Content Creation Trends

I keep having bizarre conversions with marketers who seem totally unaware that the industry at its core has totally changed I'm not claiming the marketing process has changed, it hasn't. We still need to understand our customers and build strategies to change their behaviour. However, the way we do that is different from five years ago. This isn't me obsessing over tactics. This is me accepting that, as this Marketing Week article points out, creator content is set to overtake agency-produced advertising. And digital video spend dominates in most markets. Yes, TV is still alive and well despite what anyone tells you. And yes, you can still run big campaigns on traditional media to grow like crazy. But there are brands growing using 100% social, skippable media. And some largely rely on creator content. Tom Roach & Dr Grace Kite refer to this as the move from "big" to "lots of littles". The best marketers now need to understand how these work together, and how to do both well. It weirdly makes creativity more important. If you slow the skip, and earn more attentive reach, you'll see dramatic gains vs piles of dull assets. As Karen Nelson-Field PhD field has shown already. If you earn more attention with well-branded assets, you'll actually grow mental availability. Josh Fruttiger and I have worked over the past year with TikTok and System1 to bring some creative insight to this. As there's a lack of creative evidence to help here. Next week at Cannes we'll launch "The Long and Short (Form) of It". A reference to the brilliant work by Les Binet and Peter Field. We've taken nearly 1000 short-form ads. A mixture of adapted TV ads, social-first assets and creator content. We've tested these with System1's Test Your Ad Social to understand what associations they build, the sentiment they create, how well-branded they are, and how much attention they hold. And matched all this to brand lift and conversion studies on TikTok. The outcome is a 50-page book sharing: - How brands can convert and grow more effectively with short-form video. - How challenger brands vs category leaders must act differently - The huge opportunity with creators when they actually manage to brand and leave people feeling something - The dramatic cost of dull in short-form, more evidence supporting Adam Morgan's global work. - How to reduce creative fatigue, and what that even means (hint: it's not view through dropping a little) Jon Evans will be sharing these insights main stage Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity next week with Alix Earle (Tue 5pm) and running an exclusive session for The Marketing Academy with Isobel Sita-Lumsden. We've decided to also make the entire book free, sign up to get that in your inbox next week: https://lnkd.in/exijWN8a This is a big step in creative understanding for short-form that will bridge some gaps, but it's just a start. I hope you love it. I share #advertising and #marketing insights daily, follow for more.

Website traffic was a valuable metric correlated to growth. Now it may be a vanity metric, not correlated to growth. Search has been disrupted. Visits to your website are declining. So, marketers - what now? The search landscape was already shifting (I talked about this at INBOUND last year). Now, the change is accelerating dramatically: - AI Overviews appear in 43% of Google searches – when they do, organic CTR drops by nearly 35%. - Google’s AI Mode and audio AI overviews are coming – they will cause clicks to collapse further. - More buyers are using LLMs to find information, ChatGPT search in Europe grew 3.7x in six months. So, what should marketers do? And how can AI help? 1. Be everywhere and diversify your channels The days of relying solely on Google search are way over. You need to show up on YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, podcasts, and in niche communities. The good news? AI makes multi-channel, multi-format content creation scalable – even for small teams. 2. Be specific with context In the past, broad informational content was the way to rank in Google. Today, buyers expect results deeply relevant to them, whether they’re on Google, LLMs, or Reddit. You need specific content that reflects your expertise and resonates with your buyers. 3. Optimize for conversion, not clicks Traffic was once the lever you could pull. Now, conversion is where the opportunity lies. AI enables you to deliver personal messages that drive better conversion. Don’t ask, “How do we get more blog visits?” Ask, “How do we convert more prospects into customers across all channels?” The changes in search are sending shockwaves across marketing teams and media companies everywhere. The era of traffic-based marketing is ending. But a new era full of opportunity is just beginning. Super exciting times for marketers to reinvent the playbook!

China turned micro dramas into a $7B market surpassing their box office. Now, is it India’s turn? For Gen Z, content isn’t horizontal, it’s vertical. India already has the audience base that’s bigger and scrolling longer. We’re almost at our own billion dollar story here. When Reels came in, they entertained us but they also changed us. They rewired how long we were willing to sit with a story. 30 seconds suddenly felt long. Now imagine that same scroll culture but with cliffhangers. That’s a micro-drama: 1 or 2 min, vertical, emotional, addictive. Like Lays, no one eats just one. If you think about it, we’ve seen this before. Our parents waited every night for Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. One twist a day, one reason to come back. Today, that format is compressed into 90-second bursts that fit perfectly into our mobile-first lives. And the audience is already there: • Tier 2 and 3 users consume 38 to 42 GB per month, higher than metros • They spend 30 minutes daily on Moj, driving 6 billion plays every single day • While Netflix users open the app 22 times a month, Moj and ShareChat users log in almost double which is 75 plus touch points every month No surprise then that platforms are scaling fast: • 30Mn+ monthly active users on Moj and 150 Mn+ episodes watched daily (App Annie) • ShareChat’s newest offering QuickTV has already reached 10M+ downloads • India ranks 6th globally in overall micro-drama app downloads, already crossing 25 million Globally too, the signals are clear. China’s short-drama market is already bigger than its cinema box office. Platforms like Hongguo grew to 100m monthly active users in just one year, supported entirely by ads. India could be headed in the same direction. Korea is producing two-minute K-dramas with K-pop idols. Studios churn out over 1,000 episodes a month, sometimes even written by AI. So what’s the real opportunity? - For brands, repeated exposure - For creators, bigger audiences - For platforms, habit - For consumers, a new way to consume And here’s the kicker: ads could be a real TAM driver. Just like China, India’s micro-drama revolution can be ad-funded. This festive season, these platforms may become one of the most powerful stages for brands to connect, offering high-frequency, high-habit and high-emotion storytelling in the palm of a user’s hand. Beyond immediate monetization, microdramas have the potential to become scalable IPs. Popular shows already stretch to 50–100 episode arcs in 90-second formats, creating strong characters that naturally extend into merchandise and collectibles. Hit microdramas double up as low-cost pilots for web series or films, de-risking big-ticket investments, while also opening doors to cross-platform licensing across audio, gaming, and TV. The future of OTT is moving from the television set to the scroll and just like daily soaps defined one generation, micro-dramas could define the next. Would you watch?

This week, we announced that YouTube surpassed 1 billion monthly active podcast users. According to Edison, YouTube, including YouTube Music, is now the most frequently used service for listening to podcasts in the US. At the end of last year, we also announced that YouTube viewers are watching over 400 million hours of podcasts monthly on devices in the living room. These are major milestones that reflect the years of investment and focus we’ve made to improve the podcast experience on YouTube for both podcasters and listeners. Creators are meeting their fans where they already are: YouTube. They’re uploading videos that complement their audio recordings, giving fans an entirely new view into their content. Much like popular talk shows and talk show hosts of an earlier era, top podcasts are building connections with audiences by presenting more of themselves - which in many cases means literally presenting themselves on video for the first time. And it’s clear that younger audiences care less about how they’re consuming content (watching vs. listening), and more about discovering new content and connecting with their favorite creators. For creators, we’ve empowered podcasters with tools to create, grow and monetize their shows and have simplified onboarding with RSS ingestion. On the listening side, we’ve made it easier for people to find podcasts they love through improved search, recommendations and dedicated shelves. We’ve also improved the podcast listening experience on YouTube Music by adding features like background playback, audio-only mode and seamless switching between audio and video. There’s still more to do, and we’ll keep focusing on our users and building products to meet their needs. Thank you to our Creators, Podcasters, and teams at YouTube - this is only the beginning! Read more on the YouTube blog: https://lnkd.in/gFqyjFrd

India’s fastest-growing career doesn’t have an offer letter. For a long time, content creation in India was seen as a side hustle and something you did after college, work, or while figuring out your “real” career. GenZ didn’t buy into that idea and the data now proves it. Nearly 75% of young creators in India today see content creation as a genuine career. And this isn’t driven only by fame or followers but how work itself is changing. Platforms like YouTube, Instagram and Shorts have become career infrastructure. Distribution is free, reach is global and monetisation isn’t limited to a single paycheck. What makes this career different is leverage. Creators build audiences first, then layer income through partnerships, sponsorships, subscriptions, communities, products and even businesses built off their content. As creators, we are not chasing virality every day. We are building systems that compound attention over time. The most misunderstood part is that this career is not just about making money. It’s about choosing what you work on, who you collaborate with and how your work fits into your life. Content creation isn’t an alternative career anymore. For an entire generation in India, it is the career.

Vertical dramas aren’t just a trend — they’re becoming a full-blown industry. In China alone, the vertical drama market has crossed $7B. Platforms like Dramabox, GoodShort, and ReelShort are producing fully scripted, mobile-first series with real budgets and huge audiences. Now they’re hiring Los Angeles-based filmmakers with budgets from $150K to $200K to deliver short, emotional, binge-worthy stories — all optimized for a vertical screen. And this isn’t just happening in Asia — Brazil and Mexico are emerging hotspots for mobile-native content, with high mobile consumption and strong storytelling traditions. What makes this exciting for independent filmmakers? You don’t need studio approval. You don’t need to wait for festival distribution. The opportunity is real, monetized, and ready to scale. If you’ve ever written a short, directed fast-paced scenes, or wanted to get work seen globally — this format rewards sharp storytelling and mobile fluency. Would you shoot your next project vertically? #VerticalDrama #FilmJobs #FilmmakerOpportunity #IndependentFilm #ShortFormSeries #Dramabox #GoodShort #moviejobsinla #ContentCreators #FilmIn2025 #ECOmarketingagency #jobsinla #jobsforactors

Creating reels was not even a thing 4 years ago. It was only during and after COVID that Instagram became a hub of content creators and today it is a struggle between quantity and quality. In early 2020, making content go viral often required less effort. Simply being active in the digital space was enough to grab attention. But today, the bar has been raised. Quality is now king and brands and audiences want content that stands out in both substance and execution. What’s equally interesting is the shift in budget allocations. A few years ago, the idea of spending lakhs on producing a 90-second reel was excessive but now it is expected. At SocialTAG as well, we have taken this seriously and hence: → We prioritize working with creators who bring genuine value through their content and not just those with massive follower counts. Because it’s the quality of the engagement, not just the quantity of followers, that drives success. → The true survivors in this crowded space are those who are laser-focused on content quality. These creators understand their audience and engage with them through engaging content. It’s no longer just about being seen but being remembered. This shift from quantity to quality has become a necessity. While everyone can be a content creator, only those who consistently deliver high-quality content will sustain. Others, despite early visibility, will struggle to maintain relevance and so our focus is on creators who understand their audience and adapt to changing content trends. Have you ever tried to become a content creator? #contentcreator #entrepreneurship

Instagram released a new feature that isn't just a copycat of a TikTok or Snap Inc. release, and that feels oddly refreshing. It's called Testimonials, and it will allow brands to partner with creators to create sponsored comments on a brands post or ad. Here's how it works... ➡️ Creators write short, under-125-character messages, which they send to the brand, which get attached to the ad ➡️ Those paid comments will be pinned to the top of the comments section of the post, which obviously means it will get more visibility ➡️ Via Partnership Ads, they will have a paid partnership label automatically attached This already happens to an extent today, so in those cases this will just make the paid partnership more overt and transparent. For brands not doing this today, it's an interesting approach to paid creator partnerships. It will obviously cost significantly less to partner with a creator in this way than a traditional partnership where original content is being created. But it will also likely be less impactful. I think the most interesting application is including these types of partnerships with ambassadors or long term influencer partners to enable them to constantly comment on your content and ads throughout the partnership. #influencermarketing #socialmedia #creatoreconomy

You can follow every content tip in the book: Use trending audio. Post 3x a day. Put text on screen. And still get stuck. Those aren’t wrong… they’re just surface-level. If you want to play the long game, you need more than beginner tactics. I’ve spent over 16 years helping creators shape content that lasts. These 5 principles come up time after time: 1. Use Data to Guide the Next Post → Build a simple tool to rank your posts. → Spot the patterns. Let winners guide what’s next. → It’s like giving your content a report card—except you should take this one seriously ;) 2. Remix Your Top Performers → Artists don’t make one hit and move on. → They remix, drop an acoustic, or get someone else to collab on it. → Turn your best posts into templates. 3. Innovate Your CTAs (Calls-to-Action) → Super direct CTA’s often kill reach. → Figure out a way to make your audience aware of your thing without the ask. → Ex: If you’re a vlogger selling an energy drink, always show yourself cracking one open mid-video. 4. Tailor to the Platform → TikTok ≠ IG ≠ LinkedIn. → Optimize for each platform individually → Don’t just repost, re-package 5. Tracking Everything Isn’t Productive → More data ≠ more clarity. → Pick 2–3 metrics that actually change your decisions. → Ours? Conversions, views, and watch time These aren’t just the latest “hacks” They’re habits of thoughtful creators who build brands that last. These are some of mine—what’s one content lesson you wish someone told you earlier?

Most creators have this backwards. They're chasing views and subscribers, hoping they'll magically become clients. But after analyzing over 10,000 videos across 150+ channels, I realized something profound: YouTube success is about viewer intent. Last month, I worked with a founder who had 87K subscribers but was only making $12K monthly. She was creating "viral content" instead of strategic content. When I shared my systems with her, everything shifted. Here's what I learned about building in public through strategic YouTube content: 1. Foundation First Build genuine authority by teaching what you know deeply. This creates the trust foundation that turns viewers into clients. When you share knowledge transparently, you become the obvious choice for implementation. Your expertise becomes undeniable when demonstrated consistently. People trust those who teach before they sell. 2. Solution Showcasing Demonstrate your expertise through real problem-solving. People hire those who prove their value transparently. Your public work becomes your most powerful sales tool without feeling salesy. Live problem-solving builds immediate credibility and rapport. Prospects see exactly what working with you would look like. 3. System Transparency Share your actual methodology and frameworks openly. Building in public creates magnetic attraction to your process. 4. Transformation Stories Show real before/after results from your work. Transparency about outcomes builds unshakeable credibility. Success stories create emotional connection and logical proof. Other founders see themselves in your client transformations. 5. Strategic Bridge Building Use clear CTAs that guide viewers toward next steps. Every piece of content should have a purpose beyond views. 6. Value Ladder Creation Design a clear path from free content to paid services. Building in public means showing the entire journey. 7. Intent-Based Content Target purchase-intent keywords that your ideal clients search for. Strategic transparency attracts ready-to-buy audiences. 8. The PVT Formula Address specific problems, validate your understanding, then reveal your transformation approach. This converts 273% better than standard tutorial content. This is about creating beautiful, systemized, and impactful brands together. When you build your expertise in public through strategic YouTube content, you create multiple conversion opportunities while establishing deep trust. We 10X'd her revenue within 90 days using fewer videos but with clear strategic intent behind each one. The future belongs to those brave enough to build their systems in public. It starts with sharing your methodology transparently. __ Enjoy this? ♻️ Repost it to your network and follow Matt Gray for more. Want help applying this in your business? DM me ‘Blueprint’ and let’s chat. Only for founders ready to scale.