Why Companies Should Consider Ephemeral Content

The Fear of Missing Out (FOMO)

One of the most obvious benefits of an ephemeral content approach is that it inspires an immediate response from viewers – a rapid choice to sign up, click your link, buy something, download, and so on. Because ephemeral material is fleeting, it produces urgency, which is fueled by the fear of missing out, a powerful motivator of human activity.  This effect creates an exclusivity to watching posts, and users are more inclined to tune in at a particular time regularly for fear that they miss some excellent content. Having an engaging post that sparks the attention of your viewers could be essential in generating business.  

Higher Engagement

By posting ephemeral content, you can increase your engagement on your social media platforms. It comes across as more of a personal advertisement if customers can engage one on one with the post. It helps to humanize your business, and customers may be more ready to engage with (and buy from) a business they trust and connect with. Some of the best engagement-boosting tactics with ephemeral content include:

• Running polls and Q&As where you can ask viewers for their opinions or encourage them to submit questions.
• Live-streaming videos to communicate with your audience in real-time
• Tagging other users and locations to attract more attention
• Encouraging user-generated content such as using personalized filters from your company.

Wider Reach

Geofilters and hashtags are the primary methods for reaching a larger audience without spending money on sponsored story advertisements. Ephemeral platforms have highly engaged user bases. This allows you to easily target a large audience, and they may be more likely to share your content to further extend its reach. Ephemeral ads can help increase reach for a couple of reasons:

• Stories appear in a separate feed across all platforms, so this is a way you can beat the algorithm and increase reach.
• When a user goes “live” it sends a notification to their followers, which attracts people who may be interested even if they are not currently on the app.
• Stories are inherently shareable and visibility-boosting due to their FOMO-inducing nature, and it only takes a single tap for viewers to send someone’s story to another person.

Whether your company is just getting started on social media or you're seeking new methods to connect out to your target audience, ephemeral content is a compelling option. This time-limited content format is ideal for increasing brand engagement, authority, and trust. It may potentially increase sales. Ensure that your focus is building trust and connecting with users, posting regularly so users always have something to engage with, and encouraging your audience to share, comment, and interact with your posts.  

Image source- Unsplash- Jeremy Bezanger