From scroll to strategy: Why discovery is driving demand
September 2025
Social has evolved — fast. What started as a space to connect with friends has become an entertainment-first ecosystem, and now it’s even bigger. It’s a place where people connect, debate, create, share, shop, and influence.
Today, a single scroll can take someone from curiosity to conversion. That’s full-funnel behaviour in one session. And yet many brands still treat social in fragments: media here, creative there; paid for performance, organic for engagement. That split mindset no longer works.
The biggest shift in social? Discovery is driving demand. People aren’t waiting to search. They’re stumbling across products while laughing at a Reel, exploring a creator’s haul, or deep in a TikTok rabbit hole. Brands are being discovered long before audiences ever land on Google. Social is no longer just a place to show up — it’s where decisions are shaped, trust is built, and demand is created.
Why this matters for brands
Attention is limited, and the social landscape is fragmented. Platforms, formats, communities, and conversations are endless, but your audience’s time isn’t. That’s why modern social strategy needs to centre on people — their mindsets, motivations, and behaviours — rather than chasing algorithm changes or relying on a single channel.
We call this People Over Platforms. It’s not about being at the mercy of the algorithm; it’s about designing for your audience. Paired with the Media Lift Effect, this mindset turns social into a system for engineered demand and measurable growth, starting with creating intent.
Introducing the Media Lift Effect
The Media Lift Effect is what happens when paid and organic social work together as a single, connected system. It ensures discovery, consideration, and conversion all work in harmony — driving results that no isolated tactic could achieve.
At its core, the Media Lift Effect connects the disconnected:
Capabilities: Paid and organic become one unified force.
Customer journey: Every stage is activated, reducing reliance on isolated tactics.
Measurement: Social KPIs and signals align to provide a clear view of performance.
We represent it like this:
MLE = (Passive × Active × Customer) × (Paid + Organic)
Passive equals discovery — when your audience first encounters your brand.
Active covers engagement and consideration — when people interact and form opinions.
Customer is conversion — the moment interest turns into action.
When all three stages align across both paid and organic, the effect compounds, unlocking outcomes far greater than any single tactic. Integration allows brands not just to reach audiences, but to connect, influence, and win.
Want to learn how to activate the Media Lift Effect?
