Harnessing the Power of Social Media Stories for Engagement
It is fascinating to observe the evolution of content creation on social media. Across the different social media platforms, marketing and ‘ordinary’ content creation have utilized social media stories to reach audiences and consumers. This tool has been around for almost a decade in some apps and has proven beneficial. These social media stories are ephemeral content, existing for around 24 hours before vanishing from the web. These contents are found on Snapchat, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, etc. Why ephemeral content?
Ephemeral content was founded on Snapchat in 2013 and was quickly integrated by Instagram and Facebook into their platforms. These short-lived stories have become a dynamic form of storytelling, not just entertaining audiences but also generating profit for brands. Because they are short-lived, they are orchestrated to attend to the digital audience’s FOMO—fear of missing out. In a world where trends are tuned for content marketing sensations, this fleeting nature, according to Socialsellinator.com, manipulates viewership as it sends a message of pseudo-urgency to digital audiences.
There are different types of ephemeral content. These include Snapchat stories, Instagram stories, Facebook stories, and TikTok stories. These apps have distinct features for ephemeral content on their platforms. On TikTok, the landscape of ephemeral content is widened due to its nature of short videos. While the app does not play into the traditional nature of ephemeral content, it has created a larger niche for immediate consumption and increased engagement.
Rebecca Kowalewicz, Lead Content Creator at Clearbridge Branding Agency and a former Forbes Council Member, says, ‘Ephemeral content often feels more genuine than polished, permanent posts. It allows brands to showcase behind-the-scenes looks, real-time events, or raw, unfiltered moments, which translates to authenticity, something that most audiences crave from brands’. Rebecca opines that, while the fleeting nature of ephemeral content may seem counterintuitive for investment, when utilized strategically, it offers unique advantages in the digital space. The temporary nature of this content can prompt users to interact more, increasing clicks, views, and responses, overall helping to boost engagement rates.
Having established the benefits of ephemeral content for brands and creators alike, how can one boost engagement and build a loyal community using ephemeral content in a space crowded with digital noise and different niches?
1. Know your audience: What is your audience interested in? Do they engage with ephemeral content? When are they most active, and what time range? These provide great insight into what type of content you create and when you upload.
2. Definition of goals: What do you wish to achieve with your content? Improve brand visibility, drive traffic to blogs, generate sales for products, receive reviews on services, etc.? These goals will align your content and what you upload where.
3. Strategic Content: When you choose your goals, it is important to utilize strategic tools like polls, quiz sessions, and behind-the-scenes glimpses to keep your audience engaged. Because ephemeral content thrives on interactiveness, it is necessary to include authenticity in your deal. Utilize storytelling to keep viewership.
4. Performance analytics: Social media platforms like Instagram Story Analytics, TikTok Analytics, and Facebook Analytics are resources that can be utilized to provide insights on content performance by analyzing clicks, views, followership, replies, traffic, etc. The degree of performance can then be improved to maximize engagement.
Photo credits:
Brafton.com
Sproutsocial.com
FrescoData.com
References:
Socialsellinator.com
Forbes.com
SproutSocial.com
