Ephemeral Content in Social Media Marketing

1. Final Project
Dana Tristao
Thomas Edison State University
Social Media
Professor Dr. David J. Castle, Ph.D.
8/28/2021

2.  History
 Timeline
 Background
 Pros/Cons
 Demos in
Action
 Relevant
Points/Sub
Trends
 Expert
Interview (2
Relevant
Questions)
 Conclusion
Final Project 2

3. History
Ephemeral content is defined as,
“any video content, such as
video, images, or gifs, that lasts
online for 24 hours before
disappearing.” (Author, 2021).
After the expiration date of this
content, it can no longer be
found again (unless it’s turned
into a “highlight” which is a
feature on Instagram).
Common platforms for Ephemeral
Content are Facebook, WhatsApp,
Snapchat, LinkedIn, Twitter,
YouTube, TikTok, Google Search,
and Instagram.
The intent of Ephemeral Content
is to create a sense of FOMO, or
“fear of missing out” encouraging
the viewer to interact with the
content before it disappears.
Final Project 3

4. Timeline
Final Project 4

5. Background
Where it
Began…
 Ephemeral content
originated in 2011 when a
company named Picaboo,
the first version of Snapchat
headquartered in Hanover,
US, used the idea of
disappearing pictures for the
first time.
 But it wasn’t until 2018
that it really caught fire.
According to Statista.com,
Instagram stories had 500
million daily active users in
2019, WhatsApp had 450
million, and Snapchat had
about 265 million daily
active users reported in the
fourth quarter of 2020.
Where it is
Now…
Final Project 5
 Ephemeral content today
is used in a variety of
ways to reach audiences
including B2B and B2C.
 The ability to post
interactive surveys,
promote exclusive events,
or share a more intrinsic
side of an organization,
allows viewers to be
more intimately
connected and allows the
posting
individual/organization
data and analytics on
who is viewing their
content and the
advantage of immediate
results.

6. Pros & Cons
Benefits
 Immediate
Response
 Increased
Engagement
 Larger Target
Audience
 Increased Content
Volume
 Boost Loyalty
Pitfalls
Final Project 6
 Oversaturation
 Lack of Social
Listening
 Ability to Keep Up
 Quickly Forgotten
 Budget
 Long-Term
Strategy
 Skills & Resources
to Manage
 Data Privacy

7. Demo #1
Final Project 7
In the first demo for Instagram,
I’ve highlighted the company
Glossier who receives an
average of 5 DMs a minute
through Instagram which is
promptly responded to by that
team (Paravano, 2021). They
also have a section of their
website dedicated to consumer
pictures highlighting their
products called “Looks IRL”.
Customers can also use the
hashtag #yesglossier on their
Instagram posts and will be
given a chance to have that
picture reposted on Glossier’s
Instagram.

8. Demo #2
Final Project 8
In the second demo, I’ve highlighted
the company JW Anderson which is a
British fashion label. They’ve been
doing infomercials as part of their
social media campaign titled JWA-TV
which was started in 2019. This is
an interesting mix of utilizing pre-
social media marketing trends now
within social media marketing. It’s
said that history repeats itself, this
looks like a good example of that
(Adegeest, 2021).
(

9. 5 Relevant
Points for
Marketers:
Final Project 9
 Stories have become more popular than feed
content.
 Businesses can drive followers to longer-
form posts from stories such as IGTV and
JWA-TV.
 Marketers can engage one-on-one with
followers in direct messages from stories.
 Marketers can tease new offerings, poll
followers, and share UGC “User Generated
Content” without having to be overly
polished (Verlaney, 2020).
 Boost E-Commerce Sales.

10. Interview with
Natalia an
Industry Expert
What is ephemeral content to you and
how have you used it personally?
Professionally?
• To me, ephemeral content is any piece of marketing
that is available for a short and fleeting period of
time (i.e., 24-hour Instagram stories). In my personal
sphere, it evokes a “fear of missing out” because I
want to know what my friends are up to, particularly
in the hybrid/remote setting we’re still currently
experiencing as a society. As a consumer, an
ephemeral piece of content could get me to sign up if
the offer is compelling enough (i.e., a 24-hour sale
promoted in a Snapchat story to win a product of
interest), but I rarely rely on this tactic as a means of
buying something online.
• Professionally (and based upon my target audience’s
demographics), I do not believe that ephemeral
content can – or will – move the needle any time
soon. First, the clinical trials industry is amongst the
most difficult to convince in adopting new practices
and technologies. Second, since pharmaceutical
company decision-makers are largely not engaged in
social media channels for their work, it would not be
valuable to spend the time in creating exclusive pieces
of content only to have them remain unseen,
particularly in a saturated digital market.
Final Project 10

11. Expert
Interview
Cont.
What issues are you finding with
the use of ephemeral content in
marketing overall?
 Apart from the issue outlined above (ephemeral
marketing is not applicable for all B2B and is most
suitable for B2C), not all demographics are interested
in the medium. Young consumers (generation Z and/or
millennials) make up the majority of users on social
media platforms like Snapchat (73% of 18-24 year
olds), TikTok (62% of Tiktok users are between ages
10-29), and Instagram (72% of 13-17 year olds
and 64% amongst 18-29 year olds) where
ephemeral marketing is most accepted and widely. So,
for marketers interested in advertising to older
generations, ephemeral marketing may not be the
ideal method of communication.
 In addition, ephemeral marketing doesn’t become as
powerful if you have the capability to make stories
last longer. Instagram “highlights” allows you to post a
host of stories for consumers to rewatch whenever
they’d like. As a consumer, ephemeral content loses
its appeal if I know I can see a brand’s content
whenever I want.
Final Project 11

12. The Future
As highlighted in this report, ephemeral content is
very much a current marketing strategy necessary
for customer engagement and brand building, but
what does the future hold?
According to an article in Maryville Online, The
Evolution of Social Media: How Did It Begin and
Where Could It Go Next? will gravitate toward the
following 5 social media abilities:
 Personalize content at a granular level
 Reduce the amount of vitriol and conflict
commonly found on public social media feeds
 Increase focus on protecting privacy
 Take greater advantage of the utility of mobile
devices
 Focus more on community building
Given the fact that video marketing generated
$135 billon in 2020 (Ahmad, 2019), this is a
fast evolving industry which holds great promises
of continued growth.
It will be interesting to see the increased
awareness for data privacy fall hand in hand with
increased usage of ephemeral content in social
media marketing and the increase of ROI as a
result.
Final Project 12

13. References:
13
 Allen, J. (2020, September 23). The History of Social Media -
Where did it all start? Future Marketing Global Limited.
https://www.future-marketing.co.uk/the-history-of-social-media/
 Trounce, D. (2018, March 20). Ephemeral Content: Everything
Marketers Need to Know. Search Engine Journal.
https://www.searchenginejournal.com/ephemeral-
content/238589/#close
 Paravano, L. (2021, May 9). Glossier Case Study - Lisa's Portfolio.
Lisa’s Portfolio. Retrieved from:
https://lisaparavano.com/project/glossier-case-study/
 Tuten, T. L. (2021). Social media
marketing. SAGE.
 Adegeest, D. (2021, March 9). JW Anderson launches
infomercial. FashionUnited.
https://fashionunited.uk/news/fashion/jw-anderson-
launches-infomercial/2019032242317
 Verlaney, N. (2020, January 30). 2020 Social Media Trends Pt. 4:
Influencers, Ephemeral Content & Employee Advocacy. DEG, a Merkle
Company. https://www.degdigital.com/insights/2020-social-media-trends-
pt-4/

14. References Cont.:
14
 The Evolution of Social Media: How Did It Begin and Where Could It Go
Next? (2021, March 3). Maryville Online.
https://online.maryville.edu/blog/evolution-social-media/#marketing
 Ahmad, I., & Ahmad, I. (2019, October 30). Video Marketing
Statistics for 2020 [Infographic]. Social Media Today.
https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/video-marketing-statistics-
for-2020-infographic/566099/