If there’s one word we can use to best describe the driving factor behind recent leaps in online marketability, it’d be INFLUENCE. No matter how and where you look at it, all the big social media platforms have one thing in common — they all vie for the greatest amount of influence.
Why? Because influence is what builds a following! Influence is an abstract thought that often facilitates behavior. Platforms such as TikTok and Instagram make clever use of influence to their advantage by proliferating a distinct culture in their respective channels. Engagement was made to be more inclusive, while content was purposefully directed to be more targeted and personalized. In short, recent events have caused marketers to get busy and CREATIVE.
In response to the cultural shifts promulgated by a rather eventful 2020, Facebook decided to launch an analysis to pinpoint key creative trends that will most likely pave the way for the future of digital marketing. In this analysis, Facebook’s Creative Shop reviewed 100 campaigns from all over the world that managed to reach record-breaking numbers across all their platforms, with the lead KPI being business impact.
The full 22-page report identifies five ascendent behaviors that are expected to shape the future of creativity, as well as showcase some remarkable brand-based examples that briefly expound on cultural implications and other underlying elements that all contribute to effective overall brand development.
The TOP Five
1. Build Inclusively – Though the notion of inclusivity has been around since the 1900s, the year 2020 was a historical wake-up call for everybody. On all fronts, people came together and spoke up for equality, impartiality, and non-selective justice. Brands that were able to pick up this behavior and adjust their strategies so that they saw, felt, and respected “everyone” saw unprecedented success and gained innumerable amounts of support.
The report pegs Lighthouse Brand: L’Oreal as a prime example due to the way it reimagined and presented the idea of ‘Beauty’.
2. Create Edutainment – Educative entertainment. It’s not an alien concept. With how 2020 challenged people to acquire information, brands that were able to get attention by reimagining learning enjoyed substantial amounts of success and distinction. If people have fun interacting with content while also gaining even just bits of knowledge from the experience, that’s good edutainment for you.
The study cites CoppaFeel’s monthly messenger subscription, Boob Bot, as a good example, seeing as how the idea and interaction with what is essentially an app-based robotic health consultant is both informative and rather entertaining.
3. Sell With Ideas – When it comes to business, successful ones really sell you an idea instead of a tangible product or service. Think about it, what made you buy A’s facemask instead of B’s, despite knowing they had the same ingredients and had similar manufacturing phases, is that you like A’s idea behind the product more.
Check out Allbird’s example. The way they marketed their first running shoe was through a mix of various product messaging that focused on sustainability. Allbird was always about sustainability! The same stands true for other brands that have a similar approach.
4. Speak Platform Language – In order to sell, your brand must connect. In order to connect, you have to be speaking the language that your audience does. What this behavior is trying to say is that to gain more traction, your content has to be absorbable – something that’s made easier if presented in a way that most people can understand and appreciate.
The analysis gives us another good one here – Sweat. Sweat is a fitness app, and the way they decided to launch their new product was to include Live broadcasts and sticker packs in the promotions. Sweat showcases its members’ workouts, highlighting the company’s air of authenticity.
5. Reward Self-Discovery – As a testament to diving into YouTube rabbit holes, online discovery can be a rather entertaining pastime. 2020 had people unconsciously scrambling the internet for more and more content to derive enjoyment from and relate to. Brands that were able to replicate this effect of discovery and accomplishment began thriving.
One final case the analysis highlighted was that of Hellmann’s. Like Coppafeel!, Hellmann’s made a messenger bot, but this time it was for cooking! What their messenger bot did was connect audiences that were looking for ideas on what to do with leftovers which then led to active meal planning. Talk about complementary, right?
The Wrap
What these five behaviors have in common is that they’re all behaviors. We’re not kidding! These are traits, and at their core, they’re about people. Sure, a lot of things changed amidst the turbulence of 2020, but what hasn’t changed are the tenets behind the relationship between people and brands. Online, it’s all about keeping up with the trends. If you can make effective use of these five key behaviors, then your brand is sure to secure its place for years to come.
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