The content people remember rarely looks like marketing
Why stopping the scroll starts with earning attention, not demanding it.
Most businesses don't have a shortage of content.
They have a shortage of content people actually want to spend time with.
Open almost any social feed and you'll see organisations diligently publishing company news, product updates, service announcements, awareness days and carefully designed graphics. Much of it is perfectly professional. Very little of it makes you stop.
That distinction is becoming increasingly important.
The amount of content competing for our attention has grown enormously, while the amount of attention we're willing to give any individual piece of it hasn't.
For brands, simply showing up isn't enough anymore.
You have to give people a reason to stay.
They have a shortage of content people actually want to spend time with.
Open almost any social feed and you'll see organisations diligently publishing company news, product updates, service announcements, awareness days and carefully designed graphics. Much of it is perfectly professional. Very little of it makes you stop.
That distinction is becoming increasingly important.
The amount of content competing for our attention has grown enormously, while the amount of attention we're willing to give any individual piece of it hasn't.
For brands, simply showing up isn't enough anymore.
You have to give people a reason to stay.
Stop creating posts. Start finding stories.
One of the easiest traps to fall into is beginning with the content calendar.
It's Tuesday. We need a LinkedIn post.
We haven't posted a Reel this week.
We need something for Instagram tomorrow.
When the starting point is the channel rather than the audience, content quickly becomes something a business needs to fill.
A better starting question is much simpler:
What do we have that's genuinely worth someone's attention?
Sometimes the answer is a customer story. Sometimes it's a person with an interesting perspective, a process people rarely get to see, an unexpected detail, a strong opinion or a moment happening behind the scenes.
The role of the creative team is to find those stories and work out the most compelling way to tell them.
It's Tuesday. We need a LinkedIn post.
We haven't posted a Reel this week.
We need something for Instagram tomorrow.
When the starting point is the channel rather than the audience, content quickly becomes something a business needs to fill.
A better starting question is much simpler:
What do we have that's genuinely worth someone's attention?
Sometimes the answer is a customer story. Sometimes it's a person with an interesting perspective, a process people rarely get to see, an unexpected detail, a strong opinion or a moment happening behind the scenes.
The role of the creative team is to find those stories and work out the most compelling way to tell them.
We don't go into a shoot thinking about how many posts we need to come away with. We look for the moments, people and stories that will make someone feel something. That's where the best content usually starts.
Darren Mooney
Founder & Creative Director, Studio Global
It's a subtle change in mindset, but it produces very different work.
People respond to people.
There's growing evidence behind this.
LinkedIn's Creative Labs analysed more than 13,000 B2B video ads and found that the strongest performers weren't necessarily those with the biggest production budgets. Creative intention, emotion, cultural relevance and human storytelling were much more significant. In its research, authentic emotion increased engagement with brand-awareness video by 78%, while content featuring subject-matter experts generated a 40% engagement uplift.
That doesn't mean polished production has stopped mattering.
It means polish without substance isn't enough.
A beautifully lit interview with somebody saying something completely predictable is still somebody saying something completely predictable.
Likewise, shaky phone footage isn't automatically authentic just because it was shot vertically.
The strongest content often combines the two: professional creative thinking with the humanity and spontaneity audiences increasingly respond to.
LinkedIn's Creative Labs analysed more than 13,000 B2B video ads and found that the strongest performers weren't necessarily those with the biggest production budgets. Creative intention, emotion, cultural relevance and human storytelling were much more significant. In its research, authentic emotion increased engagement with brand-awareness video by 78%, while content featuring subject-matter experts generated a 40% engagement uplift.
That doesn't mean polished production has stopped mattering.
It means polish without substance isn't enough.
A beautifully lit interview with somebody saying something completely predictable is still somebody saying something completely predictable.
Likewise, shaky phone footage isn't automatically authentic just because it was shot vertically.
The strongest content often combines the two: professional creative thinking with the humanity and spontaneity audiences increasingly respond to.
One shoot shouldn't create one film.
There's also a practical benefit to thinking differently about content production.
A well-planned shoot can create an entire campaign ecosystem.
A founder interview might become a longer brand film, several short-form edits, individual soundbites and social clips. A supplier visit can produce photography, behind-the-scenes content, stories about provenance and material for future campaigns. Unscripted moments between takes can sometimes become more engaging than the planned piece to camera.
The aim isn't to squeeze as many assets as possible out of a day.
It's to create a rich enough bank of material that the brand has different stories to tell over time.
That also makes social content feel less repetitive because you're not continually trying to manufacture something new from behind a desk.
You're documenting something real.
A well-planned shoot can create an entire campaign ecosystem.
A founder interview might become a longer brand film, several short-form edits, individual soundbites and social clips. A supplier visit can produce photography, behind-the-scenes content, stories about provenance and material for future campaigns. Unscripted moments between takes can sometimes become more engaging than the planned piece to camera.
The aim isn't to squeeze as many assets as possible out of a day.
It's to create a rich enough bank of material that the brand has different stories to tell over time.
That also makes social content feel less repetitive because you're not continually trying to manufacture something new from behind a desk.
You're documenting something real.
Stopping the scroll is only the first job.
There is, however, a danger in becoming obsessed with attention.
A provocative opening, surprising visual or clever edit might stop somebody scrolling, but attention alone isn't the objective.
Recent advertising research has reinforced that point: higher attention doesn't automatically produce stronger brand outcomes in isolation. Reach, frequency and the wider media strategy still matter.
For businesses, the question therefore isn't simply: Will somebody stop?
It’s: Will the right person stop, understand what we're trying to say and remember who said it?
That's a much higher creative bar.
A provocative opening, surprising visual or clever edit might stop somebody scrolling, but attention alone isn't the objective.
Recent advertising research has reinforced that point: higher attention doesn't automatically produce stronger brand outcomes in isolation. Reach, frequency and the wider media strategy still matter.
For businesses, the question therefore isn't simply: Will somebody stop?
It’s: Will the right person stop, understand what we're trying to say and remember who said it?
That's a much higher creative bar.
Make something worth noticing.
The social platforms will continue to change. Formats will come and go. Algorithms will be updated and the latest trend will inevitably be replaced by another one.
But the fundamental challenge isn't new.
Businesses are competing for people's attention.
The answer isn't necessarily to publish more often or shout more loudly. It's to understand what is genuinely interesting about your organisation, your people, your customers and the world you operate in, then find creative ways to bring those stories to life.
Before creating your next piece of social content, don't start by asking what you should post.
Ask what would be worth paying attention to.
The answer will usually lead somewhere much more interesting.
But the fundamental challenge isn't new.
Businesses are competing for people's attention.
The answer isn't necessarily to publish more often or shout more loudly. It's to understand what is genuinely interesting about your organisation, your people, your customers and the world you operate in, then find creative ways to bring those stories to life.
Before creating your next piece of social content, don't start by asking what you should post.
Ask what would be worth paying attention to.
The answer will usually lead somewhere much more interesting.
