Barely a week goes by without another report on the detrimental impact of the excessive use of social media on people’s mental health, and we shouldn’t kid ourselves this is just a generational issue. If we’re honest, it’s something we all know but can’t quite break the habit.
While social media remains a vitally important platform for audience growth and engagement, publishers must ask themselves if they are focused enough on what sets them apart.
In the AI “wild west” landscape dominating social media feeds and search activity, the true value of a brand lies in journalistic integrity and content that is purposeful, inspiring, and joyful.
Rather than chasing rage bait or gaming an algorithm, content producers can offer something different. Expert-led, human-centred stories that support human flourishing. As our strategy director, Katy Gotch, puts it: we should create content that “nourishes rather than numbs”.
In fact, by doubling down on purpose-driven content, publishers can succeed in building real audience engagement in a world of declining attention, low-grade content and mistrust. An approach that can also appeal to potential new talent, commercial partners and other stakeholders.
Joy as purpose
Two years ago, at Immediate, we refreshed our company purpose, building on previous iterations to a simpler, more accessible statement that was relatable and, importantly, memorable – to bring our audiences more joy by helping them get more out of the things they love.
We want to inspire them, deepen their knowledge, sharpen their skills, support their goals, build their confidence and fuel their passions. We help them to enjoy more of what life has to offer, each and every day.
The value of having a clear, defined company purpose – articulating your company’s reason for being – has long been recognised as an important driver of success. Deloitte reports purpose-driven companies are three times more likely to retain talent due to higher levels of engagement and job satisfaction, alongside 30% higher innovation rates, as well higher customer engagement and, ultimately, financial success.
But it is critical that your purpose is authentic, more than just words on a page or a screen, for both your internal and external audiences. Proving the benefit your brands and products provide can be a key differentiator as AI driven content draws more and more attention away from human-created content.
The science of joy
Over the last year, Immediate has been working with the University of Sussex to really test if our purpose is valid and to try to understand what impact trusted quality content has on audiences.
The independent research, with 10,000 respondents, explored the relationship between joy and leisure activities people engage with most in their spare time, including those in our core verticals, gardening, cooking, watching TV and listening to the radio. The study had 10,000 respondents, followed up by focus groups and interviews with audiences at live events to really understand the emerging themes.
The results reveal that across all measures, gardening, cooking, baking, and TV and radio consumption are powerful drivers of joy, wellbeing and fulfilment. These aren’t niche hobbies. Millions of people turn to these activities every single day for purpose, relaxation, learning, creativity, or simple pleasure.
The research also demonstrated that joy is more strongly correlated with ‘intrinsic motivation’, activities people do for fulfilment, growth, creativity, and connection, than any other factor. The deeper people engaged, the more joy they experienced.
Not only that, importantly, the results showed that those who interacted with our brands increased their sense of competence, flow states and immersion, and the more brand touchpoints our audiences interacted with, the higher their levels of joy and happiness.
Enrichment over doomscrolling
In a world of doomscrolling, distraction and declining trust, brands that encourage intentional, enriching activities which add positively to peoples’ lives, have a point of differentiation.
Publishers can stay ahead of AI overviews and scraped content by investing in human-led expertise. By bringing audience interests to life, they create genuine engagement and contribute to the collective wellbeing of their community.
Maybe not surprisingly, social media, despite being our most common leisure activity, delivered the lowest joy score of 21 leisure activities surveyed by the University of Sussex. This reinforces something many people already instinctively feel; digital environments designed for infinite content don’t deliver infinite fulfilment.
Think of what publishing brands offer as true nourishment; an expertly crafted vitamin filled home cooked meal, as opposed to a raft of fast-food offerings that jump out at you online. Superficially appealing but ultimately detrimental to your wellbeing.
To give a relevant example, according to research from DCU Business School, just 2% of AI analysed nutrition video content on TikTok proved to be accurate. This type of misinformation in the food space was the inspiration for Good Food’s recent launch of Good Health, a new social-first, evidence-based digital-first platform designed to cut through the widespread health and nutrition confusion with trustworthy, practical advice to make a positive impact in the social environment.
Building communities
By focusing our content on expert insights that “nourish rather than numb”, we also provide the social currency that makes these interests so powerful. They spark conversations, shared problem-solving, learning, and rituals, whether it’s chatting to neighbours when in the garden or swapping recipes with family.
According to the University of Sussex study, 88% of gardeners, 86% of cooks and bakers, and more than 80% of TV and radio fans regularly talk to others about the things they love. These interactions build identity, belonging, and trust, elements many people feel modern life is stripping away.
As we face a world where people may be more digitally connected but feel more isolated, we have the opportunity to curate communal moments around things people love. They can shape cultural narratives, giving audiences things to share, discuss and help people feel connected to something positive, that brings them a sense of achievement and satisfaction.
Cultivating meaningful connection in a digital-first world
Community grows through shared identity and passions, not through endless posting. Brands already sit within these passion ecosystems; the opportunity is to build structured communities that amplify knowledge, creativity, and connection. We can help audiences spend their time intentionally, not just habitually, earning greater emotional loyalty and trust.
After all, audiences are willing to invest more in brands that enrich their lives and become long-term community members. We see this in our live events space. Our audiences are highly engaged, valuing real-life experiences focused on the interests that bring them joy, with a dwell time of between five to six hours at each event – over twice the length of going to the cinema or theatre. With an average NPS score of 70 across all our events, we know they’re really valuing the experience.
More and more people are looking for real-life experiences as an antidote to increasing digital overload. At the end of last year, Digiday reported on a Whitepaper by Harris poll stating 81% of Gen Z adults wished they could disconnect from digital devices.
And there’s commercial opportunities in this trend with advertising spend on campaigns growing. IPA’s 2025 Q3 Bellwether Report reported almost 11% of companies increasing their experiential marketing expenditure, a trend widely predicted to grow in 2026.
The trusted brands who truly understand their audiences and create content that enriches their lives, are best placed to succeed with experiential touchpoints, driving loyalty and high levels of engagement.
So, what can we take away from this research? Putting purpose at the heart of your content can provide a competitive advantage. While clicks may be important, the emotional uplift content creates is the key to attracting and keeping audiences.
Our research proves that when we help people lean into their passions, we don’t just increase brand loyalty, we actually increase their sense of happiness and flow. In a world of algorithm dominated feeds and AI overviews, the opportunity for publishers is to be the trusted space where people go to reconnect with themselves and others. After all, a brand that helps you enjoy life more is a brand you’ll never want to disconnect from.
This article was first published in InPublishing magazine. If you would like to be added to the free mailing list to receive the magazine, please register here.
