Why organic social beats TV for brand relevance in 2024

Executive overview

Big brands have solved awareness. The problem is relevance — and they're looking for it in the wrong medium. Organic social, driven by strong algorithms, is the most underestimated asset in any marketing mix. Shifting budget attention from TV to social doesn't just fix relevance; it removes the cynicism around whether marketing actually drives business.

The brands that treat organic social as a core discipline — not spray-and-pray content — will outgrow those still chasing television metrics.

Organic social is a strategy, not a posting schedule

• Top brands should post dozens of pieces of content daily across multiple consumer segmentations.
• Awareness is not the problem for large brands — relevance is.
• Organic social algorithms are a reliable signal for mitigating creative risk before paid spend.
• "Happy Tuesday" posts and campaign-matching content are not organic social strategy.
• The industry continues to disrespect social creative at a level that contradicts actual business outcomes.

The TikTokification of social media

• Incumbent creators feel views getting harder to earn; big brands feel brand-building migrating to social.
• Social platforms now build brand in ways that make TV-centric marketers uncomfortable.
• Even the social platforms themselves fail to apply best practices on their own accounts.
• The shift from broadcast to social is not coming — it is already underway.

AI and the future of shoppable content

• Streaming advertising will increasingly look like social advertising.
• Within five to seven years, content will be fully shoppable — pause, buy, resume, no friction.
• AI will identify specific products by stitch or brand detail inside video, enabling instant purchase.
• Amazon Prime is the likely infrastructure for frictionless commerce layered over entertainment.
• Technology does not accommodate fear or incumbency — it commoditises both.

On AI fear and the 10% who win

• Human fear of new technology is consistent: electricity, computers, smartphones, and now AI all triggered the same response.
• In advertising specifically, technical literacy is low, making fear the dominant reaction.
• The 10% who approach disruption offensively tend to be the ones who come out ahead.
• The right question for every professional: what parts of my role are being commoditised?

Making content is the career strategy

• Barriers to content creation are gone.
• Making and publishing work — without overthinking — is how opportunities find you.
• If the output performs, the goals come to you.