Social media has evolved from a channel for engagement to a space where brands build personalities and earn consumer trust. Learn how marketing leaders are navigating this shift.
The landscape of social media has undergone a profound transformation. Once seen merely as a tool for engagement, it has become the primary arena where brands cultivate personalities, influence culture, and earn consumer trust. At the CMOs’ Charcha – Kolkata Chapter 2026, industry leaders delved into how social platforms have evolved from attention-grabbing tools into engines for long-term brand building.
The discussion highlighted that while the goal of earning attention remains constant, the battleground has shifted to social media. Brands are now proving that long-term brand building is achievable on these platforms, moving beyond the chase for viral moments.
The Role of Attention in Brand Building
L. Muralikrishnan, CMO & Co-founder of Wow! Momo, set the stage by noting that social media has become the primary battleground for attention. Amid the deluge of reels, short-form videos, and trending content, brands are demonstrating that long-term brand building is still possible.
The central question posed was whether social media can move beyond grabbing attention to genuinely building brand equity.
Paromita Ghosh, Director of Candid by Paromita (CBP), affirmed that social media can indeed achieve this. She pointed out that significant conversations and moments of public importance often unfold on platforms like Instagram, underscoring their growing influence beyond entertainment. Attention, she argued, is the foundation of every successful brand, and social media is the most effective place to create and sustain it. However, attention must be earned through content that people genuinely want to engage with.
The Universal Principle of Earning Attention
Muralikrishnan broadened the conversation by questioning whether attention alone is sufficient or if each medium has its own rules for earning it. Harkawal Singh, Marketing Head (IBD) at Emami (Zandu), believes that attention has always been the first building block of brand creation, regardless of the platform. Whether through television, radio, print, speeches, or social media, every medium demands a different creative approach. A three-second reel, a six-second digital film, or a static print advertisement all operate under different rules but share the same objective: to capture consumer attention quickly and effectively.
Singh emphasized that while social media dominates today’s conversations, the principle of earning attention remains universal. The discussion then shifted to the role of social media in shaping culture.
Social Media as a Cultural Catalyst
Anisha Motwani, Founder of QED, was asked whether social media is now shaping culture itself and whether the strongest brands are those that understand and participate in that culture. Motwani believes that cultural relevance has become a defining characteristic of successful brands on social media. Brands need to develop distinct personalities that audiences recognize and relate to. She cited Zomato as an example of a brand that created its own cultural identity through initiatives like Zomato Gold and its playful social media voice.
Motwani also noted that many brands use social platforms to test whether cultural conversations already exist before deciding to participate or create new ones. For her, social media has evolved into both a cultural barometer and a cultural catalyst.
The Rise of Niche Online Communities
The conversation then turned to the rise of niche online communities. Ankit Saraf, Founder of Meraqi Digital, was asked whether brands are increasingly succeeding by tapping into microcultures rather than speaking to everyone at once. Saraf believes that this is exactly what is happening. Drawing from his own experience as a new parent, he explained how social media algorithms quickly immerse users in highly specific communities based on their interests and life stages. Brands are increasingly becoming part of these microcultures rather than simply advertising to them.
Saraf also highlighted the significant role that creators play in shaping these communities, making influencer content just as important as branded communication in defining culture online.
Building Consumer Trust Through Social Media
As the discussion moved towards consumer trust, Muralikrishnan posed an important question to Shweta Kaushal, Founder of Creatorcult Media: How has community building changed now that social media has become the primary interface between brands and consumers? Kaushal believes that social media is no longer just another marketing channel; it has become the human face of brand building. Traditional advertising continues to create awareness, but creators have fundamentally changed how consumers evaluate products. Instead of relying solely on polished brand communication, people increasingly trust reviews and recommendations from creators whose experiences feel authentic and relatable.
Kaushal argues that this shift has transformed influencers from content creators into trusted validators of brands. Social media, therefore, isn’t just building awareness; it is creating credibility through authentic human experiences.
Culture cannot be manufactured overnight, communities cannot be forced, and trust cannot be bought through paid media alone. The brands that succeed will be those that understand not just how consumers scroll, but why they stop. Because in an age where every brand is competing for attention, the real winners will not be those who create the loudest noise but those who build the deepest connections.
