In this edition of the Glossy+ Research Briefing, we take a look at marketers’ social media content strategies on platforms like TikTok over the past 12 months.
62% of survey respondents say videos are most of their brand’s social content strategy
Brands are taking a more relaxed approach to the content they post on their social media platforms. Gone are the days of highly curated photoshoots and perfectly-edited glamour shots, as social media audiences seek out more authentic or entertaining content — especially during the busy holiday season.
Take Gen Z’s recent fascination with horror-related “psychedelic-core” videos on TikTok. (Check out peanut butter snack brand Nutter Butter’s TikTok page for a crash course into this subgenre of TikTok videos.) Nutter Butter has fully embraced this trend and has caused quite a stir on TikTok. The brand is regularly posting videos that amass millions of views with absurd edits like this one which shows nutter butter cookies in front of a creepy dollhouse covered in peanut butter. But it’s working — it’s captured the attention of Gen Z.
This TikTok user posted a video in which she jokingly talks about how Nutter Butter’s posts have been causing her concern, and her video has amassed over 3.3 million views. Nutter Butter’s own brand page on TikTok currently has 1.1 million followers.
Nutter Butter is an example of a brand effectively using the videos it posts on its own social platforms to create a brand narrative. And, Nutter Butter is leaning into user-generated content (UGC) to amplify conversations around the brand.
This two-pronged approach to social media is being used by many other brands as well. When Glossy asked 61 brands and retailers which social content strategies they’ve used in the past 12 months, 62% of survey respondents said videos comprised more of their social content and 56% said UGC comprised more of their social content.
During high consumer spending seasons, like the fast-approaching holiday season, posting authentic and reliable social content is critical for brands to sway shoppers into spending. This is where UGC stands out, according to influencer marketing platform Skeepers. A study by Skeepers found shoppable content saw an average conversion rate lift of 70% among the company’s customers.
Consumers tend to be more skeptical during peak shopping times because of the amount of advertising they are bombarded with during the season— UGC restores some of that trust by naturally promoting more consumer engagement and brand interactions.
Along with promoting more UGC videos and images on their own social platforms, brands are investing more in influencer and affiliate partnerships. Influencers and affiliate partners, who have an established audience of viewers that find their advice to be credible, are perfect partners for brands hoping to inspire more UGC creation. Nearly half of survey respondents said they have increased their investment in one of these types of partnerships over the past 12 months — 48% of respondents selected influencer partnerships and 41% selected affiliate partnerships. For now, the majority of respondents are focused on influencers within their own product category.
