If your brand still believes it can build relevance without starting with social, it may be operating in a world that no longer exists. Social networks have become the main environment for interaction between people and brands, the space where opinions are formed, behaviors and trends emerge and narratives gain scale.
After years of following the great turning points in communication, it is clear to me that we have reached yet another one: the era in which thinking about strategy inevitably requires thinking Social First.
Throughout my career, I have experienced multiple market transformations. I started at a time when offline was sovereign; The internet arrived as a transformative disruption, which paved the way for the emergence of the first digital agencies.
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Then, I witnessed the birth of structures specialized in social and content, when brands realized that presence was not enough, it was necessary to talk, entertain, participate in culture.
More recently, I delved into the universe of influencers and the creator economy, where brand building happens through co-creation and cultural immersion. Each phase brought a new discipline, a new way of operating and, above all, the need for specialization.
Today, as VP of a group agency that believes exactly in the convergence between content, social and influence, I see clearly that Social First is the next natural step in this evolution.
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This is not just another marketing or fashion concept; This is a new way of thinking about strategy. It’s starting from the place where conversations really happen and where culture manifests itself first. Social is no longer a channel and has become the context of brands themselves.
That’s why working with the framework CSI – Content, Social and Influence has become essential. Content defines the narrative, social defines the environment and influence ensures cultural distribution. None of this works in isolation. CSI is a gear: when one of the elements is misaligned, the impact is lost; when everyone operates together, relevance happens naturally.
Campaigns designed outside this ecosystem tend to be adapted, while campaigns that are born within it flow naturally. Social demands its own language, specific codes, speed and cultural reading.
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Nothing is static: trends emerge and disappear within days, creators become vehicles for immediate distribution and communities validate, or reject, narratives with brutal honesty. In this scenario, it is not possible to operate as if the conversation were happening elsewhere.
It’s also not true that Social First means talking more or “posting all the time.” It means speaking correctly, at the pace of the culture and with authenticity. It means creating native, non-adapted content. It means being close to communities, not just platforms. And it means treating creators as long-term partners, not as post deliverers. It’s a change in posture, not volume.
And yes, metrics matter, but they are consequences, not the starting point. Social First is not a blind search for likes or virality; is a model that combines cultural relevance with live indicators, such as purchase intention, increased search, qualified engagement and spontaneous conversations. Performance happens when there is truth, narrative and context.
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The beauty and provocation behind this logic is that many brands are already Social First without realizing it. If you are already looking for insights on social to adjust campaigns, understand your consumer, anticipate competitor movements or capture cultural signals, you are already, albeit intuitively, putting social at the center of your strategy. The difference is that doing this intentionally multiplies the impact.
Social First is not about keeping up with the culture.
It’s about participating in it.
It’s about building at the same pace as behavior transforms.
It’s about understanding that relevance is not achieved just with big campaigns, but with an intelligent presence.
And, above all, it is to admit something simple: today, culture happens socially.
And any brand that truly wants to be part of this culture needs to start from there.
