How do marketers deal with the increasingly niche Internet and social media? “The rise of a niche is an opportunity, not a barrier”

“The Internet (or Internet video, at least) has gone from being a single plaza to being a sprawling space of microcommunities organized around topics of interest and personalities,” said a digital ad agency. said Zach Bloom, co-founder and managing partner of the store Portal A. “Maybe the sheer amount of content being created is causing people to start splitting into smaller groups or specific groups.”

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly when this online shift happened, but marketers and agency executives say they started to notice it around 2016 or 2017.

While the election cycle (in the United States) has undoubtedly revealed cultural divisions, executives think the timing may be a coincidence. They also say the pandemic has likely accelerated this division, adding that spending more time online at home has made people want to connect with others on a range of interests. Examples include certain role-playing games, ASMR, and early 2000s nostalgia.

This is expected to continue to be the case, especially for Generation Z. The 2022 YouTube Culture and Trends report details that “internet culture has become popular culture, and popular culture has become more individualized,” with Generation Z. 65% of people agree that content relevant to their interests is more important than content most people are talking about. The report also reveals that 55% of Gen Zers personally watch content that their real-world friends aren’t interested in.

How to fit the personalized experience

That doesn’t mean that pre-Gen Z didn’t turn to their own special interests and niches. Ad agency executives say the internet, platforms and their algorithms are striving to deliver more personalized experiences to cater to niche interests. While they admit to being overwhelmed by it, they also point out that it’s also an opportunity for marketers to focus on specific audiences and speak directly to niche audiences.

“[The platform is]focused on more intimate interactions and personal connections with a sense of community,” said Jason Kotrina-Vazquez, global head of social at Reprise. “It’s become a race to see who can build the most engaged community.”

Christina Lawrence, executive vice president of consumer and content experiences at Razorfish, agrees. “There’s always been a tension between how people are engaging online and the intrusive advertising available to marketers across platforms,” ​​Lawrence said. “The tipping point we are witnessing right now is that new social platforms such as TikTok, Discord, BeReal, Shuffles, and Gas are allowing private and semi-private This is the result of providing an opportunity to connect in a unique community.”

As people continue to seek personalized experiences online and watch videos on YouTube, TikTok, Twitch and more that focus on niche interests and personalities, marketers and agency executives are We need to consider how our brand fits in with those communities (if it does) and find ways to speak to them. The shift can create “swimmable lanes” for brands, as Lauren Embry, senior strategist at social ad agency Swift, explained.

Identify Niche Passion Points

“When consumers have expectations that content will be highly specific to them, it is at the same time an expectation of what content will be effective on what people’s interests. It makes sense,” said Cass Chelvi, strategist at creative shop No Fixed Address. “More than ever before, we have data about what people want to see.”

He continued, “There’s a huge opportunity to talk to individual people. Even if you don’t create individual one-on-one content, you can talk to a specific niche (group) and talk to one person. You can feel like you’re talking only to people because you know how people’s interests[in that group]align.”

Also, working with influencers working in niche communities can help identify what resonates and what doesn’t. “It’s important to know exactly the visuals, tone and nuances of the content that a particular niche wants to see,” said Katie Tenerovich, head of social at Carmichael Lynch. . “If you identify a niche passion point for your target audience, it will be much easier to talk to them, which may lead them to convert,” she added.

No budget for the whole audience

Nevertheless, it can be difficult to persuade marketers to focus on specific niches. “Marketers want to spread their investment across as many areas as possible, and they want to appeal to everyone,” said Nichin Dua, strategy director at Mojo Supermarket.

According to Amber Shenebert, managing director of strategy and insights at VMLY&R, one way to encourage marketers to focus on specific audiences is to ask, “Do we have a budget for everyone? The world’s largest Even advertisers don’t have the budget for an entire audience.”

“When you start a serious business conversation like that and give them some time to think, they usually narrow it down to one or two people,” Schenebert said. “If that doesn’t work, the second priority is to ask, ‘What is your budget?'”

Not only has the internet shifted culture by providing users with individually tailored experiences, but it has also changed the way brands create content, how they deploy that content in front of their targeted niches, approach is also influential.

Swift’s Embry said tackling organic content on platforms like TikTok can be part of a strategy to “maximize and hack the algorithms.” “By using hashtags to suggest specific words or content that a niche might be interested in, we’re putting the video in front of that niche and making sure it’s working well.” If proven, we will back paid media.”

The rise of a niche is an opportunity, not a barrier

“We are helping a consumer goods brand establish a ‘viral’ TikTok channel without a push in the form of paid advertising,” said Lawrence of Laserfish. “To do that, brands had to adopt a creator mentality of ‘always on, always very current[culturally].’ We need to respond to comments in real time and have flexibility in brand style guides to match the native aesthetics of the platform.”

He added, “Not only has the consumer goods brand been able to drive a high volume of engagement on the platform, but it has also increased sales for a product line that was only mentioned on TikTok and not mentioned in other campaigns.” says.

It’s unclear whether this strategy will continue to work, as younger generations increasingly dislike things that are clearly advertising. Yet cultural conversations will become increasingly individualized as platform algorithms prioritize that experience. Finding ways to catch the eye of your target audience must evolve accordingly.

“I think the one-size-fits-all approach to advertising wasn’t very effective from the start,” said Saabi of No Fixed Address. “The most effective communication has always felt like you’re speaking directly to someone. The rise of these niches isn’t a barrier, it’s a pretty big opportunity.”