If you are about to give up on your social media because your efforts are not making any progress, this article is for you.
In a recent podcast episode, Max Av of Everlast and Peter Guerriera discussed social media and its saturation. According to Max, social media is too young and infinite to be saturated. And the main reason why some people fail to gain traction with their social media efforts is not because of saturation. It’s mainly because their actions are not practical or are outdated.
With how fast the trends change today, strategies and methods of social media marketing also vary in reaction to these trends. Below is the written version of the podcast to understand more about this concept.
THE PODCAST
Peter: So the same 3 billion users of Facebook and Instagram are the same users of TikTok. I could use Tik TOK, Clubhouse, and Instagram.
Let’s say I’m a new person on Instagram. Now I’m competing with 2 billion people to gain other people’s attention. And that’s where I think the connotation of the saturation comes in, but let’s say you’re in the fitness industry. For most of my social media experiences in the fitness industry five years ago, if you did certain things on YouTube, you got specific amounts of views. Nowadays, you would not get the same type of engagement if you did.
Explain how someone like a fitness influencer would come into the space that is maybe not over-saturated but more saturated than it once was?
Max: Some niches and segments and areas are over-saturated. Social media, on the whole, however, is nowhere, even remotely close to being oversaturated.
Peter: Somebody who believes that social media is saturated because they’re trying to get into a niche that’s saturated. What’s your advice to those people? That social media is over-saturated because of the place that they’re taking?
Max: You’re saying somebody is using social media, and they’re in a tough spot where it’s hard for them to grow, so what should they do.
Peter: Yes and no, because social media, as a whole, the creator could be put in a position where they have to create something new. And then, they may form a unique niche that’s not over-saturated. But if your hobbies are in fitness, you’re entering a wildly overdone place. So what do you do? Do you do something else, or do you compete?
Max: Fitness is new.
Peter: I agree. Fitness is new.
Max: So the question is too multi-variable and nuanced. Like, you can’t answer that question directly. I work with two fitness companies; both fitness companies are doing just fine. One of them is thriving. I cannot answer that question.
Everybody is unbelievably unique. And being on the internet, you have almost an infinite amount of directions to go. Answering that question is extremely difficult. I would have to audit what you’re doing, your channel, and what type of content. There are just so many.
Peter: So that was the point where I was going. Your answer was the point I was trying to make.
In a sense where you might start social media and say, wow, this is exceptionally over-saturated. How am I going to compete? But because you’re a unique person, because you’re, you are as a human being multi-dimensional. And no matter what, very few people have the same combination of skills that you have. There’s always someplace for you. You need to find that place.
Max: Yeah, that’s a good point. So if you think you’re in an overall saturated place, there are many directions. You can go and pivot. If it feels oversaturated, quit what you’re doing; go in a different order.
You were talking about Instagram; Instagram was over-saturated like a few months ago. Guess what? Instagram reels came out, and now you can grow on Instagram relatively quickly compared to what you could do before. Do you know what I mean? It is so nuanced. Like even a single feature on a platform can change the entire content strategy.
If a few months ago, we wouldn’t even care about Instagram. Now that Instagram has reels, we care about it because it’s a great way to grow their video-based content. It’s hard to answer the question – Am I in a good spot or an oversaturated spot? Unless I have actual examples and can audit you directly.
It’s impossible to give you that answer, but know social media is nowhere near over-saturated. There’s an infinite amount of niches. Some niches make people a lot of money on the internet; don’t give up. Eventually, you’ll find it.
