Let’s be the remedy, not part of the noise

The recent verdict about the “addictive” nature of social media platforms should be a wake-up call.

The six-week Californian case found Meta & YouTube liable for deliberately designing addictive products. The case is now closed, but the conversation shouldn’t end there.  

While the courts are holding platforms accountable for how they keep people hooked; we, as brands, must hold ourselves accountable for what we give them once they are there.  

Either we’re adding genuine value, or we're just part of the machinery that’s contributing to these negative effects. We become part of the noise. 

We believe social is the sun. Brands can shine brighter with a more optimistic approach to social – one of brightness, warmth, and empathy, that importantly prioritises a better experience for everyone involved: clients, agencies, and most importantly, the audience. This is why we need to start with them, getting under the skin of their full experience.

The starting point: what audiences actually need from brands 

While yes, many users are on social media to simply kill time or be entertained, we must acknowledge that social media addresses deeper (sometimes unseen) needs. According to Sprout Social, 40 per cent of consumers want brands to share educational posts on social media, while 27 per cent want brands to share more community-focused content. Under the surface, we believe they’re seeking out solutions to aid their wellbeing, including addressing loneliness to uncertainty. With the right care and intent, brands can also be a remedy for these needs. How? Well, it starts by listening. 

Brands too can listen to their audience and create content that can similarly adds value to their lives.

When brands understand the deeper benefits that could come from time spent on social media, they can start playing a more positive role. They’ll stop being seen as ‘just another advertiser’ and start becoming just as valued and essential to an audience as their other holistic ‘remedies – the content or influencers that are already helping them. To start, let’s look at three “remedies” worth considering: 

Remedy #1: A Dose of Relatability

People feel better when they find things they relate to. On social, that might mean a shared sense of humour, or someone who understands their daily stressors. Brands must act less like a large, faceless company, and more like one that signals, "I see and understand you." 

To get personal, you can use raw data to understand who they are, but you must also apply warmth to truly understand them. Use social listening to monitor their conversations more closely — be the fly on the wall to know what makes them laugh or tick. Incorporate what you’ve heard back into the content you make and see if it resonates in the comments.

Remedy #2: A Retreat for Belonging

Beyond the individual need to see yourself in others, people also seek the security that comes from belonging to a wider group. At a time of increased loneliness, social provides pockets of communities where people can feel ‘part of’. Here, they connect over interests, hobbies, common life stages, and even worldviews.

Brands need to shift from creating social content for passive viewers to being a community leader that nurtures active participants. This means creating content with the intent of being shared and talked about. And it means thinking of your comment section like a discussion board or group chat. Next time, ask: “What’s the conversation we want to spark today?”

When it comes to ways of working, this demands a shift toward community management and curation. You must bring people together through conversation and like-mindedness, not just your products. Invite them to share their own stories through UGC. When you facilitate this sense of belonging, your brand transforms from a shop window to a trusted space they can retreat to with others like them.

Remedy #3: Ongoing Stability

In a world of constant noise and chaos, people crave consistency and stability. And a consistent social presence can signal a reliable brand.

When users encounter your brand, they should know you, or at least feel like they can get to know you. Rather than random interruptions, consistent and ownable formats of content become welcome rituals. This sustained familiarity is the bedrock of long-term brand equity, meaning the value and reputation your brand holds in the mind of the consumer.

Advertisers must get the foundations right. Aim to maintain a consistent visual identity, a distinct brand voice, and adhere to recurring content themes. Don’t be afraid to take one content idea, and find slight variations for how to say it over, and over again.

Our Verdict

Next time you look at you create content, ask the hard question:

If your brand disappeared from the feed tomorrow, would your audience feel like they lost a "remedy"—or would they just be relieved the noise finally stopped?

Let’s stop being part of the meaningless noise and start being part of the "healing”.

Tiffany Mondesir is the head of social strategy for VCCP