If you are an online brand and you are advertising on Facebook and Instagram, running email campaigns, blogging and posting to social media - you know that there is a constant, almost painful need for massive amounts of content on a daily basis.
You may be working with influencers, hiring models and photographers for professional photoshoots, asking permission from your customers to use their photos, going live on Facebook and posting Instagram stories. There is no shortage of strategies to try when creating content.
But in the back of your mind, if you're still wondering if your content is performing as well as it should be, you're not alone. So how can you ensure your content stays relevant, personal and outperforms your competition?
The answer is to look towards social media. And for 2018, this year you're in luck. You don't need to hire a production company, get a better photographer or pay a top influencer more $$$. Because the most sharable content (dare I say authentic) is actually a parody of itself and it's so bad...that it's good.
Your Instagram feed and YouTube videos are no longer full of beautiful, unattainable, photoshopped people and places - in fact, the most engaging content is almost intentionally scrappy. In our "generation of mediocracy" where social influence has levelled the playing field, brands must also learn and adapt their content to fit in. Hint: start by not taking yourself so serious.
Brands that have caught on include the weekend apparel line, Chubbies who's Instagram account is referred to as an "Entertainment Website' (not a clothing brand) and consists of memes. In addition, their product photography, although polished, is candid photos of everyday 'dudes' that almost look taken by a friends cell phone at a party. And its perfection.
Another example is the for-charity toilet paper company, Who Gives a Crap, who's name already suggests un-seriousness. Their ad on Instagram features a regular girl walking through her bathroom talking about toilet paper. Shot on an iPhone, with minimal edits, its looks like something your friend would post on her feed. Yet it's effective since it blends right in to the already crowded platform.
So for your next campaign, consider working with micro-influencers and don't be too concerned about the quality. Any content is good content. And in the mean time, get out your phone, snap a photo or video and say something your customers will enjoy - it doesn't have to be perfect. In fact, the less planned out it looks, the better. Think scrappy to make your customers happy. See it just worked!
- Team Eleven Commerce
Eleven Commerce is a digital marketing agency for Ecommerce brands.