Growing consumer concern regarding the declining quality of social media platforms is expected to lead to 50 percent abandonment or reduction in usage by 2025, according to a Gartner survey.
The survey findings point to fundamental issues plaguing social media — misinformation proliferation, toxic user communities and the omnipresence of bots. Additionally, apprehensions regarding the integration of generative AI (GenAI) into social media platforms are rampant, with more than 70 percent of consumers fearing its detrimental impact on user experience.
“Social media remains the top investment channel for digital marketing, but consumers are actively trying to limit their use. A significant slice says that, compared to a few years ago, they are sharing less of their own lives and content. As the nature of social media use and the experience of the platforms changes, CMOs must refocus their customer acquisition and loyalty retention strategies in response,” said Emily Weiss, Senior Principal Researcher of Gartner Marketing Practice.
Gartner suggests that brands differentiating themselves by steering away from AI integration could find a niche market, capitalising on consumer distrust and seeking more human-centric experiences.
However, the rise of GenAI remains inevitable. Its integration into creative processes promises increased efficiency and cost-effectiveness, enabling creative teams to focus on higher-level strategic initiatives.
“As a result, creative will play a more important and measurable role in driving business results, and CMOs will actually increase their spending on creative and content,” said Weiss.
The impending dominance of GenAI in search engines poses a significant challenge for marketers heavily reliant on organic search traffic. As consumer acceptance of AI-backed search grows, CMOs face the pressing need to diversify marketing channels and strategies.
To safeguard brand integrity in the age of AI-generated content and mitigate risks associated with deceptive practices, Gartner recommends the adoption of content authenticity technology, robust monitoring and brand-endorsed user-generated content.
“As content created with GenAI tools balloons throughout marketing channels, transparency around its use will become increasingly necessary to maintain trust with customers,” said Weiss.
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Entelechy Asia 