Everything you need to know about micro-content
Micro-content, as it name signals, is a short piece of content, a summary, or even a teaser, for longer texts and visual pieces. It is succinct, compelling and bold in its communication and extremely effective with social media.
Micro-content could take the form of a digital image or a video. We, at LeContent, specialize in creating visuals, and produce brand videos less often. The essence of micro-content lies again in the strong, compelling visual, which manages to influence immediately. The image usaully combines with a clever punch line, while both image and text make a direct reference to your brand message. Content pieces are specifically designed for different social medias.
Micro-content is most often offered to a brand audience in a series and works as cheering or informational daily gig, which builds a long-term conversation. The content itself could be about a new product offering, opinion on a relevant topic, mention of a distinctive event and so on.
Micro-content could take the form of a digital image or a video. We, at LeContent, specialize in creating visuals, and produce brand videos less often. The essence of micro-content lies again in the strong, compelling visual, which manages to influence immediately. The image usaully combines with a clever punch line, while both image and text make a direct reference to your brand message. Content pieces are specifically designed for different social medias.
Micro-content is most often offered to a brand audience in a series and works as cheering or informational daily gig, which builds a long-term conversation. The content itself could be about a new product offering, opinion on a relevant topic, mention of a distinctive event and so on.
TIPS:
I. Things to consider before choosing micro-content for soutable content format:
1. Is your audience active on social media? If yes, then on which platforms?
If you are not well informed about these facts, a short research on the web could help you find the answers. Look through the social media pages of your competitors and other companies in the same sector as yours. See which are the most popularly used channels and what type of content is featured on them. Which type of content is most appreciated by the online audience?
2.) With what topic could you get your customers interested? What is your information resource here?
Think long-term. A single micro-content post won’t bring much results. Plan a series of content pieces bound on same topic, idea, concept. (Our regular packages include a series of three pieces.)
A few working options:
A. Build a brand story - piece by piece
Conceptualize your brand story and narrate it to the audience through interesting content: images, thoughts, recommendations, comments related to past and current events. Next to the history of the mark, make sure you communicate its core values and essence.
B. Content filter, one of the favorite
Choose a topic and get commited to providing useful information on it to your customers. For example, if you are selling specialzed clothing for yoga practice, update your audience on current trends and events in the world of yoga. In order to be appreciated though, this should be filtered, unique and valuable content.
Take also the chance to challenge your followers with controversial and provoking questions. This will win you feedback more easily and lead to real interaction with your audience.
II. How to prepare your available content
1.) Copy text
The text for your micro-content should follow the same requirements as every text for advertisement. It should be short, catchy, even melodic, and it should compel to action (indirectly!). Look through our portfolio (located at the end of our Micro-content webpage) to get a better idea of the expected text. If hunting for inspiration on the net, keep in mind copyrights.
If providing final copy, overview it for grammar or spelling mistakes, before sending it to us. The text is usually taken word for word.
2.) Images
The provided by you images should be in relatively high quality (over 900 pxl wider side, minimum). What sells is beautiful pictures, so look for nice colors, good focus, strong composition by your selection. Images should also function successfully together (be conceptually bound) with the provided text.
If you don't have suiting images you have the copyrights on, we recommend you to use free or paid stock images offered by a number of websites and not risk downloading randomly from the net.
III. Client questionnaire guidelines
I. GENERAL INFORMATION Qs
Question 1 - You should provide first and last name of the main contact person we are going to communicate with during our collaboration process.
Question 2 - Most of our communication with the client is conducted via e-mail. As our observation of deadlines relies exceedingly on your timely feedback, you should provide a mailbox which you are sure you will review regularly.
Question 3 - You should provide the name of the company/ brand the content will be about.
Question 4 - This should be the web address of the company provided on the previous question.
Question 5 - Describe your company in terms of: In what field does your company specialize? What is the product or service you offer? What is the main customer benefit you offer? Resolution of a problem, achievement of a desired outcome or fulfillment of a need.
Question 6 - Describe your customers in terms of location of residence, nationality, age, gender (if relevant), financial and educational status, lifestyle, values.
Question 7 - A brand personality is similar to a person’s personality and is something your customers can relate to. Imagine your brand is an individual. What qualities/values would he/she have?
Question 8 - Continuing from the previous question, how does this person usually talk, what is his voice? Official, casual, emotional, bold, restrained, smart, authentic, personal, down-to-earth, etc.
II. CONTENT & DESIGN Qs
Part A - LITE pack
Question 1 - We will use this title to refer to your project in our communication with you and inside our team.
Question 2 - Social media is a poignant tool for developing whole advertising campaigns, as it allows prolonged interaction with a brand audience. If you plan a larger effort in attracting attention (to a company or product), it is good to let us know, so that we can set the content in a wider context.
Question 3 - Here you should provide the exact text which you want to appear in your micro-content. It is your responsibility to provide text correct in terms of grammar and spelling.
You have a separate type-in field for the copy text for the different pieces of the content series. No matter how many pieces of content you have in mind, start with filling in the first text box first. Then assign same numbers (content 1,2,3) to the images you will provide, if you have specific combinations (text + image) in mind.
Question 4 - This information ensures we got your idea right and will match it with an image which will serve the right purpose.
Make sure you match the creative with the straightforward meaning of your copy ( Qs 3 and 4) text correctly.
Question 5 - The different syles expalined:
CORPORATE/ BALANCED
Balanced for every aesthetic taste and is more recognizable a corporate content. Simple and clean design. Colors are mostly limited to your brand color scheme.
ARTISTIC/ CONCEPTUAL
Again, clean, as in corporate design, but with some creative push. More freedom of colors and forms is allowed. Suitable for luxury brands or institutions in the field of the arts, as it provides a sophisticated visual feel.
BRAVE/ RICH
Attractive and entertaining for the eye. Employs funky typography, bright, eccentric colors, surprising illustrations.
Question 6 - The brand style guide is a set of approved standards on the visual communication of your brand. It defines specific types, colors and imagery for the creation of advertising or other branded materials, so that there is consistency in the brand's commercial look.
Question 7 - The examplary designs could feature not only micro-content but any visual content you like. These designs are used only as guidelines and inspiration - they won't, by no means, be copied one-to-one.
Question 8 - Each social media platform features content with a specific character and format. Some media, as Instagram, find their valuable content solely in images, while other push to the front text and its visual interpretations. There is also a requirement for specific format for different platforms. Sizes vary also for the purpose of the image.
Both our regular packages have a series of 3 micro-content pieces included in their price and each piece gets up to 3 different resizinings for various social media. In case you want a regular Facebook post and then the same content for a cover photo, these are regarded as a separate resizings.
Any micro-content intended for the rest of the internet, including visuals for online advertising, should fit in the field "Other". Social media platforms have wider restrictions for advertising content, so make sure you familiarize yourself with them, before choosing a medium.
Question 9 - We upload finalized project on our website (www.lecontent.eu) in order to showcase our capabilities and help our clients get a quick idea of different product we offer. Still, we will never feature your content on our website, if we don't have your explicit consent.
Part B - ADVANCED pack
Question 1 - We will use this title to refer to your project in our communication with you and inside our team.
Question 2 - Example: Let's imageine you are a manufacturer and retailer of cosmetics. Your general target market are women between age of 16 and 60. However, you are launching a new, hip, summer line of products suited for teenagers. In this case, you are narrowing down the group of customers you aim to promote your product to.
Question 3 - Social media is a poignant tool for developing whole advertising campaigns, as it allows prolonged interaction with a brand audience. If you plan a larger effort in attracting attention (to a company or product), it is good to let us know, so that we can set the content in a wider context.
Question 4 -
A. narrate brand story - This topic makes easy and interesting content, which to make for a prolonged conversation with the audience (depending how long the history of your brand is ;)). Tell your brand's story through images, thoughts, recommendations, comments related to past and current events, core values and essence.
B. attention to specific topic - Pick a topic which relates to the aimed image and projected values for your brand. Share your postion on it, together with valuable information for the audience.
C. promote product or event - Concentrate on a new product or current event related to your brand. Show the best of it, make it look interesting and fun, through clever, attractive visualizations.
D. another aim - It's okay to have anything else in mind. Just let us know and make sure you explain it well on Question 5
Question 5 - The more you tell us about your goals, the better. Set your stream of conciousness free.
Question 6 - This information ensures we got your idea right and will match it with an image which will serve the right purpose.
Question 7 - The more efficient communication method - straighforward or creative, depends on the type of audience you will address. In the creative a metaphorical expression of ideas is sought after.
Question 8 - Do you want your audience to relate to the content on an emotional or an logical level? An example for emotional appeal is a picture of a happy dog surrounded by a family in a micro-content piece promoting animal adoption. A logical appeal will a simple visualization (without any disturbing visuals) of some text giving out the incidence of misfortunes while travelling abroad in content promoting accident insurance during holidays.
Question 9 - Humor can be a useful means for reaching people and holding attention. It is welcome in defferent degrees depending on specific topics and purposes. In content creation humor could be sought after with the choice of hilarious photograph or the conception of a funny slogan.
Question 10 - The different syles expalined:
CORPORATE/ BALANCED
Balanced for every aesthetic taste and is more recognizable a corporate content. Simple and clean design. Colors are mostly limited to your brand color scheme.
ARTISTIC/ CONCEPTUAL
Again, clean, as in corporate design, but with some creative push. More freedom of colors and forms is allowed. Suitable for luxury brands or institutions in the field of the arts, as it provides a sophisticated visual feel.
BRAVE/ RICH
Attractive and entertaining for the eye. Employs funky typography, bright, eccentric colors, surprising illustrations.
Question 11 - The different visual elements expalined:
ICONS
Icons are most popular when it comes to data-driven infographics. They are very simple, one-color illustrations aimed at creating specific associations of meanings. Designers use them also to illustrate numbers in an interesting way.
ILLUSTRATIONS
Illustrations are hand-drawn. This makes them much more detailed than icons and for that reason they are used in much larger sizes in infographics. An infographic could also be build around a single big illustration.
Illustrations complement very well text-based content with visual narrative. They are interesting to look at by themselves and could have negative - distractive - effect for infographics which are more serious and data-driven.
TYPOGRAPHY
Typography based inforgraphics are visualizations accomplished only (or mostly) through the skillful play with text. Words or phrases themselves, set in interesting typefaces and graphic arrangements, make the visual elements here. The result is a much more dynamic and engaging text, which, apart from its content, provides a bunch of graphic detailsfor entertainment.
PHOTOS
Photographs aren't a very popular visual resource for creating infographics, but their use is justifed in the cases when the graphic features information about a company product, known people, places or when a more realistic depiction of an event is useful.
Finding the right photos for a particular subject might turn up difficult sometimes, as often copyrights or certain image quality are required.
When the photos for the project are not supplied by the client, we use stock photography and in certain cases produce the needed shots by ourselves.
Question 12 - The brand style guide is a set of approved standards on the visual communication of your brand. It defines specific types, colors and imagery for the creation of advertising or other branded materials, so that there is consistency in the brand's commercial look.
Question 13 - The examplary designs could feature not only micro-content but any visual content you like. These designs are used only as guidelines and inspiration - they won't, by no means, be copied one-to-one.
Question 14 - Each social media platform features content with a specific character and format. Some media, as Instagram, find their valuable content solely in images, while other push to the front text and its visual interpretations. There is also a requirement for specific format for different platforms. Sizes vary also for the purpose of the image.
Both our regular packages have a series of 3 micro-content pieces included in their price and each piece gets up to 3 different resizinings for various social media. In case you want a regular Facebook post and then the same content for a cover photo, these are regarded as a separate resizings.
Any micro-content intended for the rest of the internet, including visuals for online advertising, should fit in the field "Other". Social media platforms have wider restrictions for advertising content, so make sure you familiarize yourself with them, before choosing a medium.
Question 15 - We upload finalized project on our website (www.lecontent.eu) in order to showcase our capabilities and help our clients get a quick idea of different product we offer. Still, we will never feature your content on our website, if we don't have your explicit consent.
Part C - Pack AT WISH
1. Visual identity for social media - Concepting the best visual representation of your company on social media: creating cover and profile images for various platforms.
2. Campaign related - A set of visualizations for all key moments of your campaign (customizable number of images, better price)
3. Monthly plan - A set of visualizations reflecting your peak brand activities for the month.
4. Infographic extended pack - Share the infographic we created for you, for different mediums than social ones, piece by piece and prolong the returns form it by splitting it in a series of micro-content pieces.
