At the end of 2023, whether on Facebook, Linkedin or Instagram, many brands (and influencers) have noticed a drop in reach and engagement on their social media. A consequence of channels saturated by the amount of content published every minute. So what kind of content should be created in 2024 to keep communicating effectively? Follow the 5 key trends we’ll be presenting in this article to help you overcome the decline in your social media metrics.
1. Dark social
In 2024, it’s important to offer content that can be shared privately. To do this, your content needs to be so well matched to your target audience, that they’ll share it with their acquaintances in a private message.
You can also offer private experiences between your brand and its customers, such as exclusive groups or private discussion channels.
Video is still king. But by 2024, vertical videos are expected to be longer, lasting several minutes. Note, however, that even longer videos need to be well-paced. Internet users must have no time to get bored.
💡TIP: Use these formats preferably in 2024: stories, vertical videos and live broadcasts.
3. Useful content
Whether to inspire or to inform, content must be of real use to the viewer. Empty or narcissistic content is no longer interesting. You need to offer content with high added value if you want Internet users to be interested in your brand. Don’t talk about yourself, talk about your audience: their needs, their expectations, and offer them content that inspires or educates them.
💡 TIP: To create content that’s useful to your audience, you first need to clearly define your target.
4. Entertaining content
The other type of content you can offer your audience to improve your reach is entertaining content. Choosing the angle of entertainment and humor is an excellent idea in 2024 since “making people laugh” or “entertaining people” means creating an emotional bond with your audience, who will be able to remember this when choosing between you and your competitors.
💡 TIP: Be careful, not all types of humor and entertainment will suit your brand, or your target, it’s up to you to find the one that fits.
5. User-generated content (UGC)
This latest type of trendy content underlines the need for authenticity. With UGC, the consumer speaks directly to the audience. And what better way to convince a consumer than with the opinion of another consumer? Content of this type allows you to play on your audience’s identification with the creator of the UGC.
💡 TIP: There are now many freelancers specializing in UGC creation.
Conclusion
It seems clear that the basis of content trends for 2024 is the same: it’s all about knowing your target audience. With a clear idea of your target, it will be very easy for your brand to create useful, entertaining and shareable content to boost your social networks.
Have you ever seen an advertisement and immediately known which company it belonged to, even if you didn’t glimpse the name? Chances are you recognized certain facets of that company: special fonts, taglines, logos, and color combinations that belong unmistakably to a brand. These elements, and more, make up a brand’s identity. All visual and editorial aspects of a brand’s identity are determined by the brand’s style guide.
On the Calaméo blog we have talked about logos, brand identity and brand image. Next up? Brand style guides, sometimes called graphic charters or brand guidelines. In this article we will discuss the ins and outs of this important document, so let’s dive in!
First thing’s first: what is a brand style guide? A brand style guide is a document that governs all the visual (and sometimes editorial) elements of a company that make it recognizable and unique. It also explains when and how to use these elements. Simply put, a style guide is the key to all communications!
These guides ensure that there is no confusion when it comes to what the brand’s content should look and sound like. Using the guide as a reference, all company communications are consistent across channels and mediums. The style guide can be as detailed as you like; typically, larger companies have more comprehensive style guides because they are more likely to use a wider range of communication channels, and they appear in more places (television, print, online, etc.).
Who creates the style guide?
The creation of brand style guides is best left to professionals. However, it’s a collaborative process: graphic designers or design firms will work with you to create a style guide that suits your company and fits your brand identity. You must decide who you are, your values, and the image you’d like to portray to the world.
Why and how should you use a style guide?
A brand style guide is essential for your company’s brand identity. In order to maintain clear and cohesive communications across all channels, a style guide is the ultimate reference. Internal documents such as slide decks and employee newsletters, external communications such as advertisements or social media posts, plus everything in between: all of this content must look similar and adhere to your brand identity. To achieve this consistency, companies must have a brand style guide. Otherwise, logos may appear in the wrong colors and dimensions, there won’t be a uniform look to your communications, and your tone will be all over the place. Any communication that comes from the company, both internally and externally, should use the style guide as a reference.
What is included in a style guide?
Length and details may vary depending on the company, but a brand style guide is usually made up of the following visual and editorial elements:
Logo
Logos are a crucial part of a brand’s identity, its most visible identifier. Logos are images, texts, or shapes (or a combination of the three) in the company’s color palette that represent the company. A blue bird invokes Twitter, three stripes on a sneaker will certainly mean that they are Adidas, and a swoosh (both the shape and the word) is emblematic of Nike.
A company’s logo cannot be used haphazardly. The brand style guide should explicitly outline the exact colors and dimensions of the logo. Even the background on which the logo appears is specified in the style guide.
Take Calaméo’s logo, for example. The spacing and colors are exact: the dimensions around the lettering are determined by the height of the green accent, and the colors are specific to our brand.
There are other elements to consider. Do you have a slogan or motto with words as part of your logo? If so, you must clearly state where the slogan goes, how big it can be, the color(s) to use, and when to employ this version of the logo. There are many rules you must define in your brand style guide, especially when it comes to your logo.
Colors
Companies have specific brand colors, usually two to three, that they use in logos and branding. The style guide will include complementary colors as well. These colors all together are known as the company’s color palette.
Great thought and care go into a company’s color palette. There are even psychological tricks behind choosing certain colors that the company wants associated with the brand or product. They may want to demonstrate trust, youth, sophistication, or other descriptors.
The brand style guide should outline all the ways to find these colors: a visual representation of the color, HEX and RGB formats, and other formats if necessary. Rather than just “blue” or “red”, companies choose very specific shades of these colors that go well together and set them apart from other brands. These exact shades need to be used every time.
Examples of Calaméo’s color palette using the HEX values
Typeface
Another important element of the brand style guide is typeface. Typeface is the kind of lettering used in communications, which includes fonts. Does your company use only lowercase letters? All capitals? You must include the size, spacing, and color of your typeface in your style guide so employees know exactly how the typeface should look.
Work with a graphic designer to choose the best typeface for your company. Some brands even create their own fonts! Keep in mind that your typeface also reflects your tone– is it silly, serious, elevated? Your typeface must work well with the other elements of your style guide.
Images
Some brand style guidelines include rules about styles of images or photographs to use. These images must fit into the brand’s identity and remain consistent; you should not use a bright and airy photograph one day and then a dark and moody photograph the next. The rules could include using colors from the company’s color palette or desired emotions that the images should evoke (energetic, powerful, soothing). Images are available to download on sites like Getty Images, Shutterstock, or Unsplash, if your company does not have access to a photographer or photography studio to create your own images. However, make sure to check that you have the right to use the images.
Icons
Brand style guides may also include illustrations or icons. Consider the icons you see on a company’s website: a shopping cart to click on when you are ready to purchase or an envelope icon if you want to communicate with the company via email. These icons must be coherent across all platforms. Icons will, much like the rest of the elements of the style guide, reflect the brand identity. Whimsical, rigid, colorful, playful…your icons can express a lot about your brand!
A few of Calaméo’s icons
Tone
Your tone and voice give your brand a personality via the written word. Once you decide who you are, it should be easy to find your company’s tone The brand style guide may include different instructions depending on the channel– perhaps your social media tone will be slightly less formal than that of your advertisements, for example. The guide should include written examples so employees can see how to employ the tone in different situations. Think of the image you want to project, and stay consistent.
Applying your style guide to digital publications
So now that you know all about style guides, it’s time to apply this knowledge to your digital publications! Because digital publishing is a visual medium, consistent brand visuals make all the difference between an amateur-looking document and a professional-grade publication.
With Calaméo, you can personalize your viewer Theme, add your logo, and enrich your content yourself so that your digital publications match your brand identity. With our White Label feature for PLATINUM members, your publications appear in your name and image, without the Calaméo logo. Start your free trial today!
There are advantages to digital publishing for everyone, but companies especially can benefit and take their business to the next level. Read on to find out how Calaméo and digital publishing can help your business.
Calaméo and digital publishing
Let’s first start by introducing Calaméo and digital publishing. Calaméo is a leading digital publishing platform where you can publish and share your documents for free. We transform your documents into interactive digital publications that you can share with the world. Brochures, newsletters, catalogs, magazines…all of these (and more!) are converted into beautiful flippable publications that can be enriched with media. Eliminate printed materials and switch to an online format for your documents.
If you are new to digital publishing, first find out if digital publishing is right for you. Or read about what content to publish with Calaméo if you are looking for inspiration! As you can imagine, companies use digital publishing in many different ways. Let’s explore these different uses for digital publishing and see how your business could benefit.
💡TIP: Another bonus to digital publishing? Tracking your publication’s statistics. Learn how here!
Marketing and communications
An online presence is crucial for businesses, so consider using a digital publishing platform like Calaméo for professional purposes. Have a product to sell or an idea to share? Digital publishing is a great sales, marketing, and communication tool. Try using digital publishing to upload and share your catalog or brochure online. PLATINUM members can use our Shopping links feature to sell products directly from the publication and make the customer journey shorter and easier.
Interactivity
One of the best things about digital publishing that sets it apart from printed media is that it is an interactive experience. Flip the page, click on links, watch videos, zoom in and out…the list goes on! Add a call to action to your publication to give your customers a clear path. Create a clickable button that directs the readers to the next step, whether that is to complete their purchase, find out more about your service, or to learn more on your website.
Personalization
Another way that Calaméo can make your business shine is with personalization. Add your logo to the viewer or opt for our White Label feature! You can even tailor Calaméo’s viewer to your company’s colors and brand image with a custom Theme. [link Chloé liseuse article?].
Follow this tutorial to create a unique Theme that shows off your digital publication and your company’s style: Themes tutorial.
Sharing and embedding
Printed business materials are quickly going by the wayside. Consumers today prefer to receive information digitally. By transforming your documents into digital publications, your business can share materials instantaneously with a large audience. You have several options for sharing your digital publication, depending on the channel that works best for you and your (potential) customers.
Once you have created your digital publication, consider embedding it into your blog or website. Your website visitors will be able to view your publication while on your website, creating a complementary user experience. Learn how to embed your documents in a website here: Embed tutorial.
With Calaméo, you have full control over who can see your publications. Spread your message far and wide with a large audience with public access. Conversely, you can keep your audience small by sharing privately or using our Subscribers feature. However and with whomever you choose to share your publications, Calaméo has an option for you!
Try it out
Want to see for yourself where Calaméo can take your business? Try our PLATINUM features for free with a two-week demo! Join millions of other digital content creators on Calaméo and turn your documents into rich digital publications.
