Defining Digital Culture: the 5 c's
Community. Culture. Creators. Commerce. Content.
Five words that shaped the past few years of social, and five that will define what’s next.
TikTok didn’t just change how we use social media, it changed what social media is. The TikTokification of the internet is real. Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, and even traditional media have all adapted to TikTok’s DNA. Everything, from algorithms to aesthetics, now runs on short-form storytelling, creator voices, and cultural velocity.
But that shift also left brands standing at a crossroads. When the internet moves this fast, what actually matters? These are the 5 C’s that you should keep in mind.
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Community, The New Metric of Meaning
Let’s be real, social media isn’t very social anymore. It’s less about who we know and more about what we like. Discovery has replaced connection. And yet, the need to belong has never been stronger. That’s where community comes in.
The brands standing out are the ones creating spaces where people feel seen. Where comments aren’t just engagement metrics, they’re conversations.
Take Refy’s Broadcast Channel, which feels more like a group chat than a brand feed. Or Billie Eilish adding all her followers to her Close Friends list to drop her new music. Those aren’t just digital stunts, they’re belonging strategies.
And it’s happening offline too. The rise of the “Run Club Effect” from Hoka to Represent shows how IRL moments have become extensions of online identity. People want to experience their communities, not just follow them.
So how do you measure it? Forget follower count, start tracking Earned Community Value. Community strength, sentiment, and turnout. Because followers are fleeting. Communities last.
Culture, the real algorithm
Here’s the truth: virality isn’t strategy, culture is.
Culture decides what we see, share, and care about online. It’s the rhythm of behavior, humor, and beliefs that shape youth identity. And the brands who get it right aren’t reacting to it, they’re participating in it. Look at STËLZ, a Dutch hard seltzer brand with WhatsApp groups for ambassadors who can literally pick up free trays of STËLZ on demand. Or Loewe and Jacquemus, who’ve completely flipped luxury’s rulebook by mixing irony, intimacy, and internet culture. These brands don’t treat culture as a marketing channel, they treat it as the main event. When you’re plugged into your audience’s worlds, their group chats, playlists, and memes, your brand stops interrupting culture and starts fueling it.
Culture isn’t something you trend-jack. It’s something you earn your place in.
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Creators, From Collaborations to Communities
We’ve officially entered the quality era of creator marketing.
Where “unpolished” once meant authentic, it now risks feeling lazy. Creators are leveling up their production value, storytelling, and strategy, and brands need to meet them there.
But here’s the shift: creators are no longer extensions of your brand. They’re extensions of your audience. They translate your brand message into the cultural language their community speaks. Poppi’s Coachella partnership with Alix Earle wasn’t just an influencer trip, it was a masterclass in emotional branding. They didn’t just send her to a festival; they sent her friends too. The result? A 200% sales lift and a flood of UGC from people who wanted in on the friendship. Creators aren’t your campaign. They’re your co-creators.
So, stop asking “who can post about us?” and start asking “who can build with us?”
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Commerce, Where Connection Converts
TikTok Shop isn’t just a sales channel, it’s cultural infrastructure. Here’s the thing, online and offline shopping are both booming. Our research shows that Gen Zers are pretty much 50/50 when it comes to choosing online shopping over offline (58% prefer online). So brands: take this into account and make sure your online and offline shopping experiences are catering to the journeys that youth audiences value.
And then there's TikTok shop. 58% of TikTok users already shop directly on the app, and that number will skyrocket when the rest of Europe gets access. But the biggest shift isn’t technological, it’s emotional. Commerce has become conversational. We buy from people we relate to, not just products we like. The smartest brands are using customer feedback as creative fuel, responding to reviews with videos, turning comment threads into campaigns, and being radically transparent about their product flaws. Even affiliate marketing is having a renaissance moment, giving creators (and micro communities) the power to turn passion into purchase. Connection is the new conversion rate. People don’t just want to buy. They want to belong to the story behind what they buy.
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Content, Quality Is the New Quantity
Let’s talk about the content chaos. For the past few years, brands have been churning out content like it’s a race. Volume over value. But from now on, that mindset won’t cut it. Audiences want intention. They can tell when something’s been made with purpose, and when it hasn’t. We’re moving from random to rooted. From trend participation to storytelling. From low-effort UGC to high-quality, narrative-led campaigns. Series-style storytelling will define what's next, whether that’s cinematic TikToks, founder-led mini-docs, or episodic brand stories that audiences can follow like a show. And the brands winning on multiple platforms? They have a recognizable core and a platform-specific voice. The tone may shift, but the soul stays the same. In a world of infinite content, creativity will be your best quality.
What's in it for the marketer?
For marketers, the 5 C's are your roadmap to real relevance. Build communities that foster belonging, not broadcasting. Let culture guide your choices, showing up where your audience already is. Collaborate with creators instead of treating them like billboards. Turn commerce into connection by making discovery and purchasing part of the same story. And when it comes to content, choose quality over quantity. Because those who master the 5 C’s aren’t just keeping up with culture, they’re shaping it.
