The most important question I ask myself when making a piece of content for social media is “Would I click on this?” Being a jaded millennial who has spent the majority of my life both avoiding advertising as well as not paying for entertainment: the answer is NO. This makes me one of the toughest critics for content but also the litmus test for what could be considered “engaging”.
I grew up with DVR commercial fast forwarding, ad blockers, streaming services and pirating MP3s to listen to ad free music. My generation is the answer to the question “why doesn’t MTV play music videos anymore”. Puff Daddy used to be able to drive a cigarette boat through an explosion to promote a $15.99 CD. Now, a music video has to have at least three products integrated into the footage to even get off the ground. We did this, it’s our fault that online advertising need to be deemed as “organic” in order to gain traction but in our attempts to never be marketed to, we gave birth to new avenues of advertising.
Social Media influencers and third party opinions gave us exactly what we didn’t know we wanted. We didn’t want a model hired to show us how great jewelry looked, we wanted a real person displaying a piece that they really own showing how happy it makes them. We don’t want a photo of several bracelets with copy explaining how beautiful they are. We want to be asked which of these pieces WE like the most.
For anyone reading this who isn’t a Bottom Line Marketing client, know this: Use organic content, and always ask yourself: “ Would I click on this?”