The biggest lie DTC marketers have been telling you about content

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The biggest lie DTC marketers have been telling you is that you need to make content that looks "native" to the social feed.

This has resulted in a lot of people trying to do lo-fi content or follow what are considered "best practices" of a platform.

But here's the reality: that's not how the algorithm actually works.

The algorithm is there to serve the best content to people so that they stay on the platform as long as possible. They are agnostic to how content was shot. All that matters is that the content is worth watching and keeps people on the platform.

And I found proof of this in a new TikTok trend.

An editor created a video that had a Kendrick Lamar song with this crazy edit using Creed movie footage. It went viral - over 150 million views by the time I'm writing this.

@areqaep

CREED | #creed #creededit #edit #fyp #viral

Then many other people went on to create this same style with the song, and it became this massive trend.

The funny part about this - or the ironic part - is that it breaks literally every "best practice":

• It's horizontal footage on a vertical screen

• It's all high-fi footage because it's from a movie

• It literally is not like an "organic" TikTok

• It is a very well-edited video

All of the other videos based on this trend are also high-fi footage with great edits, and they've all gotten millions of views as well.

They've been doing edits with sports people, Michael Scott from The Office, Walter White, Maverick, even Timothy Chalamet hype videos.

But in all of it, it just shows that the best content always wins.

It's not about what's the "best practice."

I think it's easy to just say, "Oh, we need to make this native to the platform content." But the reality is what's native to the platform IS the best content.

I think it's just an excuse to make a certain style. What happens is brands feel afraid to do other styles that may not be what feels like a "best practice" because they have been told, "Oh, that stuff doesn't work on TikTok or on the other feeds of other social media platforms."

When in reality, the data shows - and there are countless examples - that high-end visuals work best because it's the best style to tell the story for that brand.

There are also opposite examples of how hi-fi doesn't help tell the brand story, and lo-fi does.

I think every brand needs to use whatever resources they have to make the best content they can make.

If you're just starting out, yeah, maybe UGC can work and is probably your best bet to start. But over time, that doesn't necessarily always have to hold true.

You always need to be pushing the boundaries of what's the best way to communicate your brand.

And that can look very different.

We need to go away from "Oh, it's gotta be one style or it's gotta be a certain way" and focus more on what's the best way to describe your brand story.

Thank you for reading this week’s content.

Let me know if you want me to address anything in the future for you. Just reply and I can write about it.

Make sure to check out the podcast.

Until then, keep creating!

Matthew Gattozzi

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