Social isn’t a billboard: branding in the age of algorithms

Aishwarya Bedessy, social media lead for Ignition Group, believes that branding needs a reset to succeed in the social landscape.

Let’s be honest: branding used to be easier to define... stick to the logo, use the brand colours, lock your fonts in a style guide. Done. And that approach worked well when we lived in a world of brochures, TV ads and billboards.

But we don’t live there anymore.

Social media is not a billboard. It’s fast. It’s messy. It’s real. And if you’re still playing by the old rules of branding, you might be missing today’s opportunities.

At Ignition Group, we’ve seen this shift first hand across our brands, and my social media team and I have adapted our strategies to take advantage of it. We always back the data in everything we do – we use it to justify making changes or improving the things we’re already doing, to speak to the right person at the right time and in the right way. And with social media, the data suggests that meaningful relationships are increasingly shaped by algorithms and authenticity, alongside visual design.

So, what does branding actually mean today?

Before we walk down the branding road, we need to emphasise that we’re talking about social media, an increasingly important aspect of branding but not the only one.

And in this context, branding is not about getting every logo placement perfect. It’s about building recognition and trust, without your audience even needing to see your logo. It’s about making sure the message reaches your audience while it’s still relevant , it’s more effective to share timely content than to wait for a polished version that may miss the moment.

Social media branding is about:

• Using a consistent, human tone of voice.
  
• Creating a recognisable, native content style (lo-fi, face-to-cam, etc.).
  
• Showing up authentically.
  
• Telling stories that resonate emotionally.

That doesn’t mean the CI guide doesn’t matter. It does, and it still serves as an important foundation, but it wasn’t built for platforms that move at the speed of a scroll. It should guide your content, not limit it. At Ignition, we’ve seen that the way people consume social media (muted videos, vertical screens, lightning-speed scrolls) encourages us to prioritise clarity, emotion and platform-native design in our messaging, sometimes even ahead of polished corporate finishes.

Let’s be real: if the subtitles are easy to read and the message hits, they’re more likely to watch it all the way through. Isn’t that the ultimate goal?

The shift: When branding got social

To understand how this shift happened, let’s look at how branding evolved – from static to social-first. Here’s a quick timeline:

2010: Instagram launches – visual storytelling enters the chat.

2014–2016: Rise of influencers, memes and mobile-first content.

2017–2020: Brands like Wendy’s and Duolingo show that voice + relatability = attention.

2020–now: TikTok explodes, and suddenly lo-fi, creator-led content becomes the gold standard.

The takeaway? Authenticity is the star, every single time.

"But this doesn’t look branded enough..."

It’s a common concern, and one social media teams hear often. But sometimes, being too focused on how content looks can mean missing the opportunity to connect in the moment.

So if you’re the head of marketing looking at the social content that goes over your desk, you need to know that your social team isn’t trying to go rogue. They’re aiming to create branding that resonates on the platforms people use every day.

It’s not about moving away from branding – it’s about recognising that today, branding is as much about the experience as it is about the look and feel, they work together.

Let’s talk AI and the ‘Black Box’

Mark Zuckerberg gets it. In a recent discussion, he described Meta’s new AI ad system as a ‘black box’ – we feed it creative and it learns what works based on actual results. It is focused on what performs.

That means we’re moving into a world where the best creative might be unpredictable, it might break the rules. But if it drives results, that’s what wins.

Give your brand a fighting chance

If your current approach leans more toward polish than presence, there could be missed opportunities to connect.... Trust your team. Trust the data. Trust the platform.

Branding on social today is about showing up consistently, speaking clearly and building connection. And if you do that right, your audience will remember you.