Strategists’ Starters: Content Canapés
How to cook up content for your brand
Welcome to The Creative Cookbook!
This is where we share recipes that break down what traits and techniques creative professionals need in order to succeed in their chosen fields. We’re dishing out tips and tricks that cover a range of topics, from content strategy and effective storytelling, to organizational development and design thinking, ensuring you have a hearty, well-balanced meal.
To start your culinary journey, step into the kitchen to whip up some tasty content canapés.
The First Taste: Creating Branded Content for Social
Have you ever stumbled upon a piece of content online that just gets you? It’s funny, relatable and obviously made for you. It’s so good, you can’t help but like the post, leave a comment, or share it for your friends to see.We’re sure this happens often–too often that you don’t even realize when you’re taking a bite of a delicious content canapé!
But what exactly is a content canapé? It’s a piece of content that was crafted just for you. Making your own canapé is easy, and we’re here to teach you how.
Before diving into the recipe, it’s important to understand why content is important. In today’s busy digital landscape, everyone is vying for your attention. Just think of all the people and brands you follow online–how they’re all calling your name, hoping to get you to stop scrolling and start engaging. The challenge is standing out among the sea of images, videos, and GIFs we all see everyday.
“In today’s busy digital landscape, everyone is vying for your attention.”
If you think about it, we’re all content creators in our own way. As long as you post on your personal social media accounts, you’re creating content for your own followers. But creating personal content is different from creating content for brands. When you’re creating content for your own accounts, you’re simply being yourself. Your captions follow the way you talk in real life, and your posts exist for the purpose of documenting your own personal experiences. Branded content is an entirely different story. There are more factors to be considered, including a brand’s persona and tonality, as well as its consumers. Creating content for a brand means having to put yourself in the brand’s shoes and talking to a specific audience. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, don’t be! Just follow our recipe to get started. With practice, it will eventually seem like second nature.
To start, you will need to prepare the following ingredients:
- A bucketful of research
- A set of brand guidelines
- A liter of ideas
- A dash of creativity
- A listening ear
The Recipe: Tips for Creating Content
- Practice mise en place by keeping yourself updated.
Before anything else, it’s best to arm yourself with a bucketful of research. This is very crucial when creating content canapés.
Find out what your brand’s competitors are up to: What are they doing online? Do they have any ongoing promotions or campaigns? How are their followers responding to their content? Learn from what they are doing right and wrong, and allow that information to guide your next steps in creating effective content.
It’s not just competitors you need to keep an eye on–it’s also beneficial to find out what your target audience’s online behavior is. What are their digital habits? Do they love sharing content they found online to their friends? Are they engaging with brands they like?
To complete your research, you need to always be in the know. Keeping up with platform updates and trends helps you stay relatable and relevant. Were there any recent updates to the social platforms you’re using that may help you communicate your message better? Are there any themes that are engaging and relatable for your audience? Are there any trending topics you can jump in on? Keep in mind that trendy canapés are best served hot!
- Let your thoughts marinate as you go back to your why.
Once you have done your research, you probably already have a lot of thought-starters in mind for how you want your canapés to taste. List them down but don’t act on them right away. For every piece of content you push out, it’s important to ask yourself, “Why am I doing this?” What is the objective of your content? Do you want to raise awareness for a new product? Do you want your followers to engage with it to start a conversation? Knowing your ‘why’ helps you focus on the messaging and goal of your content, whatever shape or form it may take.
- Mix ideas through brainstorming.
If you’re working with a team, schedule a brainstorming session where everyone can share their ideas. This is also a great time to get different perspectives on your ideas. The goal is to build on one another’s ideas to come up with a content piece that best delivers your message to your intended audience. Before ending the session, make sure to align and decide on a final direction for your content canapé.
If you’re cooking by yourself, don’t fret! You can still ask for your peers’ thoughts and opinions on your ideas. (Just make sure to honor information confidentiality!) From their feedback, you can build on your own ideas and decide on your content’s final form.
- Smear on your brand guidelines.
This is where your content canapés come to life. Bring out your brand guidelines and make sure your content follows your brand’s identity and tonality to a tee. This step in the recipe is crucial to the success not only of your content, but also of your brand’s entire page and digital presence. Cohesiveness is key in maintaining an effective social media page.
- Serve your final ideas in the best format possible.
Should this idea be shared through a video? Would it work better as a GIF? What’s the best way to consume your canapé? Consider each platform’s different features, as well as your audience’s behavior on each platform. How can you make them taste it in the easiest and most convenient way? If you want them to take action upon getting a bite of your canapé, what is the best way to encourage them to do so? Feel free to refer back to your initial research to come up with the answers to these guide questions.
“If there’s one thing you need to keep in mind, it’s this: the recipe for a successful and tasty content canapé is ever-changing. […]
Remember, you’re only as good as your last dish!”
- Give your followers second helpings by engaging, listening and doing it all over again!
Did followers take a bite out of your canapé? Did they like it? If the canapé was a hit, congratulations! But that doesn’t mean you can now put your feet up and relax. If there’s one thing you need to keep in mind, it’s this: the recipe for a successful and tasty content canapé is ever-changing. What may work now may not work next week, and what may work for one chef may not work for another. Remember, you’re only as good as your last dish!
Before going back to the kitchen, make sure to respond to messages and comments on your page. Address any issues privately and professionally. Listen to your followers and adjust the recipe as needed. Take post performance, audience reception, and sentiments into consideration for your next batch of content canapés.
The Final Dish: Application
Every recipe is tried and tested before publication, and this is no exception. We here at Varsity Co-op have been making content canapés for quite some time now.
Here’s a taste of something we recently cooked up for one of our clients, Prime Video.
Prime Video’s Last One Laughing Philippines (LOL PH) was one of the biggest titles we were tasked to create content for this year. As it was a new title, we had to look for ways to feed our local audience content canapés that suit their taste. The main objective was to raise awareness and consideration for LOL PH.
We know from personal experience and online chatter that Filipinos love comedy. Our team’s brainstorming session was bursting with ideas hinging on our unique local humor. One of the ideas to come out of that session was Hidden Agenda, which may not follow a new concept but is one of the tried-and-tested ways to show off our featured comedians’ skills. And what better way for them to showcase their comedic chops than through an engaging video?
This content canapé gave our audience a preview of what they can expect from LOL PH, serving as a great invitation for them to tune into the show during its release. The audience’s reactions to this batch of canapés helped us gauge their initial reception for the title and cast members.
Related sentiments increased as more episodes were released on a weekly basis. Comments and messages were answered through community management, and insights were taken into consideration for the next batch of content canapés we were cooking up. For projects as big and popular as LOL PH, it’s very important to regularly do social listening and adjust your recipe accordingly.
“Recipes aren’t always one-size-fits-all. What may work for us may not work for you.”
The Garnishes: Other Articles for Additional Information
Recipes aren’t always one-size-fits-all. What may work for us may not work for you. To help you perfect your own canapés, you may use the following articles as additional references.
Let’s get cooking! 🧑🍳
Words by Anna Cueto
Art by Mags Ocampo
Produced by Japa Castro