structure, 1 idea per asset.
AI without the slop
- Use AI for research, outlines, and first passes-never final drafts for sensitive claims.
- Human review is non-negotiable: fact-check, source, and simplify.
- Write a style guide and banned-claims list. Keep a prompt library that reflects your positioning.
- Disclose AI assistance in contexts where trust could be questioned.
- Build a "red team" review for data-heavy or medical/financial content.
A weekly operating cadence
- Monday: publish one flagship asset (original data, report excerpt, or expert POV).
- Tuesday-Wednesday: spin two derivatives (thread, short video, newsletter segment).
- Thursday: community proof (customer quote, employee AMA, behind-the-scenes).
- Friday: utility post (template, checklist, explainer) with a clear CTA.
- Daily: 15 minutes of direct engagement with replies, DMs, and niche communities.
Creativity that cuts through
- Data beats adjectives. Lead with a number, then the narrative.
- Fewer creators, deeper partnerships. Co-develop useful assets, not just posts.
- Move conversations to owned channels: newsletter, community, events.
- Publish "source of truth" pages for high-stakes topics you'll link back to in every post.
Measurement that reflects reality
- Track signals of intent: saves, shares, replies, link clicks, time on page.
- Estimate dark social: unique UTMs in PDFs, QR codes at events, and "How did you hear about us?" fields.
- Content ROI: attribute pipeline influence by first-touch content and last-engaged content pre-conversion.
- Reduce vanity dashboards. Report a simple set: reach, meaningful engagement rate, traffic quality, and assisted conversions.
Crisis readiness in a low-trust feed
- Pre-build FAQs, timelines, and 1-page briefs for likely scenarios.
- Publish updates on a stable URL and push snippets to social. Keep timestamps visible.
- Name your sources. Link to independent data when possible.
- Set a three-tier response SLA: monitor, acknowledge, full update.
Channel bets for the next 12 months
- Niche communities over broad feeds: smaller audiences, higher intent.
- Short video stays, but quality and viewpoint win over volume.
- Podcasts and newsletters for depth, with clips fueling social.
- Employee advocacy programs with simple guardrails and post kits.
What to tell leadership
- What changed: user fatigue and AI noise lowered baseline engagement.
- What we're doing: fewer, higher-signal assets, stronger sources, owned audience growth.
- Budget shift: trim low-performing paid social; fund creators, research, and owned channels.
- KPIs: signal metrics, owned growth, and assisted revenue-not impressions alone.
Useful references
Level up your team's AI workflows
If your content ops need speed without losing quality, train the team on prompts, review checklists, and ethical use.
The bottom line: attention is scarce, trust is scarce, and average content won't cut it. Pick your pillars, raise the bar, and build the kind of signal people choose to come back to.
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