ayushi
On 4th January, the image of an egg starting making rounds on the Internet. What seemed like a random rant turned into a social media phenomenon when the post officially became the “most liked online post on any media platform in history”.
From the point of view of a marketer, a content creator, and a frequent consumer of social media, this eggcellent creative taught us a couple of lessons:
Likes Don’t Necessarily Translate to “Value”
One of the things that must catch a reader’s attention is the caption of the post:
“Let’s set a world record together and get the most liked post on Instagram. Beating the current world record held by Kylie Jenner (18 million)! We got this.”
The caption sets an easy and an achievable objective for the reader – the post must be “liked” to surpass the record of Internet Mogul Kylie Jenner.
But the caption can be interpreted in a variety of ways. With a targeted caption like the one used in the post, people have gotten an opportunity to pass a judgment on the social media influencers. For a lot of social media influencers, actions such as “likes” translate to “value” and in a long term, a monetary value.
But contrary to the perception, consumers are not fools.
The effort to like the post is so negligible that one does not really think twice before liking something on web. Sometimes, we don’t even remember the things we like on social media.
On the other hand, if a post does initiate an important conversation, the interest of the readers can then be seen in the rate at which the people are engaging with the post via comments.
Today, even for some of the biggest accounts, the gap between the “likes” and “comments” is often huge because of the effort the latter takes on the part of the reader. Comments are the direct representation of a person’s thought process. So, while people might not think twice before liking a post, they will think a hundred times before sharing their point of view in the comment section.
So, while people might have deemed the egg post as a meme, the sheer number of likes this post received only went on to poke fun at us. In our bid to pass judgement on the fragility of the numbers, we went on to expose ourselves.
Lesson 1: Now when you see an influencer, you also need to see the “real value” they are providing through their content.
Simplicity is the Key
Instead of posting a theoretical statement using Karl Marx’s ideologies which might have gone over the heads of a large percentage of people, the creators of the account used a simple language and image. So simple that it did not even take a second to understand the possible direction the creator might be taking.
We all are so driven by consumerism that we like to buy things we will never need. Who really needed an egg post? But we bought it because it helped us become exclusive. We are exclusive because we became one of its believers. It is the same concept on which brands like Apple have been thriving, for years. It is only after we showcase our support, the post will be able to garner attention and highlight the point we want it to showcase.
Lesson 2: One of the biggest reasons behind the success of memes lie in their ability to make people relate to the context. So, next time, you are creating a post on social media, publish something that everyone can relate to. As long as your content is providing value, even an image of a flower will do the job.
Let “Them” Anticipate
Believe it or not, one of the biggest reasons why artists like BTS and Harry Styles are able to maintain their charm is because of the mysteriousness they hold in their art. Be it their songs, music videos, social media posts, or any other form of content, one never has the clear answer as to what they might be hinting at.
Even with the Egg post, no one really knows anything about the creator of the account and the real motive behind the posts. If bashing consumerism is the larger message the creators are trying to reach at, then, the donation they aim to make is a sheer mockery of the audience.
It’s like “you did not think through so, let us put your idiocy to good use”. But if it was a mere social media experiment then, building anticipation seems like a better option.
Lesson 3: As a content creator, we need to think how we can maintain a level of mysteriousness to allow our end users to engage and make a guess.
Recently, two more posts have been published, which shows cracks in the egg. Now, it’s not just the identity of the creators that demand attention but also the final result of the experiment. Where are we heading and what will this lead to? No one knows the answer.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bs84JbRHsTN/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=1n5nhm28tfqoe
It’s interesting how one simple post can raise so many questions and how it can help us learn more about marketing. What do you think? Share your thoughts via tweet @Fuzzable.
