The most successful piece of content I saw last week was a 17-second video of a grandmother trying VR for the first time and accidentally karate-chopping her grandson. No brand, no call to action, no strategy deck – just pure human chaos. Meanwhile, many meticulously planned product launch videos get fewer views than my building’s elevator has occupants.
The Content Bloodbath: Survival of the What-The-Heck-Was-That– Let’s face it – we’re all drowning in a sea of content deeper than the Bermuda Triangle. Every second, approximately 8.7 million emails are sent, 9,132 tweets are posted, 67,000 Instagram photos are shared, and at least 12 marketers somewhere are crying into their keyboards after checking their engagement metrics.
Welcome to the Internet—Where Mediocre Content Goes to Die. Every day, a billion pieces of content fight for attention—most of it about as exciting as watching a Windows update. And yet, some content slaps harder than a Wi-Fi outage in the middle of a Zoom call.
The Content Hunger Games: What’s Actually Winning? Welcome to the internet, where everyone’s a thought leader, storyteller, guru, ninja, disruptor, or (God forbid) a ‘growth hacker’. The result? A tsunami of content—most of it so bland, you’d rather watch paint dry on a Monday morning after a bad espresso. So, what kind of content actually wins? What makes people stop scrolling, start sharing, and (gasp!) take action? Let’s explore—because our audience doesn’t need more content. They need better content.
Brutal Honesty(The kind that punches you in the face, albeit lovingly): People are tired of sugarcoated nonsense. They crave raw, unfiltered, no-BS truth. When LinkedIn influencer Justin Welsh posted “Nobody cares about your resume, they care about the value you create,”he racked up millions of views. Why? Because it’s true. The winning content move would go like this I reckon- Ditch the corporate fluff. Speak like a real person. Drop truth bombs.
Edutainment (Smart, But Make It Fun)– Nobody wants to read “The 17,842 Benefits of Digital Transformation.” They DO want to read “Why Your Boss’s Obsession with ‘Digital Transformation’ Is Slowly Killing Your Soul.” Example: Mark Ritson, the marketing legend, writes with zero mercy and 100% intelligence—turning complex marketing topics into absolute gold. The modus operandi being mixing knowledge with humor. If you can make them laugh and think at the same time, you win.
Stories That Make People Feel Stuff– People won’t remember facts. They WILL remember a killer story that made them feel like they were right there. Airbnb’s “Belong Anywhere” campaign. They don’t sell you a place to stay. They sell you a place to feel at home. That’s why you book, not just browse. The no-brainer here being -Use real stories, real emotions, real people.
Short, Savage & Shareable– Attention spans are shorter than a goldfish’s to-do list. If you can’t hook them in two seconds, you’ve lost. Twitter’s (now X’s) best-performing posts: “Your salary is the drug they give you to forget your dreams.” or “Your Uber driver sees you before your therapist does.” The winning move would be – If it’s long, make it short. If it’s slow, make it punchy. If it’s boring, delete it.
Relatability is the New Royalty (Because Nobody Cares About Your Perfect Life)-nobody wants to see your curated, airbrushed, blessed life. They want to see the mess, the chaos, and the “OMG, this is me” moments. Ryanair’s Twitter is the king of savage clapbacks. They don’t just respond to trolls—they annihilate them with wit. It’s like watching a verbal MMA fight, and we’re all here for it.
It takes two to tango-still, yes- Utility meets Entertainment: The best content teaches you something while keeping you entertained. It’s like that one teacher who made math fun—except now, it’s on TikTok. Duolingo’s TikTok account is a chaotic mix of language lessons and absurd humor, thanks to their mascot, Duo the Owl, who’s basically the passive-aggressive overlord of learning. Or BuzzFeed’s Tasty videos, which are the ultimate edutainment. They show you how to make a 3-course meal in 60 seconds, and you’re like, “I could totally do that!” (Spoiler: You can’t.)
The Content That’s Flopping Harder Than a Fish on Land– The ‘Thought Leader’ Who’s Saying Nothing New- Example: “5 Tips to Be More Productive.” Wow, never heard that before. Revolutionary. What works?
“Waking Up at 5 AM Won’t Fix Your Mediocre Life.” (Now that I’ll read.) If your post sounds like an AI-generated self-help book, burn it and start over.
People love buying. They hate being sold to.
Nobody wakes up thinking, “I wonder what the latest omni channel synergy in MarTech looks like today?” Talk like a human, not like a corporate PowerPoint deck from hell.
Trying to compress all this in an ACRONYM– content that has the SUAVE – Surprise + Utility + Authenticity + Vulnerability + Entertainment- stands a better chance to connect and possibly create a contagion.
Because “Clickbait is Dead. Long Live Click-WORTHY!”