: Samosa Talks: How Branded Content on Instagram moves business outcomes #IndiaNEWS #Samosa Talks Ignorable ads, decreased attention span, reduced tolerance levels for promotional material, branded

Samosa Talks: How Branded Content on Instagram moves business outcomes #IndiaNEWS #Samosa Talks
Ignorable ads, decreased attention span, reduced tolerance levels for promotional material, branded content is known to solve these problems, but an overabundance of content brings a different set of challenges. Here we resolve this concern and explain how this marketing method can drive productive results for businesses on Instagram.

In conversation with Neha Ahuja, Head of Marketing, Spotify India, and Arun Srinivas, Director Global Business Group, Facebook India, we understand the state of branded content on Instagram, the significance of this advertising technique, and tips to ace in this arena.

The State Of Content Consumption

Content Consumption is arguably the only metric that has constantly stayed on elevated peaks on all mediums but particularly social media platforms. In-home productions, remote collaborations, and advanced technology have been able to sustain relevancy and cater to the growing appetite of consumers through the pandemic.

Srinivas mentions the platforms have observed a dramatic surge in the acceleration of digital consumption and penetration. The COVID-19 outbreak has forced a lot of users to come onto digital platforms, discover new brands here, and carry out transactions. Large, medium, and small businesses across industries, are reimagining business models to pivot on Facebook and Instagram.

Ahuja shares that moments of consumption may have changed, but consumption especially in the audio format has jumped to the higher end. Podcast consumption has observed a huge uptick and topics such as mental health, and self-help has been sought-after.

She shares a metric from the Spotify Culture Next Report 2021 that states 87% of millennials and 78% of Gen-Zs in India agree that audio reduces their stress levels.

The Significance Of Branded Content

Contemporarily, brands have numerous channels to target multiple sets of audiences, but there are several hurdles and the huge gap between the communication coming through a brand till it reaches the viewers eyes.

Yet from the period of Doordarshan, when the national broadcaster created 30-minute content shows presented by products being advertised, till the dawn of 15-seconders, an entertaining, educational, unique, or engaging concept has been able drive conversational interest in a brand.

Ahuja states that branded content has been a part of the multimedia mix for every campaign by Spotify India. It also adds a layer of storytelling to topical conversations and supports a full-funnel approach and aid in building consumption and retention.

Branded Content bridges the gap between awareness and affinity. Neha Ahuja, Head of Marketing, Spotify India

In terms of digital ad spends that branded content is supported by, Srinivas shares that traditional mediums were ahead in the media mix before the pandemic, but digital ad spends is now pretty close.