Brief #39: Content overproduction

This content originally appeared on November 19, 2020 in the Future of Marketing weekly email series. Subscribe here.

Hi and welcome to issue no. 39 of Future of Marketing. 👋🏼

We value your feedback. Complete this survey to help us understand the current and future state of marketing, UGC, and content production. As a thank you, TrueLoyal is donating $5 to a charity of your choice.

In this week's issue, we're covering...

• The latest social media updates (and new expectations)
• Using traditional ads to distract people from screen time fatigue
• And... how much do you love butter? 🤔

Leading with social

Social media platforms are continually racing to catch up – and become *the only one you need.*

Twitter launched Fleets (tweets that disappear within 24 hours and cannot receive likes, retweets, or public replies) – and will soon follow with Audio Spaces; LinkedIn also has stories; TikTok is testing Livestream shopping; Instagram now has a Shop feature front and center (and expanded its Guides feature).

It's hard to keep up. 

Also, notice Instagram's CEO tweeted a video about the latest Reels and Shop features (hellooo employee-generated content). 👇🏼

For marketers and creators… new social media features means content production is becoming more complicated.

And it seems that global marketing leaders like Musa Tariq agree...

Content marketers and social media managers are expected to produce high-quality content – often without the right team, budget, or resources in place. This means rising expectations and the responsibilities that come with them end up falling on a small team or sometimes... one. single. person. 

No wonder 83% of marketing professionals reported burnout. 

Marketing teams and leadership should work collaboratively to identify what content and channels are worth the energy, why, and what's maximizing (or exhausting) resources. 

Hint: UGC and EGC (like Adam Mosseri and Musa Tariq shared above) can be a huge time saver...

Ads that distract... attract

In October 2020, The Harris Poll reported that 68% of U.S. adults feel online burnout and are tuning out digital ads, hinting that social media managers are not the only ones feeling the impacts of content overload.

In fact, billboards and other out-of-home (OOH) advertisements are making a comeback because people are feeling the impacts of the heightened screen time that comes with remote work and heavy social media usage to stay connected. Also considering rising trends like curbside pick-up, drive-thrus, and digital OOH ads – which are all here to stay.

Introducing this kind of dynamic content playing around the pickup areas will help the screens to deliver the message that meets the consumers' interests, maximizing the value for consumers, retailers, and the advertiser simultaneously.

Advenio

It's likely that 2021 budgets for content production are still up in the air. But we'll start seeing more brands sharing social proof – content created by customers, employees, experts, thought leaders – across multiple channels...

Using it to inform, teach, and engage people from various angles. We're talking more UGC in drive-thrus, curbside areas, social media posts, paid ads, website homepages, eCommerce reviews, newsletters, print magazines.

What we're learning

• BMW's baffling borderline hostile responses [The Drive]
• Black Friday eCommerce Strategies for Retail [TrueLoyal]
• Social media managers in higher ed are struggling with mental health [WVU]
• Perspectives with Jayde Powell, Sr. Social Analyst, Delta Air Lines [Future of Marketing]
• TrueLoyal and Hoosuite: Elevating the customer journey with social and UGC [Webinar]
• TrueLoyal and Searchspring: How to maintain the eCommerce boost post-holidays [Webinar]

🚨 Friendly reminder: We want to learn about your outlook on user-generated content (UGC) and your plans moving forward. Complete the survey here and we'll donate $5 to a charity of your choice.

#brandcrush: Land O'Lakes 💘

 Each week in #brandcrush, we highlight exceptional brands that are channeling their customers' voice to connect more authentically with their audience.

Holidays are around the corner and Land O'Lakes, the original founder of sweet cream butter, is bringing comfort to the world with its ‘All Things Butter' campaign. Because nothing says comfort like food. 

Land O'Lakes specifically created this webpage for All Things Butter – and linked it in its navigation menu in a vibrant color to draw attention to its holiday experience. 

On the All Things Butter page, you'll notice:

1. Land O'Lakes is asking fans to tag the brand with their favorite holiday recipes.
2. Then, the company is collecting and re-sharing the tastiest recipes within a TrueLoyal-powered web-embedded gallery – collecting and displaying select content by its fans.
3. Keep scrolling and you'll see a survey poll, detailed recipes and their stories, step-by-step videos, and get this... a butter Q&A section. 🧈

Instead of *solely* promoting their products, Land O'Lakes intentionally used every touchpoint to teach, inspire, and engage first. And then, sell.

Office hours in session ⏰
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