Fast content: how to integrate it into your content strategy

Live fast, die young, just like in a rock song. Fast content is essentially the same phrase. It is created short to be destroyed soon, almost as if it were an expression of ephemeral art.

This type of content, considered by marketing professionals as one of the trends in social media as early as 2019, is an essential today in a brand's content strategy.

Fast content in digital marketing

It's literally fast content. A short, ephemeral audiovisual content. This can be a video, a gif, an image, or an infographic. Brevity refers to the viewing time, which barely lasts a blink, and it sometimes also  refers to the time it is online. If we talk about stories on Instagram, we are talking about content with a short life, because it is only kept for 24 hours. 

Although the concept of this type of social media content was created in 2011 when Snapchat was born under the name Picaboo, it was not until years later that it became popular in a massive way. Perishable content  made people fell in love with it, and it made Snapchat grow from 46 million active users in early 2014 to 186 million users in late 2018.

Soon other social networks realized the effectiveness of the ephemeral and did not hesitate to include sections for their users to make use of that fast content that Snapchat created.

This is how Instagram Stories, Facebook Stories and even Whatsapp statuses were born. This transience in content was born from a change in users' consumption habits and short content was ideal to cover this new way of receiving information. It loads earlier, is faster to consume and generates greater engagement than other content.

Fast content types

Snapchat snapshots

Snapchat “snapshots” are limited-time photos and videos that users send and receive and disappear after 24 hours. It is the primeval fast content.

Instagram Stories, Facebook Stories and Whatsapp statuses

Instagram stories are posts that last 24 hours unless you set them as highlights on your Instagram profile. They are ideal for interacting and are currently used more than posts in the feed. Currently they are the easiest way to make fast content and include it in the content strategy of any brand.

Like Instagram, Facebook and Whatsapp have built-in functionality with which you can post stories that disappear after 24 hours, Facebook Stories and so-called Whatsapp statuses.

Bumper Ads

These are ads with a maximum duration of 6 seconds that appear before a YouTube video.

They are usually microvideos and one more option to include a brand's fast content.

Live broadcasts

You can do it from Instagram, Facebook or YouTube, and it's live content that is only available at a certain time, although the social networks where they are made allow you to keep it as a video if you want.

They are especially effective when interacting with followers and bring a touch of freshness that plays with the idea of spontaneity, which does not mean that they cannot be prepared in advance. Imagine it as a live TV program: write a small script, set up the space that will be seen on live, and work it like any scheduled publication.

Keys to achieving an efficient fast content

- Be brief. Some people say Keep It Short & Simple, and in the case of fast content it is imperative that it be so. It must be content that is consumed quickly as its own name indicates.

- Look for impact. The aim of fast content is to capture the user's attention from the first second. You have only 15 to capture the attention of your audience, so what you post should have an immediate impact on the person who receives it.

- Go for the simple thing. In any social media content simplicity is always necessary to not saturate the user and divert their attention from us. Although it should be content that catches the eye, remember the premise of less is more.

- Don't let go of creativity. Just because it's a fleeting content doesn't mean it shouldn't be a content you took time to prepare. Creativity is key to engaging a user who receives new information every few seconds. If you do the same thing as the rest, you will go unnoticed.

- Give it an emotional touch. One of the keys to capturing the attention of a user is to touch their emotions. Look for your content to appeal to emotion.

- Synthesize. A good fast content should be able to tell a story in the shortest possible time. An image that says a lot at just a glance, a story that hooks in a couple of seconds. Use storytelling in your favor so that the user will stay and remember you but be as brief as possible.

- Focus on your target. Before you do anything, set out a social media strategy for your brand that includes a competition study, goals to be met, and an analysis of your audience. Do not try to reach 100% of the population and focus your attention on your target.

How to integrate it into your content strategy

The answer to this question is simple: treating it as one more content type. The best way to integrate fast content into your social media strategy is to work with it as you do with the rest of your publications, with effective planning.

It is true that because it is an ephemeral content you can take advantage of it to make it more related to today, since the time to prepare it is usually shorter.

Fast content is ideal to work with the instantaneity of the present but also to take advantage of all your tools and include content planned in advance.

Fast content can change the way you connect with your audience, improve your reach numbers and your engagement. But it is essential, if you are looking for maximum efficiency, to have a team of experts to follow your steps. If you have questions write to us, we will be happy to walk you through.