The pandemic and stay-at-home orders caused a dramatic shift toward remote work, digital media, and expanded virtual social activities. With little else to turn to while movie theatres, theme parks, shopping malls, and F&B establishments were shuttered, people increasingly relied on social media for news, updates, and general escape. Amid a slew of misinformation, reputable sources took to Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, Zalo, and more in an effort to counteract COVID-19 myths while sharing valuable, helpful stories and news.

Thus far, these platforms and the businesses that use them are seeing a higher demand for interaction. Users turn to preferred or even new online mediums for both news and entertainment. TikTok, for example, saw a dramatic increase in daily users when Facebook didn’t quite live up to the challenge.

Facebook’s shortcomings were at an all-time high during the infamous October outage experienced across the platform and its subsidiaries Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp. It’s not a question of if the outages will happen again, but when, requiring brands and advertisers to put proactive plans in place to avoid future opportunities.

Further, the last two years have seen users engage with brands even more while watching videos. Instagram Reels and Facebook Watch are Facebook’s response to TikTok’s growing popularity and threat. Reels and Watch remain a preferred video resource among Vietnamese users more than any other platform.

Still, social media platforms’ battle for attention rages on, as the ‘rules of the game’ change almost daily. Videos that do not capture users’ attention in the first three seconds fail to capture attention at all, which is why many brands are resorting to things like hashtag challenges on TikTok because it allows them to have an effective impact on purchasing behaviour even if their video goes unseen.

The process of creating a social media strategy has changed. As users spend more time online, brands are forced to be more active, engaging, relevant, and consistent. This involves everything from content style to visual direction.

• Employ a simplified message: Shortened attention spans have users moving through content at a pace faster than ever before; it’s essential that your key message be delivered in the first three seconds. If your objective is brand, make your point clearly, quickly, and with impact; if conversion is your objective, focus on the product or service you provide.
• Reflect the ‘new normal’ in your content: As people feel more confident leaving their homes and gathering in groups, they want to see content that reflects a ‘new normal’ lifestyle. Health and safety have risen as critical differentiators in brand experience in the COVID-19 era; offer consumers peace of mind ahead of anything else. Also note, following the darkest days of the pandemic, people seek mental pleasure, joy, spiritual support, and helpful, relevant content in the wait of brighter days.
• Create a personal connection: The pandemic highlighted users’ want for more authentic, untouched content from brands and creators. Partner with influencers and encourage followers to submit user-generated content (UGC) to add a human touch to your image and message. Let your customers become part of your brand story or ambassadors for your brand by allowing them to craft their own brand experience journey.