Ephemeral Content: the ‘here today, gone tomorrow’ masterpiece of content marketing

Is ‘ephemeral content’ the next big thing? Or is it just a buzzword for what we’re already doing? Making things look bigger and more impressive than they actually are?

In my humble opinion, creating a name to make it bigger than it is. This smells like a cheap sales mechanism by content marketing agencies or brands who want to impress, putting up a smoke screen to hide the actual simplicity of content marketing. 

I stumbled upon this concept in a post. Honestly, it left me speechless with astonishment. All I could think of was ‘WTF!’, content marketing bullshit, trying to sell something posh and to impress with what's already there. 

Don't get me wrong, I'm not against the concept; that's pretty genius and exactly what the audience loves in these days. I'm against the marketing bullsh*t to sell this as a concept and make it the next big of thing and to earn money by impressing others. 

What is ephemeral content?

Ephemeral content is digital content with an expiration date, usually a lifetime of 24 hours. Think Snapchat and Instagram stories – content that sticks around for about 24 hours, and then poof! It’s gone. It’s fast, it’s now, and then it’s a memory vanishing before you know.

The magic is in its rawness, being real, and you have to engage instantly.

The pros: why it rocks

• Engagement on steroids: Ephemeral content is like adrenaline to your audience’s attention span. The clock’s ticking, so they’re more likely to watch and engage.
• Authenticity overload: it’s raw, it’s real, behind-the-scenes, opening up, not polished authentic content.  People love that.
• Now or never creating a buzz. The temporary nature creates a sense of urgency of engagement.
• Returning for more. Due to the temporary nature, your audience has a reason to keep checking in. If you miss out, you’ll miss out forever. FOMO anyone?

The cons: the flip side

• Not permanent, fleeting Impact: today’s news is tomorrow’s digital dust.
• Content treadmill: for the brand and your audience. Keeping up with constant updates can be exhausting.
• Measurement. It’s hard to measure what’s only there for about 24 hours.

My take and final thoughts

Ephemeral content is a buzzword. Yet, the concept is a powerful tool and is here to stay. There’s a need for temporary and vanishing content. So, as a brand, you have to be where your audience is.

That said, there’s, in my opinion, no need to blow it up and create a buzz out of this. This type of temporary content should be an integrated part of your content strategy and be woven into your content production process.

Nothing more. Nothing less.

Let’s cut the crap and just stick to the basics; create content that adds value to your audience based on their needs. Be where they are. Show your passion and your pride and how your products and brand solve their problems.

Don’t blow this thing up, and for marketers, don’t be bamboozled.

Your next steps

Don't be bamboozled by this fancy terminology. You can just continue with what you're already doing. And include Instagram stories or Snap stories into your content calendar and production. Nothing more, nothing less.