We’ve all noticed it lately.
Fewer people are talking about hashtags or engagement rates. The big question used to be, “How do we get more eyes on this?”
Now it’s more like, “How do we get people to care?”
Social media still matters, of course it does. But there’s something changing in the air. The mood’s different. Clients are talking about substance again, not just visibility.
A Shift Everyone Could Feel Coming
The data backs it up, but honestly, most of us don’t need a graph. You can feel it.
People are spending less time online and more time looking for something real.
The Financial Times reported that global social-media use peaked in 2022. Ofcom says UK usage is flat, especially with younger audiences. It’s not rebellion – it’s just fatigue.
There’s only so much screen time anyone can take. And maybe we’ve reached the point where the constant scroll feels more draining than rewarding.
That’s where live experiences come in. Because when everything else blurs together, a moment that’s shared face-to-face cuts through.
When Presence Beats Reach
It’s easy to forget how much focus a real event creates.
When guests arrive at a space that’s been carefully planned – the lighting, the sound, the welcome, the detail – they stop scrolling, even if just for a bit. They’re in it. Present.
You can’t replicate that kind of attention online. And what’s interesting is that those same moments, the ones that feel the most grounded and human, end up being the content people actually want to post afterwards.
We believe the best social media right now often starts offline.
Less Noise, More Meaning
Brands are starting to take a breath. You can sense it. They’re not chasing daily posts anymore; they’re looking for better ones. We’ve seen it in the event world too – teams building fewer, deeper experiences instead of high-volume campaigns.
A single piece of content from something authentic can outperform a month of studio work because it feels true. And that’s what people respond to. Truth. Not perfection. Not polish. Just something that feels made with care.
The Loop That Works
Social and experiential aren’t competing anymore – they complete each other.
A smart campaign starts online, peaks in real life, then lives on through the content captured there. That’s the loop we’re seeing work again and again. A teaser creates interest, the event delivers emotion, and the story that follows keeps it alive. It’s organic, not forced.
That’s the sweet spot. When marketing feels like it’s meant to, not like it’s chasing the algorithm.
Luxury’s Quiet Lesson
Luxury brands spotted this early. They realised that connection is the new exclusivity. You don’t need to go big to go deep. Sometimes it’s a dinner with the right twenty people. Or a product moment that feels personal rather than public.
We’ve seen guests put their phones down entirely. And that silence – the decision not to share – says more about how powerful the experience was than a thousand tags ever could.
A Change in What Luxury Means
It’s not just brands seeing the shift. The wider luxury world is changing too.
Recent reporting in The Economist notes that many of the ultra-wealthy are moving away from collecting assets and turning toward experiences instead. Fine art, yachts, watches – they might still matter, but connection and meaning are becoming the new status symbols.
It’s a reminder that this move toward experience isn’t only a marketing trend. It reflects a much bigger cultural turn – one where what you do, and how it makes people feel, holds more value than what you own.
What Matters Now
For us, the measure of success is changing. It’s not how many people saw something. It’s what they took away from it.
Social metrics still have value, of course. But the story doesn’t stop there anymore. Real connection, the kind you can see on people’s faces when they leave an event – that’s the bit everyone remembers.
The truth is, the world hasn’t moved past social media. It’s just moved past the noise. And that’s good news for anyone who believes in craft, storytelling and detail – because those things still matter. Maybe now more than ever.
When you want depth over noise, the right experience can change everything. Let’s talk about what that could look like.