In her presentation at The Drum's Predictions 2025, Verity Hurd of Duel emphasized the necessity for brands to embrace brand advocacy amidst declining engagement rates on social platforms. She highlighted a significant drop in interaction metrics across popular platforms, prompting consumers to favor private, community-oriented spaces over public feeds. Hurd identified three evolving trends, notably the shift towards integrating creators into marketing strategies, as key to fostering genuine relationships and loyalty. This indicates a paradigm shift for brands toward cultivating a passionate community around their values and offering.
"Brand advocacy should become your next obsession. But [this] isn't new. Brands like Patagonia, Lululemon, Gymshark, they've been doing it for years, and so they've been living by these tried and trusted methods."
"Consumers are consuming more but connecting less, with 97% of TikTok views being passive and 67% of users never posting. This disengagement is driving a shift towards more decentralized, community-led spaces."
"Rather than treating creators as external partners, brands must integrate them into their marketing strategies. The influencer model is evolving - micro and nano influencers are proving to be more effective than mega influencers."
"The social media landscape has fundamentally changed. Traditional engagement is down across the board - Facebook's engagement has dropped 8%, TikTok's halved, and Instagram's engagement rate sits at just 0.43%."
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