RIP, social
For social media, the road ahead will look very different to what's come before.
Read on to learn why:
① X has been all but abandoned by serious people.
② A sound social strategy demands audit, audience, action and anticipation.
③ Getting large, global financial firms to collaborate is easier said than done.
④ Products that might damage your reputation are best left to partners.
⑤ Only what gets measured gets managed.
⑥ Fintech is driving the growth of recruitment in financial services.
⑦ Wall Street is impatient to move from trial to production with digital money.
📸 But first flashback to November 2022 when we talked about James Watt, the then CEO of BrewDog, using LinkedIn to differentiate his brand. This week, he launched a marketing platform to allow any brand to leverage online influencers.
What's new
On Monday, the New York Times asked ‘is social media the new tobacco?’
In short:
“The U.S. surgeon general, Vivek Murthy, called for a warning label for social media platforms, advising parents that the technology may be helping fuel a mental health crisis among adolescents. It’s the latest effort by regulators to impose restrictions on social networks — particularly over their effects on children and teens — and is a reminder of the increasing scrutiny of global tech giants.”
“Scrutiny of social media’s effects on teenagers has grown in recent years. The social psychologist Jonathan Haidt describes the 2007 release of the iPhone as an inflection point, with suicidal behaviour and reports of despair among adolescents rising sharply since.”
“States have sued Meta and other companies over features that regulators say are addicting children, and some have passed legislation that seeks to shield young people from any negative effects of social media. And while a law enacted in April to force the sale of TikTok by its Chinese owner was focused on national security concerns, it also warned about the video app’s effect on young people. Meanwhile, European Union regulations require social media users be at least 16 to have their personal data processed without parental consent.”
Why it matters
The Times’ headline - and mine for that matter - is deliberately provocative. Neither should be interpreted to mean that social media is dead nor even that it is heading for the widespread bans that are now inevitable for tobacco. But this story matters because it’s the latest sign that social media - how it is used and perceived - is undergoing a profound transformation.
① I was at EBAday in Lisbon this week and saw another side to this transformation. Whereas a few years ago conference hashtags were a wonderful ‘back room’ of chat and commentary - often more interesting and insightful than the dialogue taking place on stage - there was nothing of the sort this time. With the exception of one enlightened brand, most EBAday exhibitors posted a perfunctory ‘come and see us at stand #’ post and called it a day. Even the event organisers didn’t bother. X has been all but abandoned by serious people.
Does this mean we’re witnessing the terminal decline of social media? I wouldn’t look very prescient if I said yes, just two weeks after telling you that leaders in finance and technology should embrace social media with gusto, would I? No, I think what’s happening here is that the landscape is shifting quickly. The channels being used are evolving, the results you can expect from them have changed, and the ways in which you achieve them are completely different to a few years ago.
What to do about it
Take action
② When you get back to work tomorrow, ask your head of marketing about their social media strategy. Check that the following have been well thought through:
Audit: As the media landscape shifts, it’s worth thinking through the channels you’re using and regularly checking that they are still the right ones. Should you replace YouTube with TikTok? X with LinkedIn? Instagram with Snapchat?
Audience: Nowhere has the audience migration been more apparent than the exodus from X. Business people flocked to LinkedIn, journalists to Bluesky. Be sure you understand where the audience you’re trying to reach is. And avoid wasting time talking to those who aren’t your audience.
Action: Have a simple objective for each social media you decide to spend time and money on. You should have a clear answer to the question ‘what action do I want people to take after seeing our social posts?’
Anticipation: Your strategy should have an eye on new forms of social media. The likes of Substack and Bluesky didn’t exist until recently and are still in their infancy but they’re legitimate - indeed, recommended - alternatives to Twitter. Substack is a feature-rich, engaged community in which you retain a direct relationship with your followers and have the ability to take them with you to other platforms. Bluesky is the thinking person’s Twitter. Or at least that’s what the entire FT editorial team who migrated there seem to think. Is it time to move too?
Get help
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Top stories
The other articles that are worthy of your time.
FINANCE
The ‘one’ way for Wall Street banks
③ Getting large, global financial firms to collaborate is easier said than done.
“New Morgan Stanley boss Ted Pick is the industry’s latest leader to tout a silo-busting mindset to get his roughly 80,000 employees to work better together. Pick is hoping investment bankers will refer millionaire clients to a financial adviser, while employees working on a company’s stock plan can put in a letter good word for Morgan Stanley to win an M&A deal.”
“The idea is hardly a novel one.And he needn’t have even looked beyond Morgan Stanley for inspiration — John Mack, one of his predecessors, was focusing on building the ‘one-firm firm’ all the way back in the 1990s. Larry Fink introduced a ‘one BlackRock’ principle back in 2012 for the asset manager, while perennial competitor Goldman Sachs has had a ‘OneGS’ initiative in place for almost six years under chief executive David Solomon.”
“It speaks to two challenges for Morgan Stanley. First, it is harder to grow mature businesses like investment banking and trading where market share has become increasingly concentrated and secular tailwinds are harder to come by. […] Second, firms like Morgan Stanley have expanded so much beyond bread-and-butter investment banking and trading and into money management that they risk leaving money on the table by not ensuring that they are properly synced up.”
TECHNOLOGY
Apple is shutting down its Apple Pay Later service
④ Products that might damage your reputation are best left to partners.
“Apple Pay Later has only been around for a little more than a year, but the company is already shutting down its Buy Now, Pay Later service. ”
“Those who already have an Apple Pay Later loan that they are paying back will still be able to manage and pay their loan through the Wallet app. They just won’t be able to start a new loan. Apple says that the reason it is shutting down the service is because it is releasing new features this fall in the Wallet app that will support instalment loans from third-party credit and debit card providers.”
“Apple says it already has a number of partners lined up to offer instalment loans through the Wallet app. The first countries to offer the feature will be Australia, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Apple is also partnering with Buy Now, Pay Later service Affirm in the U.S.”
MEDIA & MARKETING
What marketers don’t measure enough of
⑤ Only what gets measured gets managed.
Customer lifetime value: “This metric provides insight into the long-term value of a customer, guiding more sustainable marketing strategies.”
Brand equity: “This is a vital indicator of a brand’s strength and consumer perception. It encompasses brand awareness, customer loyalty, and brand associations. Neglecting this metric can lead to an overemphasis on short-term sales at the expense of long-term brand health.”
Customer satisfaction and experience: “In the era of social media and online reviews, customer satisfaction is crucial. Measuring customer experience through surveys, feedback, and social listening can provide invaluable insights into product improvements and marketing strategies.”
Multi-touch attribution: “The customer journey is no longer linear, making single-touch attribution models obsolete. Marketers need to adopt multi-touch attribution to understand the impact of various touchpoints on the customer’s decision-making process.”
Content engagement: “Understanding how users engage with content is vital. Metrics like average time on page, interaction rates, and social sharing provide deeper insights into content effectiveness and audience interest.”
Psychographic data: “Values, attitudes, interests, and lifestyle are often underutilised. This data can lead to more targeted and resonant marketing strategies.”
WILDCARD
UK fintech job vacancies surge as investors flock back to London
⑥ Fintech is driving the growth of recruitment in financial services.
“London is driving a surge in UK fintech recruitment this year as start-ups push for rapid growth amid a rebound in investment after a rough couple of years.”
“Fintech is the top performing category within UK financial services for job openings in 2024, according to recruiter Morgan McKinley. It forecast that if the current pace of recruitment continues, the number of fintech vacancies will be 37 per cent higher in 2024 than 2023. The capital is leading the way, with a 61 per cent year-on-year jump in fintech job openings between January and April.”
“IT was the single largest area of recruitment, making up 41 per cent of the vacancies. Two-thirds (67 per cent) of these openings were based in London, the capital’s highest share in five years. London also posted an 87 per cent rise in risk and compliance openings.”
The Artificial Intelligence Spotlight 🔦
AI to impact more than half of banking jobs - Citi
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Genie: Create sharp user stories, use cases, and more for your projects.
Swipe Insight: A daily app for digital marketing insights.
Off cuts
The stories that almost made this week’s newsletter.
FINANCE
🛒 NatWest agrees to acquire Sainsbury’s retail banking unit
✂️ Deutsche’s private bank cuts spending on external consultants by 70%
💷 JPMorgan follows Goldman in lifting UK bonus cap
💶 Deutsche Bank counting on investment bank hiring spree to pay off
💰 Revolut seeks valuation of more than $40bn in employee share sale
TECHNOLOGY
🔐 FIs tap quantum computing for payments security
☀️ Société Générale sells neobank Shine to Danish fintech Ageras
🌍 Project Meridian FX launched to improve FX transaction settlements
🏢 Citi unveils its integrated digital assets platform CIDAP
MEDIA & MARKETING
📰 Editor tapped to lead Washington Post won’t take the job
8️⃣ Most influential CMOs in Asia Pacific’s financial services sector
🪤 Adobe sued by U.S. for allegedly 'trapping' users in Photoshop subscriptions
🌊 APIs will be crucial for the coming wave of AI agents
🥶 OnlyFans executive had bank account frozen over links to adult content
The last word
⑦ David Cunningham, Head of Strategy & Partnerships for Digital Assets, Treasury and Trade Solutions at Citi, on tokenising money and assets:
“We’ve had enough experiments. Come on, it’s time to move to reality. We need to be issuing real value and exchanging it. The key tenet is interoperability.”
Don’t settle for marketing.
Strive for InMarketing.
Wishing you a productive week,
P.S. If you ever find yourself in Oxford on a sunny afternoon, I have a restaurant recommendation for you.
