Consumer Insights > Social Media

Implications - Tapping into selfie culture, beauty brands are incorporating flashy, funny and unique elements into their products, and positioning them as a means to improve one's image online. Moving beyond the promise of simply enhancing customers' looks, this shift is distinctive to those in the Millenial and Gen Z cohorts, who are invested -- and willing to invest in -- their online selves, [More]

Implications - Relying more on the accuracy of technology, consumers are turning to AI solutions to edit, alter and enhance their photos and online accounts. Offering more than simply aesthetic enhancements, AI technology gives consumers the chance to utilize data and learnings to optimize their online presence. An efficient solution for maintaining and monitoring, these examples speak to the need for tools that not only enhance content, but also for automated solutions when it comes to online user experiences. [More]

Implications - Taking a more specialized approach to content, media platforms like podcasts and online shows are turning to specific entertainment interests to connect with consumer groups. From platforms that highlight fashion to those that focus on cult Hollywood movies, these examples not only showcase a rise in curated content, but also a rise in user-generated content, where consumers are looking to reach others who can similarly identify with such niche interests. [More]

Implications - Over-the-top dessert items are inviting participation from individuals of all ages in a way that allow consumers to indulge in both sweet cravings and a desire to playfully "destroy." This progression speaks to the continued desire to incorporate elements of play into the dining experience, something that is seeing renewed interest in the age of social media dining specifically. [More]

Implications - Though social media has become an artistic platform in itself, influencers who dominate these realms are increasingly entering more traditional artistic spaces. The infusion of film, digital, fashion, and social media allows these influencers to transform these spaces to suit their own needs and platforms, while making artistic messaging more palatable for young consumers more accustomed to social media platforms than traditional art forms. [More]

Implications - Wedding pictures have migrated from dusty photo albums to social media platforms, which has in turn led to changes in the presentation of wedding accouterments. Moving beyond the flowery aesthetic of traditional weddings, consumers are looking for fanciful takes on things like wedding cakes to make them more appealing on social media. In a connected world, brands need to find shareable ways to present their products for aesthetically motivated consumers. [More]

Implications - For some time now, savvy social media users have been seeking out products and experiences that they expect to look good on social media. Entrepreneurs and brands have responded by taking the guesswork out of the calculus, creating experiences explicitly tailored from start to finish with Instagram-friendly installations. These experiences not only recognize the increasing importance consumers place on their digital persona, but also increase the brands' own social presences. [More]

Implications - Magazines have had to shift away from their standard print and ad-filled designs to incorporate their major competitor – the Internet. As a result, magazines with specialized, rare, or reformatted content are becoming increasingly common, as brands seek to fuse the benefits of both the online media consumption world, and the tangible one. As social media is now a primary source of entertainment and engagement, this shift serves to draw consumers back into this form of media consumption in a way that avoids traditional banalities. [More]

Implications - With social platforms giving consumers more personal access to celebrities than ever before, celebrities are taking further advantage of that fact by releasing apps based on their brands. This practice serves to further their own sales, while creating more intimate connections with their fan bases through an authentic, gamified experience. This emerging extension of social media as a form of enhanced reciprocity speaks to the growing dominance of these platforms in the marketing of personal brands. [More]

Implications - As many traditional media empires scramble to gain a foothold in the digital ecosystem, brands still looking to engage through now-archaic content conduits like print are doing so through the language of social media. Rather than undermining their traditional medium, the use of social gestures and iconography instead position brands as knowing insiders worth engaging with. By co-opting the languages with which consumers are most familiar, brands can appeal to consumers without having to fundamentally shift their core identity. [More]