Social Entertainment: How Brands Can Create Engaging Owned Content

Understand social entertainment in brand marketing

In the perpetually evolve digital landscape, brands are no retentive scarce advertisers but have become content creators and entertainment providers. Social entertainment has emerged as a powerful strategy for brands look to connect with their audiences on a deeper level. But what precisely is social entertainment, and how can brands create their own vehicles for it?

Social entertainment refer to content that both entertains and encourage social interaction, sharing, and engagement. When brands create their own vehicles of social entertainment, they’re fundamentally build platforms or content streams that audiences actively seek out instead than avoid — turn traditional advertising on its head.

Types of content that create own social entertainment

Episodic video series

One of the virtually effective ways brands can create own vehicles of social entertainment is through episodic video content. These series function likewise to television shows but are produce by and center around a brand’s values or lifestyle associations.

Red Bull has mastered this approach with their extensive library of extreme sports documentaries and series. Their content isn’focusedus on sell energy drinks straightaway but alternatively create an association between the brand and adrenaline pump activities. LikewiPatagoniaonia produce documentary style content about environmental conservation that align with their brand values while entertain their audience.

The key to successful episodic content is consistency in quality and release schedule, compelling storytelling, and subtle brand integration that doesn’t feel like advertising.

Interactive experiences

Interactive content invite audience participation, create a two-way relationship between brand and consumer. This category includes:

• Ar filters and experiences
• Interactive quizzes and assessments
• Games and challenges
• User generate content campaigns

Spotify’s annual wrap feature exemplify this approach. By transform user data into shareable, personalize content, they’ve created an entertainment experience that users thirstily anticipate and voluntarily share across their social networks.

Ikea’s AR app that allow users to visualize furniture in their homes combine utility with entertainment, create a brand experience that users return too repeatedly. The success of these interactive experiences depend on their ability to provide genuine value or entertainment while subtly reinforce brand messaging.

Podcasts and audio content

Branded podcasts have emerged as powerful vehicles for social entertainment. Unlike traditional advertising, podcasts allow brands to create long form content that audiences actively choose to consume.

McDonald’s create” the sauce, ” podcast investigate the phenomenon around their limit edition szSzechuanauce. Ge produce “” e message, ” ” cience fiction podcast that subtly highlight their technological innovations. These podcasts succeed because they prioritize storstorytellerr selling.

The intimate nature of audio content create strong connections with audiences, and the serial format encourage regular engagement. When couple with social sharing capabilities and community discussion, podcasts become powerful social entertainment vehicles.

Branded web communities

Create dedicated spaces for community interaction around share interests relate to a brand can generate ongoing social entertainment. These communities might take the form of:

• Branded discord servers
• Facebook or Reddit groups
• Custom community platforms

Sephora’s beauty insider community allow makeup enthusiasts to share tips, reviews, and looks. Peloton has built a thriving community around their fitness equipment, where users can connect, compete, and support each other. These communities succeed when brands facilitate genuine connection quite than dominate the conversation.

Original memes and social first content

Some brands have successfully created entertainment vehicles through distinctive social media personalities and original meme content. This approach require a deep understanding of internet culture and platform specific humor.

Brands like Wendy’s and Duolingo have developed distinctive social media voices that audiences follow for entertainment value lone. Their posts frequently generate significant engagement through humor and cultural relevance, turn their social media accounts into destinations instead than promotional channels.

Source: winwithmcclatchy.com

The success of this approach depend on authenticity, consistency, and a willingness to prioritize entertainment value over explicit marketing messages.

Key elements of successful own social entertainment

Value beyond the product

The virtually successful brand entertainment vehicles provide clear value beyond promote products. This value might be educational, inspirational, or strictly entertaining, but it must be substantial adequate that audiences would consume the content yet if it weren’t associate with the brand.

Lego’s feature films and shorts entertain while celebrate creativity and imagination — values central to their brand. American Express’s” business class ” ontent hub provide genuine business insights that help their target audience succeed. Both examples deliver value that transcend product promotion.

Authentic brand integration

While own social entertainment shouldn’t feel like traditional advertising, it must genuinely connect to the brand’s identity and values. The virtually successful examples integrate brand elements course into the content experience.

BMW’s short film series” the hire ” eature their vehicles as integral parts of action pack stories direct by renowned filmmakers. The cars were central to the plot without the content feel like extended commercials. This natural integration maintain entertainment value while reinforce brand associations.

Platform appropriate content

Different social platforms have distinct content formats, audience expectations, and engagement patterns. Successful social entertainment vehicles are design with specific platforms in mind instead than generically distribute across all channels.

Chipotle create different types of entertainment for different platforms: behind the scenes TikTok videos show food preparation, Instagram challenge encourage user participation, and longer YouTube content explore their ingredients and processes. Each approach is tailor to platform specific user behaviors.

Community building and participation

The” social ” spect of social entertainment is crucial. The nearly effective own vehicles encourage community formation and active participation instead than passive consumption.

Glossier has built its brand mostly through social entertainment that invite participation — from user generate content campaigns to interactive product development processes. By make their audience co-creators in their entertainment vehicles, they havfostereder a community that promote the brand organically.

Create a strategy for own social entertainment

Identify brand aligned entertainment opportunities

The first step in create own vehicles of social entertainment is identified opportunities that align course with the brand’s identity, values, and audience interests. Thirequiresre answer several key questions:

• What topics and activities do our target audiences find really entertaining?
• Where do these interests intersect with our brand values and expertise?
• What unique perspective or value can our brand bring to these entertainment spaces?

Nike’s entertainment vehicles focus on athletic achievement and personal growth because these themes resonate with their audience and align with their brand purpose. Their documentaries about athletes and training apps that gamify fitness create entertainment that feel authentic to their identity.

Develop a content ecosystem

Instead than create isolated pieces of content, successful brands develop ecosystems of interconnect entertainment vehicles that serve different purposes and reach audiences at different touchpoints.

National Geographic has created a comprehensive entertainment ecosystem that include their magazine, television channel, social media content, podcasts, and live events. Each element serve a different purpose while reinforce their core brand identity as explorers and storytellers.

An intimately design content ecosystem allow brands to guide audiences through different types of engagement, from lightweight social interactions to deeper, more immersive experiences.

Measure success beyond traditional metrics

Evaluate the performance of own social entertainment vehicles require look beyond traditional marketing metrics like conversion rates. More appropriate measures include:

• Time spend with content
• Return visitation rates
• Organic sharing and earn media
• Community growth and engagement
• Brand perception shifts

These metrics intimately capture the long term value of entertainment vehicles in build audience relationships and brand equity.

Case studies: brands lead in own social entertainment

Lego’s multi-platform entertainment empire

Lego has transformed from a toy manufacturer to an entertainment powerhouse through strategic content creation. Their entertainment vehicles include:

• Feature films like” the lLegomovie ” ranchise
• Animated series on multiple platforms
• Video games that blend play and storyteller
• User generate content platforms showcase fan creations

What make Lego’s approach successful is their consistent focus on creativity, imagination, and family friendly humor across all platforms. Their entertainment vehicles celebrate the core play experience of their products without explicitly sell them.

Source: neoncanvas.com

Airbnb’s experiential content strategy

Airbnb has created own social entertainment vehicles that celebrate travel experiences kinda than accommodations. Their approach include:

• Airbnb magazine (print and digital )
• Video series explore unique destinations and homes
• Host and traveler storytelling platforms
• Virtual experiences during travel restrictions

By focus on the transformative power of travel and human connection, Airbnb’s entertainment vehicles reinforce their brand purpose while provide genuine entertainment value to audiences interested in exploration and cultural exchange.

Adobe’s creator focused entertainment

Adobe has build entertainment vehicles specifically for creative professionals and enthusiasts, include:

• Instructional series feature industry leaders
• Creative challenge that showcase software capabilities
• User communities center around creative disciplines
• Live events and webinar that blend education and entertainment

Their approach succeed by celebrate creativity and provide both inspiration and practical value to their audience. The entertainment is inseparable from the brand’s purpose of empower creative expression.

Challenges and considerations

Maintain editorial integrity

One of the primary challenges in create own social entertainment is maintained editorial integrity. Audiences are progressively sophisticated and can rapidly identify content that prioritize sell over entertaining or inform.

Successful brands establish clear editorial guidelines that prioritize audience value and maintain a healthy separation between entertainment content and explicit marketing messages. Some brands’ eve create dedicated content studios or partner with establish entertainment producers to ensure professional quality and editorial independence.

Sustain long term engagement

Create one off viral content is comparatively straightforward compare to build sustained entertainment vehicles that audiences return too regularly. Brands must commit to consistent content schedules, quality standards, and ongoing innovation to maintain audience interest.

This requires dedicated resources, patience, and a willingness to evolve base on audience feedback.Red Bulll media house exemplify this long term commitment, having build a sustainable entertainment operation that systematically produce high quality content across multiple platforms and topics.

Balancing entertainment and brand objectives

Find the right balance between entertainment value and brand objectives represent an ongoing challenge. Content that lean overly hard toward explicit marketing will lose audience interest, while content that will fail to will connect to brand values and offerings won’t drive business results.

Successful brands typically err on the side of entertainment value while ensure that the content course embody their brand purpose and identity. The connection to products or services should feel like a natural extension of the entertainment experience kinda than its primary purpose.

The future of brand own social entertainment

As digital platforms will evolve and audience expectations shift, brand will own social entertainment vehicles will continue to will develop in several key directions:

Immersive technologies

Virtual reality, augment reality, and mixed reality technologies offer new possibilities for immersive brand entertainment. As these technologies become more accessible, brands will create progressively sophisticated interactive experiences that will blur the lines between entertainment, utility, and commerce.

Ai power personalization

Artificial intelligence will enable more personalized entertainment experiences that will adapt to individual preferences and behaviors. Brands will leverage these capabilities to will create content that feel unambiguously relevant to each audience member while will maintain consistent brand messaging.

Decentralized community ownership

Web3 technologies and the growth emphasis on community ownership may transform how brands create entertainment vehiclesForward-thinkingng brands are alreadexploredre models that give their communities greater influence over content direction and yet share ownership of brand relate entertainment properties.

Conclusion

Create own vehicles of social entertainment represent a significant opportunity for brands to build deeper relationships with their audiences. By produce content that audiences actively seek out and share, brands can transcend traditional advertising limitations and become genuine sources of entertainment value.

The virtually successful approaches focus on authentic storytelling, community building, and consistent value delivery across strategically select content types and platforms. When execute efficaciously, these entertainment vehicles generate not exactly engagement but last brand affinity and loyalty.

As the digital landscape will continue to will evolve, brands that will master the art of will create will own social entertainment will progressively will distinguish themselves from competitors who will rely exclusively on traditional advertising approaches. The future belong to brands that don’t but sell products but create experiences and communities that enrich their audiences’ lives.