Ephemeral content on social media refers to posts with a limited lifespan such as stories and live videos on Snapchat, Facebook and Instagram which disappear 24 hours after being posted.
Snapchat introduced the idea of temporary posts when it debuted in 2011. Back then it was a novel and exciting concept, meant to oppose the polished and overly curated nature of social media posts. Fast forward to 2018, and we’re seeing ephemeral content everywhere on social media. Not only is it widely used by millions of people daily, but it has become an integral part of social media marketing.
It might seem counterintuitive to use Stories to improve your social media marketing strategy. Why put in effort to post something that will be gone the next day? But it’s no coincidence that you see big brands and small businesses alike posting Stories regularly. There’s true marketing potential in the ephemeral content format. Why does content with a limited lifespan resonate well with audiences and how can you leverage it to increase brand awareness?
Engage Followers
Facebook and Instagram’s algorithm changes have had a profound effect on social media marketing. Essentially, now it’s all about interacting with your followers and getting them engaged. On the list of priorities, engagement metrics far surpass follower count or even the number of likes, which, although not entirely unimportant, are now described as “vanity metrics.”
The rising popularity of ephemeral content is a direct consequence of engagement rates becoming the primary goal. Temporary posts leverage the well-known phenomenon of FOMO (the fear of missing out) on social media. With a limited lifespan, the posts create a sense of urgency, a short window of opportunity to view the content and to act on it before it disappears.
That’s why ephemeral posts grab your audience’s attention amidst the swarm of permanent posts. Once you have their attention, you can engage audiences on a more personal level and even elicit an immediate response. Ephemeral content is especially useful for encouraging user-generated content (UGC) through contests or other initiatives, where you’re directly boosting engagement rates, and also enabling audiences to promote your brand on your behalf.
Reach a Wider Audience
Ephemeral content is inherently shareable for the same reasons it’s engaging: It creates that sense of urgency to participate or share with friends before it’s gone. That’s why the top digital agencies are increasingly relying on ephemeral content to drive traffic to their clients’ websites and to help them reach target audiences more effectively.
It takes a single tap for a user to send a Story to a friend. When it comes to user-generated content, your brand is mentioned (essentially, promoted) by your target audience on their own profiles. Ultimately, you’re getting a highly relevant audience, comprised of people similar to your followers, directed your way.
Strengthen Your Brand Identity
Ephemeral content also helps businesses show their human side. The format appeals to audiences because of its raw and unpretentious nature. Unlike permanent posts, Stories don’t need to be picture-perfect or beautifully filmed. They really are about the story you have to tell, leaving plenty of room for you to convey your message without worrying about technicalities or spending hours to craft something polished.
For example, large brands and even organizations such as NASA use Stories on Instagram to show behind-the-scenes footage of employees. These can be live videos, which give followers a chance to engage and ask questions in real-time or just short clips. Either way, this type of content is spontaneous and unstaged, making it more appealing and authentic than any ad could ever be.
This fact alone draws in audiences, but that’s not all. When you show real human faces behind your business and the people working hard to make it all happen, you’re exhibiting a genuine brand identity. Showing your company is comprised of regular people similar to them helps form a relationship with the audience and ultimately build trust.
Post Consistently
Posting consistently on social media is crucial to staying on your audience’s radar and boosting brand awareness. But it’s not easy to churn out high-quality content regularly – which is where ephemeral content jumps in.
As mentioned, it’s not demanding, takes little time to create and requires no editing whatsoever. You can show day-to-day situations in your company, showcase products casually, announce product launches which direct to the brand website, run polls, post user-generated content, hand it over to an influencer, etc. All of this provides engaging content that you can post while your more demanding permanent posts are still under development. And there you have it, maintaining a consistent presence on social media has become much easier.
Ephemeral content serves as a great tool to boost brand awareness and run a captivating campaign. Audiences appreciate it for its unpretentious and casual nature. It’s a much-needed break from the pressure and overwhelming work of creating more polished permanent posts. However, an effective social media campaign requires posting both permanent and temporary content. The two combined strike a perfect balance that will help you reach your major social media marketing goals.
Angelina Harper is a content creator with a background in digital marketing. She enjoys reading, vending machines and camping. She can be reached at angelinaharper88@gmail.com or on Twitter at @angieha23093224.
