In a world moving at lightning speed, one person’s attention is the most valuable currency. Traditional advertising, which monopolizes the attention of a passive audience by yelling its message, is no longer a useful tool. Today, the most effective marketing strategies are not advertisements but rather stories that engage the audience.
Short-form video content demonstrates that development beautifully. It has completely rewired the way we consume content, perfectly aligned with our declining attention span. The statistics are impressive:
90% of consumers watch short-form video content daily, and video content marketing sees revenue growth rates of 49% faster than non-video content marketing formats. The best short-form content doesn’t feel like advertising; it feels like entertainment or a micro-tutorial that is useful. It’s about perfecting the
3-second hook, leaning into real storytelling, considering silent views with clear text overlays, and more.
And while I’m at it, immersive and interactive content is emerging as an even more powerful option to build brand loyalty and drive action with audiences. Interactive content is taking an audience engagement perspective in order to obtain data from people when they would rather participate than not. Interactive content such as polls or quizzes is compiled to show that audiences are engaging 52.6% more than static content and here’s where we achieve the win-win. The audience participates, and we receive their participation in real-time feedback and zero-party data that will fuel future campaigns.
In the future, we are just beginning to uncover the potential of immersive experiences. Technologies like Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) are blurring the line between physical and digital spaces. Virtual try-ons, ads embedded with AR, and 3D visualizations of products provide an immersive experience that creates an emotional connection to a brand.
And, then there is the metaverse; an emerging marketing frontier, the metaverse is an unmatched opportunity to engage with audiences when they are comfortable in a 3D, real-time environment. Brands can build virtual showrooms, or hold immersive experiences that go beyond what the advertising world now recognizes, into a more interactive and creative form of ‘storytelling.’ Although in the metaverse there are concerns of fragmentation of the technology and measuring ROI, marketers that are self-assured about experimenting early will have a “first mover advantage” and long-term relevance for their brand. The decentralization of ID and other foundational aspects of Web3 and other technologies suggest a tactical way to rebuild over time trust to have control of ownership of users’ data.
Great marketing is not simple providing an audience with a product, great marketing is creating an experience an audience wishes to be part of. Through creating and leveraging new formats of story, we can create a meaningful relationship and a brand that is felt, as well as seen.