"I scroll more than I speak." Trend 2: Engaging customers in the age of passive participation
- 21 hours ago
- 2 min read
By Joel Millard
Customers are not standing still.
In this three-part series, we explore three emerging trends that are changing the relationship between customers and brands.
Here is the second.
Click the link below to read the first blog in the series:
"I barely post anymore… but I scroll constantly."
This quote from a recent Customer Closeness session really hit me. I have my own internal battle with my ever-present phone, and Ofcom’s latest media study backs it up:
We're scrolling more than we're speaking
Active posting, sharing and commenting has dropped from 61% to 49% of UK adults in the last year. I think being purely passive on social media is down to two big things:
1) The platforms know that polished content from influencers and brands is far more addictive than true ‘social’ posts from your friends and family
2) Scrolling requires no emotional vulnerability or creative effort, making it an easy way to kill time when tired or stressed.
Danah Boyd puts it well in her recent essay: “these platforms have stopped being social media and started being parasocial media”.
But we’re fighting back
Most people know this isn't great for them. Endless digital feeds leave us feeling drained, so people are pushing back to find ways out of the doomscrolling tunnel;
One of our team, Alex, told us: "I've started crocheting instead of grabbing my phone while watching shows. I wanted something creative that keeps me off my phone."
I use a wonderful app called Minimalist Phone which has transformed my relationship with my phone. Some are going further and swapping to distraction-free phones like The Balance Phone
There is a whole new category of travel and entertainment emerging around intentionally offline activities and weekend retreats which are “liberating people from their phones” The Guardian's Great British Switch Off
The UK government has recently made its first steps towards protecting younger generations with new rules banning social media for under-16s
What this means for brands
Mobile users take under two seconds to decide whether to keep going or stop on a post. With attention thinner than ever, here are some ways that brands are adjusting to meet customers where they are:
Be unorthodox - Ryanair have built an entire social identity by being outrageously un-corporate. They have given their social team free rein to turn customer complaints into entertaining short videos mocking them. A risky strategy, but one that’s working for them.
Be useful – Canva have cleverly combined their product and content strategies, using social posts as demos for their features e.g. “swipe to see how to create this in Canva”
Be a tonic – Calm (the meditation app) regularly demonstrate their mission to “help you improve your health and happiness” by encouraging people to pause for a moment e.g. “stop scrolling and enjoy this view for 30 seconds”
Whichever route you choose, the brands winning right now are paying attention to customers’ changing relationship with their phones and creating content that feels refreshingly different.
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