Short-lived, or ephemeral content was one of the biggest social media trends from 2018 and is now making a comeback. You can see this type of content when looking at Stories on Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat. This is content that basically destroys itself after a certain amount of time.

Investing a portion of your marketing budget into something that only lasts for 24 hours may seem irrational, but it is the most effective when it comes to leveraging your brand-building potential. A major reason why ephemeral content is highly sought after is that it creates a FOMO response from social consumers, meaning that their “fear of missing out” is a high motivator to keep themselves updated. The fleeting feeling that ephemeral content creates gives your customers a sense of urgency to act now.

Another reason why ephemeral content is so necessary for your brand is it boosts engagement. Instagram Stories especially allow the brand and the consumer to interact with each other by creating polls, asking for feedback, highlighting UGC and giving their followers fun brand quizzes.

Aside from boosting engagement through ephemeral interaction, allowing your audience to interact with your brand creates this sense of a personal relationship. Statistics show that 86% of digital users crave authenticity more than ever. Ephemeral content is one of the best marketing strategies to showcase brand authenticity while humanizing it at the same time. After all, what digital consumers want is the raw emotional relationship they can build with brands. Airbnb is a great example of a brand that utilizes ephemeral content to boost engagement and relationships with their Instagram followers.

Finally, we’ll touch on the possibility to create a call to action by using ephemeral content. We’ve already discussed the sense of urgency that this content delivers. To add to the experience, you could mention a promotion along with a link to your social profile or a “shop now” link attached to the Story, creating the response in your audience that they could miss out on this deal if they don’t act now. For more information on how to make the most out of ephemeral content on your social media contact us here or call us at 404.850.2081