Brave New Socials : Can the Seafood Industry Flip the Script by Getting Real?
And then, meeting each other's widened eyes with knitted brows and mouths agape, we exhaled in a collective hush, “WTF just happened?”
It’s been a weird week, or two? It feels like 87 years since things started getting extra murky, to put it mildly. Thus is the way of space-time in the sphere of the brave new social. While we might not know exactly what’s going on, we can’t help but think, did we just all get massively jerked around?
Let’s review-
Jan 7th - ICYMI, Meta announced plans to remove professional fact-checkers across its platforms, replacing them with a “Community Notes” model a la X (nee. Twitter). Strong Brand Social summed it up perfectly in their newsletter - “let’s be clear: this isn’t just about free speech—it’s about reshaping the landscape of what’s allowed to spread online.” “This opens the door for more misinformation—everything from conspiracy theories to outright lies—to go viral before corrections can catch up.” On the seafood side, we really didn’t need the help on the misinformation front, we’ve got our hands full with that already, thanks.
Jan 18th (10:30pm EST) - “Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now. A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now.”
Surprise! TikTok turns out the lights on US users. Counter to the expectation that users would still be able to access the app, though it would no longer be available for new download or updates, TikTok blocked all US users from accessing the app entirely. Some memes noted this as ‘GenZs Y2K moment’, only this time it actually happened.
Jan 19th (meanwhile…) - Instagram quietly performed an update, changing the appearance of user profile posts from 1:1 to 4:5. A not-so-subtle attempt to mimic TikTok’s appearance. Interesting…
Jan 19th (14 hours later…) - TikTok returns, thanks (?) to Trump (?)
“We thank President Trump for providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties providing TikTok to over 170 million Americans and allowing over 7 million small businesses to thrive.”
Trump led initial efforts to ban TikTok during his first presidency. Now he’s flip switched and reversed it to become the app's savior with a 90-day extension. So social media giveth, social media taketh away - not only of the content you have access to, but also the economic stability of those over 7 million small businesses that are being generously permitted to continue to thrive laughs nervously
Jan 20th - Donald Trump is sworn in as the 47th president of the United States. Surrounded by tech leaders Elon Musk (X), Mark Zuckerberg (Meta), Sam Altman (OpenAI), Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Sundar Pichai (Google), and Shou Zi Chew (TikTok), among several others, this signals a broader shift in government enmeshment with technology development, social media, and the digital communications ecosystem.
And yes, it’s only January 78th, or that’s how it feels anyway. Add to this the increasing quantity of ungoverned AI generated content, just for funsies, and the audience we were already battling for belief just got 99 more reasons to exact an even sharper critical eye.
Here's what we've carved out of the chaos -
Creators and users aren’t easily fooled - Creators on all platforms are echoing the same sentiment - no one is under the guise that this wasn’t strategic. We know what you’re up to…we’re just not sure what to do about it. While we witnessed plenty of 'hooray TikTok’s back!' posts in the first 12 hours, make no mistake that creators have been left shook, but not surrendering. It’s giving, ‘Ok we have our platform back and that's great, but what the actual f*ck?!' See: Have we just been massively jerked around?
What users are saying and seeing - We can’t put our finger on it, but something has changed in the TikTok algorithm. They have also removed the Live feature which, on a day as auspicious as the US presidential inauguration, should have been a space lit up with real-time content. Users have also reported noticing changes to the Instagram algorithm concurrent with the visual changes. And this doesn't happen overnight, algorithms take time to develop. To quote a favourite GenZ term, its sus.
What’s even real, man? - With the farewell to Meta fact checkers, a dubious day-saving move to reinstate TikTok, AI generated content, and Sora visuals looking unsettlingly human, how can we even be sure what to trust as ‘real’? And how much of a difference will it make in consumer attention and purchasing decisions?
Not to be dramatic, but… - Audience intelligence is being seriously disrespected. And it's going to piss people off. We are not dealing with an easily manipulated population. How often have we seen, heard, read, and said that audiences, consumers, and the population at large are more skeptical than ever. We don’t see people being so easily swayed to think that it’s all good in the hood now that TikTok has been momentarily restored.
So how will all this play out for the seafood industry? While there is a lot of agility to exercise and challenges to be navigated, we search for the opportunity. Because hey, it sure beats doom scrolling and depression!
Trust: That five letter word that can make or break everything. We've been saying you need to own your narrative from the start. The seafood industry can’t afford to continue to be reactive to misinformation about our practices, sustainability, and impact. If we believe our truths, now is the time to speak them. Be proactive and get ahead of it, because no one is going to be checking the facts for you. Long-form content in your authentic voice - both written and video - can be your ally here. Audiences are going to want clarity, so build trust by showing your process, sharing your values, and showing your consistency in messaging across all your platforms. TLDR: Get real with your content.
Nurture a Close Community: Consumers are hungry for safe, intentional spaces in the chaos. Position your brand as a community leader where people feel heard, supported, and valued, not just treated as consumers. Story driven email newsletters (notice how we didn’t say marketing) are an effective way to cultivate that one-on-one relationship with your people, build trust and earn loyalty. We’ve been ripping through our socials and subscribing to all our favorite creators and brands email lists, and we're mighty intrigued to see what kind of content starts flowing through our inboxes. Our predictions? More videos, more stories, more vibes. Do we still expect the 'One Day Only Sale Get It Before Its Gone Run Don't Walk' promotions? Yes of course, that's the trade off, but our inboxes are still, for the most part, sacred. It's all about choice, and email is a digital space where people still have it. Give your audience the opportunity to choose you.
Guide Your Audience Back to Owned Assets: As we’ve seen, social platforms can change their rules overnight. They absolutely play a vital role in capturing your audience, but think of them as the leaves of your brand tree - capturing that sweet sunlight. But leaves don’t do it alone, and you need to build your foundation on assets you control - your website and your email list. If your website and newsletter campaigns aren’t ship shape, now’s the time. Strengthen your narrative, sharpen visual presence, and mine for the stories within your brand that don’t just sell, but that your audience will love to indulge in. And yes, we can help you with all of it.
Be Omni Channel Ready: Vertical, horizontal, long form, short snips, newsletters, blogs. You can create A LOT of content out of one solid production session. Thinking about your marketing strategy from this perspective can help you to create content that is omni-channel applicable. One high quality professional shoot can translate to long form videos, social cut downs, sound bites, written expansions on multiple themes, and stunning images. That's YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, ads, newsletter, blog, article, LinkedIn posts, website, print material, the list goes on. By creating content this way, it not only gives you more ease to create for multiple platforms, but assures that your messaging is consistent throughout. It also helps to have a team that can produce and deliver it all. That’s us by the way.
Breathe a sigh for the moment, but we all know this isn't over. How the content landscapes of TikTok and Meta shift over the coming months will remain a primary focus. We’re keeping eyes on the social media horizon to see where the ebb and flow of audience interest, and openings for seafood content to reach its ideal audiences, will land. And with these mainstay platforms becoming noisier, gnarlier, and potentially more volatile, consumers will turn to brands they can trust to prioritize clarity, transparency, and meaningful connection.
At the end of the day, we’re still people communicating with people, sharing knowledge, providing them solutions, and, hopefully, making them feel inspired and even, dare we say, a little happy amidst unhinged times. With the InnaSea team's background in communicating seafood to real people, we’ve never felt more sure in our commitment to be the go-to for seafood social media support, strategy, and creation. If you want to root your brand in the clarity, integrity, and connection that we all need to see more of in the world, we’re here to help you rip this wave, no matter what chaos comes our way.
