Ephemeral content: gone beyond the day

User attention is the real new currency that brands compete for within various communication platforms with organic and paid content. It is not users’ time, nor even likes or shares, that various platforms promise to companies that decide to invest time and money in them, but rather the possibility of capturing or attracting the attention of more and more people.

The more people sign up to a social network, the greater the promise of attention that the platform can offer to companies that decide to invest in it.

Perfect, but there is one huge and significant problem: the attention span that each of us can invest is getting shorter and shorter. Scrolling—that is, quickly passing through the various content that appears on social network homepages—is accustoming people to an ever-increasing amount of input, even though the time we have to assimilate each piece of content remains the same. Our brains therefore evaluate quickly and immediately tire of anything that does not immediately prove itself worthy of attention and the time it requires.

In this kind of scenario, why create something—even something extremely valuable and appealing—that, after being launched into the flood of content that can be found on social media platforms, disappears after 24 hours, further reducing the chance that it will ever be seen?

Ephemeral content

From the Late Latin ephemĕrus, and from the Greek EPHÈMEROS, composed of EPÍ (“above”) and HĒMÉRA (“day”); something that exists, is born, lives, and disappears in the span of a single day is ephemeral. Creating “timed” content, designed to disappear after a short time, to be seen only by those who have been lucky or quick enough to go and look at it, within an ecosystem such as digital communication, where everything seems to be studied to perfection and planned to remain and contribute to the graphic and reputational image of the brand (or person), can be an act of rebellion against the constant pursuit of perfection and composure that these showcase environments lead us to maintain.

They play a clear role within a digital communication strategy:

1- Immediate engagement

Clicking on stories, or reading that content will only be available for a very short period of time, is more appealing to our attention. Even if we don’t notice it, we are always a little more attentive when we quickly scroll through Instagram stories, and when we read in a newsletter that there is an offer only for the current week, we immediately go to see what it is, even if we are not particularly interested at the moment. Curiosity reigns supreme.

2- Authenticity and transparency

It is important to remember that deciding to create ephemeral content does not mean publishing content that is ill-conceived, lacking in identity, and inconsistent with the tone of voice used in the rest of the brand’s content.

However, ephemeral content allows brands to share unusual content that differs from the norm, such as behind-the-scenes footage and informal, more authentic moments, thus showing a more human side that is less focused on the ideal of perfection presented in the shop window.

3- Temporary visibility without overexposure

Not all of a brand’s actions and initiatives are permanent, and creating content designed to immediately draw attention to an event or news item within a small window of time inevitably involves elements—both visual and textual—that are completely different from content that conveys an integral part of the brand’s personality and values.

4- Real-time updates

The creation of content that allows you to show an event or initiative in real time, without worrying too much about graphics, color palette, or lens focus. Content that can be as spontaneous as possible, to show not only how the event is unfolding, eliminating all filters and contributing to the most objective narrative possible, but also to give users the feeling of being there.

5- Audience participation

The ephemeral content allowed on social media—such as Instagram stories or live videos (if you decide not to save them)—allows you to insert a series of elements that encourage interaction between brands and audiences, such as question boxes, polls, and quizzes. All these elements not only increase engagement, thereby boosting the algorithm and brand visibility, but also strengthen the user’s connection with the brand itself, working on a more human and personal level.

6- Context and timeliness

Trends are fads, and as such they are fleeting. But being able to work on a trend, on a context that is by its very nature short-lived and only acquires complete meaning within its own short time frame, allows you to capture a whole section of the public who find it interesting or entertaining. Riding a trend is a way to break out of your usual patterns without straying too far from your brand identity, and it gives you the opportunity to experiment and give free rein to your creativity.

7- Creative versatility

The fear of publishing something that is not totally in line with the brand often blocks creativity and the desire to try new approaches. Limited-time content allows you to experiment and try new, more creative and unusual communication approaches. It allows you to test the waters for possible change.

8- Build serial narratives

Narratives and stories are what lead us to empathize, to become attached, to experience the world and the various characters around us; this is why storytelling is one of the most important elements that those who work to build a brand identity must know how to construct. Ephemeral content contributes to this narrative, creating those twists and turns, those plot lines, those salient moments that engage the audience and encourage them to follow the brand.

9- Food for the algorithms

Every social network has its own algorithm, but every algorithm wants the same thing: content that keeps users on the social network. The more you post, the more users interact, the more active you appear, and the more visibility the algorithm will give you. Ephemeral content also serves this purpose: to publish more content—without clogging up your page too much—while also keeping the algorithm happy.

10- Urgency and exclusivity

Since this content is destined to disappear within a short period of time, it generates a sense of urgency and exclusivity in the audience, fueling users’ desire to stay up to date and not miss out on brand-related news. Knowing that something will disappear quickly and cannot be recovered in any way generates what is known as FOMO, or the fear of being excluded from a context, conversations, and content that will subsequently refer to it.

Like any tool, however, ephemeral content must be well integrated into a strategy so that it creates synergy with other content and different formats, shaping the brand’s voice across the board.