If you had to define the perfect social media content today, where would you start? The length? The orientation of the video? Whether it is captioned or not? Today, more than ever, how the content is told is as important as what. Because it is not only a question of creativity, but also of context, of understanding how we move (literally) between screens. But, above all, it is a question of knowing how we consume and what we decide to watch, as the data from Datareportal’s Global Overview Report shows.
Make a note of the three key keys to social media content formats.
1. Verticality: it is not a fashion, it is a posture.
The vertical format is no longer an adaptation. It is the new standard. TikTok imposed it, while Instagram and YouTube took it over. The audience adopted it without looking back.
Why does it work? Because it’s organic with the mobile, it doesn’t force you to turn the screen and it feels immediate, intimate and native. It also allows you to occupy more visual space and capture attention from the first second.
2. Velocity: if you don’t hook in 3 seconds, you’re out.
In networks, you are not competing against your competition, but against the scroll. That’s why more and more brands are embracing ‘quick content’: short, visual pieces that deliver a clear message in the first few seconds.
Reels, shorts, tiktoks, stories. Different names, same goal: connect fast or be forgotten. And here comes a key point that not all brands understand: fast doesn’t have to be superficial. It just has to be direct. Speed doesn’t kill depth. It kills unnecessary roundaboutness.
3. Value: entertain, inform or excite
Increasingly, valuable content is not the content that costs the most time to produce.
It is the one that responds to a need of the viewer. These needs can be multiple:
- Entertain (because we are tired).
- Inform (because we don’t want to waste time).
- Excite (because we want to feel something, even if only for a moment).
And here comes the important part: if your content doesn’t give something, there’s nothing left.
No memory. No click. No conversation. Brand value? Start by giving value in the formats.
All things considered, then, what works today?
- Vertical videos that can be understood without sound, but are captivating with rhythm.
- Under 30-second pieces with clear focus.
- Visual messages, where editorial design rules.
- Content series that build familiarity.
And yes, we are also applying it in Incognito. Because to get there, you have to fit in first. And to fit in with the brand identity, you have to understand the platform’s code.
