One of the biggest advantages you can give yourself regarding content performance is to marry the creative and distribution strategies: At KW Content, we write the copy, produce the photography and videos. We also drive the strategy, buy the media, and optimize in real time. My digital strategy team is connected to my advertising team. And those teams are working seamlessly with my creative team to put the right creative in front of the right audience at the right time. That’s why we always achieve better than industry-benchmark results.
With that said, here are 5 creative elements that we are leaning into for 2020 because they are working so well.
1. Macro Photography:
We’re seeing this work particularly well with food and beauty. Simply put, this is a super close up visual asset (as shown through those links). In a world of uncertainty, this gives the effect of “nothing to hide”. And stands out by facilitating a feeling of transparency between brand and consumer. Please note: you need a high resolution or even macro lens to accomplish this. An absolute no would be to crop way in on a photo and publish something low resolution.
2. ASMR:
This acronym stands for autonomous sensory meridian response. It describes a feeling of euphoric tingling and relaxation that can come over someone when they watch certain videos or hear certain sounds. We’re seeing apps that help people destress and take a moment of peace throughout the day. And we’re playing (successfully) on this trend. Consumers are completely overwhelmed with information flying at them in record speed, boomerangs and fast action videos. By slowing things down you will not only stand out enough to thumb-stop, you’ll be hosting your follower for a moment of zen on your feed. And this will cultivate positive association with your brand. Your follower knows when you are creating content with their wellbeing in mind versus “posting to post.”
3. Meme Video:
The opposite of the above, but we need to tackle both at the same time. TikTok’s biggest takeaway is content type: Gen Z and young millennials want raw, snackable, entertaining video content. If you expect brand awareness out of your social media investment you should be at least considering meme content.
4. Unbranded:
Similar to meme content, if you want to grow your accounts you need to produce sticky social media content that is bigger than your brand. If you slap a logo on your quote, the quote is less likely to be shared. By producing consumer-centric content that removes your brand from the center of the conversation, it’s instantly more likely to be viral content. We want people sharing sharing sharing. Knowing that most of the time they will accredit in the comments, which will then lead to much greater reach for your brand.
5. User-Generated Content (UGC):
It’s amazing how many executives know this is best practice but still can’t seem to get on board. The fact is that it’s the conversations happening OFF of your feed that are driving growth for your accounts. If you do not encourage these conversations, they wont happen. To encourage more UGC, select certain UGC to share on your own feed from time to time. Tag the users and thank them for sharing – this will give them (and others) the encouragement they need to continue supporting your brand in this manner.
Questions? Let me know.
In your corner,
Katie