SEO
Meta Lists 6 Culture Codes For Advertisers

Meta recently shared an analysis of how professionally produced content performs compared to “everyday life” content.
The data suggests that lo-fi content is a major contributor to ad recall and content views for brands.
Why are we seeing this culture change now?
Meta suggests that it can be due to the availability of smartphones, giving us a potentially limitless audience.
Another theory is the need for brands to share content more rapidly and frequently. Our attention spans are limited, after all!
Additionally, the social media culture today has shifted dramatically. More and more users are celebrating “real-life” moments and stories. They don’t want to see perfection and polish from brands.
In fact, a study from YPulse found that 79% of users are “tired of seeing perfect images in advertising.”
Let’s dive into the six culture codes Meta has shared that brands can benefit from.
#1: Real People Telling Real Stories
As mentioned above, users are sick of seeing perfection in ads. The imagery does not match the reality that most of us live in our everyday lives.
Brands that showcase their own employees or real-life customers can provide credibility; more importantly – relatability with your audience.
By having someone else tell the story, it brings more authenticity to their experience with the brand.
#2: Using Language Of The Platform
When saying that brands can benefit from using the language of the social platform, that does not mean language in a literal sense (English, Spanish, etc.)
It means that brands adopt and post recognized behavior across the platforms. Examples of this could be:
- Creating your own rendition of a viral dance or routine
- Utilizing popular transition effects or voiceovers in videos
The reason language culture is so important has to do with reliability to the user.
#3: Establishing Relationships With Creators and Influencers For Credibility
In Meta’s research, they cited that 63% of adults 18-34 trust a creator’s point of view of a brand.
Further, these people trust creators more than the brand itself.
A reason that brands can benefit from creator relationships has to do with context.
Many times, creators have a way of telling a story about a product or brand in a way that brands can’t.
This helps make your brand look more authentic. You’re asking customers to take the word of other customers – not yours.
Utilizing an outside source such as a creator or influencer helps build credibility for you and them.
Take this example of Cerebral, an online mental health company. Cerebral has partnered with Simone Biles, former US Olympics medalist, to advocate for mental health.

This ad helps normalize the conversation about mental health by using an influencer. Anybody can struggle with mental health, celebrities, and athletes alike.
#4: Taking Users Behind The Scenes
This culture code Meta talks about is in direct correlation with the study from YPulse, mentioned earlier.
Users are tired of seeing perfectly buttoned-up images and depictions of an unrealistic lifestyle.
Perfectly polished imagery and videos may seem unauthentic to some users.
By taking users “behind the scenes” in some way helps them relate to you more. Whether that’s a “day in the life of” post with different departments, start-ups and founders, showcasing what you’re working on can go a long way.
You’re showing them what it takes to make perfect (or imperfect) content. It’s a lot more effort than they think!
#5: Using Lo-Fi Editing Techniques
Brands who use lo-fi editing and production tools have an advantage with the modern consumer. These types of tools help portray a more handcrafted image, rather than a polished, airbrushed look.
This also helps from a relatability standpoint because users do not want to see perfection.
If lo-fi editing is new to you, some brands offer specialty classes on how to use lo-fi techniques and tools.
#6: Using Humor To Break Down Boundaries
Brands using humor in their content are more relatable to audiences.
Humor can help dissolve a perceived rigidness for brands and the need to be perfect.
An example of a brand using humor in their content is Charmin. They partook in the #DollyPartonChallenge that was going viral and made it relatable to not only their brand, but to their users.


As a general reminder, if you’re going to use humor, there’s always a chance it can backfire inadvertently. Take this Chase Bank example:


If you’re going to use ads, be sure to read your user base ahead of time and map out any potential negative reactions. It’s always a good idea to have a customer service plan in case things go awry.
Summary
The culture of social media is always changing. It can be argued that the culture community has shifted drastically due to the pandemic.
By keeping up to date on the social norms and culture codes of today’s society, your brand has a better chance of staying relatable with your users.
Featured Image: DisobeyArt/Shutterstock
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SEO
How Data Is Reshaping The SEO & Digital Marketer’s Landscape

There is a new data revolution happening, and it’s sweeping across the industry so quickly that many SEO and digital marketers are struggling to make sense of the insights and intelligence at their disposal.
To utilize this opportunity, marketers need to evolve their mindsets and use technology to analyze multiple data formats and understand the new opportunities it can bring.
SEO marketers of today and digital marketers of tomorrow will need to extract, structure quickly, and manipulate data to drive the most critical business outcomes.
Data has always been mission-critical to digital decision-making.
The Economist, back in 2017, declared it the world’s most valuable resource.
Fast forward to today and the future, and we can see that the exponential growth of data fuelling this revolution is staggering.
According to the IDC, the amount of digital data created over the next five years will be greater than twice the amount of data made since the advent of digital storage.
Think about that for a second!
Flash drives, for example, were introduced in 2000.
This means that in the next five years, marketers will have to analyze and make sense of 2x the data created in the last 22 years!
The Data Revolution Means More Sources & Complexity For SEO
The data revolution has gone on for some time now, and it’s changed our concept of what counts as “data,” rightfully so.
In the past, we thought only numbers mattered.
But, in this new digital world where everything is converted into ones and zeros, data is broader and contains text, audio, and visual information – all bits waiting to be processed!
- Machine-based and human-generated data are growing at a rate of 10x faster than conventional business data.
- Machine-created data is increasing exponentially at a 50x the growth rate. This data revolution is primarily marketing-driven and consumer-oriented who are “always on.”
- In just the last 18 months, the volume of site processing data we have been generating at BrightEdge has increased by 11x!
As a result of these increasingly demanding trends, SEO and digital marketers need to adapt and become more like data analysts and scientists in approaching the extraction of structured data insights and business intelligence – without adding more manual work.
Fortunately, SEO is well-positioned to take advantage of this new data revolution.
- Increasing your keyword universe – More keywords mean more data points to look at with reporting and fuelling insights. While focusing on conversion rate metrics is very important, it wouldn’t be possible without opening the scope of your audience and getting more people in the door. SEO has drifted away from writing for a primary dedicated keyword and is now way more advanced with advancements in search engines like Google’s understanding of intent of searches through RankBrain and BERT.
- Increasing your search footprint – will also help you discover unexplored of informing your future content strategy or ideate new keyword ideas. However, sometimes you might miss the boat, like the transition of Content Management Systems slowly turning into “Experience Platforms” as they offer more functionality to meet the needs of today’s webmaster or marketer.
Read More On SEJ
Data Is The Currency Of An Accelerated SEO & Digital Age
By 2025, Worldwide data will reach 175 zettabytes.
But unfortunately, the human brain can’t process, structure, and analyze all that data.
So technology engines have to help, and digital marketers should be the driver.
There is a massive opportunity for companies that can utilize data to create more engaging experiences.
A recent study showed that 95% of business leaders recognize this as their biggest growth lever over the next three years, which means there’s plenty at stake here!
Robust data analysis ensures decisions are evidence-based and have more accountability.
Drawing on existing and new data sources to fully integrate business acumen and analytical skills into decision making, sourcing, managing, and analyzing large amounts of unstructured data will ensure continued use and success.
SEO began with data and has evolved.
From the introduction of real-time SEO in 2019 and Page Experience Updates in 2021, SEO’s future lies again with data and the creation of intelligent systems. Here marketers can leverage combined data sources that structures data for them.
As a result, they can achieve business objectives and stay ahead during all data and digital transformation stages.
Read More On SEJ
Technology & AI Are Helping SEO Evolve
Advancements in technology and, in particular, AI and Natural Language Processing has meant that SEO and digital marketers can become data analysts without having to become an actual data scientist.
This is key to unlocking structured insights from your company’s big data to make more precise predictions about what is coming next based on existing information.
Digital marketers can evolve, understand key trends, and learn in new areas such as:
- Predictive modeling of future trends and forecasting based on multiple types of data.
- Real-time identification of opportunities and intelligence.
- Digital research at scale with both historical and real-time data.
- Leveraging automated visualizations for various stakeholders.
- Improved data security and compliance.
- Market and business intelligence at a macro level.
- Consumer behavior at the most granular level.
SEO and digital marketers can learn critical skills such as statistics, data analysis, data visualization, and strategy.
AI, NLP, and machine learning are helping them do this without needing expertise in computer programming and software applications.
What digital marketers must do is combine their communication skills and analytics skills with stakeholders who cannot think outside of the advertising box.
Read More On SEJ
Data Analysis & Intelligence As Competitive Advantage
The application of technology will be the driving force behind the next generation of data analysis technology.
Therefore, SEO and digital marketers of today should learn how to better utilize insights from data analysis.
It’s becoming more apparent that the marketing platforms of tomorrow will require the capabilities of data analysis and science infrastructure at their core.
The future of marketing will blend technological know-how, business sense, and an understanding of data analysis.
The next generation of SEO will touch all components of marketing, from video, email, and voice, to digital performance of content.
SEO and data science will converge into one evolved discipline that drives omnichannel acquisition and democratizes data.
Marketers who embrace this new era of SEO will be well-positioned to succeed in the years to come.
Data is reconfirming its role as the new competitive advantage, and as SEO and digital marketers, you must evolve if you want to be part of the future.
More resources:
Featured Image: ra2 studio/Shutterstock
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