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The wizards at GlobalWebIndex have recently published a report detailing the type of content that users would like to be exposed to from brands.

Tens of thousands of social media users who follow a sample of the world's best-performing content brands on social media were surveyed.

Here we go:

#5: Live Streaming: The Future Of Social Media?

Live streaming video is currently one of the hottest trends in digital marketing, with a direct engagement objective -for the social media managers of you out there-it ranked at number five with 26% of the votes. In fact, live streatming is one of the most effective methods for reaching an audience, building a brand, and expanding a business. However, there is more to the story. When you examine the numbers, you will realize that live streaming video is one of the most cost-effective ways to promote your company, product, or service.

#4: Q&A Sessions: Filler Content or Authentic Intrigue?

Social media is an excellent way to build relationships with your audience and raise brand awareness. In addition, it offers a plethora of advantages. Social media can help you connect with your audience, build trust and credibility, and generate leads, with an open Q&A session being the most effective method of engagement.

We have all seen the social media questions being posed by brands. Whether it is a simple "how are you?" from a brand or a more complex "are you a dog or cat person?".  Brands and businesses use these types of questions with the objective of gainomg a deeper understanding of their customers, communicatngi with them, and ultimately establishing and maintaining loyal relationships with them.

This engagement method is ranked number four by GWI at 27%, with the reasoning being "communication between brands and their audience".

#3: Images Speak Louder Than Words?

The use of images and photos in social media is one of the most crucial methods of online brand promotion. Almost all social media platforms, with the exception of Twitter, relied on images from the beginning.  With a single image, brands can convey their products, services, and even values without the need to write one additional word.

People are drawn to brands with good imagery. They will be interested in brands if they see appealing imagery. Photos and images ranked third on the list with 32% because they are a highly -emotional- engaging media format.

#2: Is This Reely Worth It? (get it?)

Video has been a popular topic for many years. It is a simple method of communicating with customers and prospective customers. It is also an excellent way to engage your audience and strengthen your relationship with them. Adobe predicts that video will eventually account for more than fifty percent of all consumer Internet traffic. As a result, many businesses are using video as a means of connecting with their customers and prospects, especially after the rise of the video behemoth Tiktok and the exponential growth of Instagram's Reels and the recent expansion on Shorts by Google's YouTube. I did not include the original YouTube -for all my fellow millennials- in this this because the second-place video formats in this study were basically 15- to 60-second clips, not longform video format.

At 33%, and with the explosion of video adoption and some algorithmic superpowers, shortform videos are only 7% away from winning the competition.

#1: Do It Yourself

People used to watch videos on YouTube and other websites to learn about new products, technologies, and skills. In recent years, however, the trend has shifted. People now watch videos to learn how to do things themselves, also known as DIYs, as opposed to learning something new. This demand shift has resulted in the creation of an entirely new category of video content on social media: tutorials.

If you have not gotten this by now, the next item on this list, and the winner of this competition, is tutorials. But why are they so popular? Here are five reasons!1

  1. They are easy to digest.
  2. They are simple to understand.
  3. They are visual.
  4. They are short.
  5. They are fun, when brands don't try too hard.

40% of respondents selected Tutorials and How-to educational content as the type of content they would like brands to expose them to on social media. Now, you might argue that this is not really a content format, but it did receive 40% of the votes, which indicates a shift in consumer demand for content. Therefore, it merits its own content format category, as opposed to simply being another content pillar.

That is all. What are your favorite or preferred types of content that you would like to see from brands? What are your interests? Why do you adhere to brands? Share your thoughts while browsing the visual version of this article on my Instagram page; see you there!