In this article, we analyze the relatable content trend and provide you with 20 actionable ideas for using this trend to market your brand.
Relatable content is a universal trend that is all about sharing unique and authentic content that resonates with your audience. Creators share frustrating situations, funny moments, daily life, and inside jokes with viewers.
The content is often raw and unedited and prioritizes relatability over perfection. Creators aren’t afraid to embrace and show their flaws, sharing their true selves with the audience.
The result? This approach is one of the best for building a strong emotional connection with your social media followers and customers, which drives trust, engagement, and brand loyalty.
Why Is Relatable Content Trending?
According to Zebracat, 54% of Gen Z customers are likelier to stay with brands if they show behind-the-scenes (BTS) content, and 48% say that they feel more connected to brands that show real people instead of polished models in their content and campaigns.
Gen Z is more likely to support brands that aren’t afraid to show their imperfections and vulnerabilities because doing so is authentic, which makes the brand more trustworthy.
Here’s why relatable content is instrumental in digital marketing:
- Emotional Connection: Sharing relatable situations fosters a genuine connection with your audience. Relatable content taps into the human need to feel understood and not alone. This connection builds trust and makes your content, brand, and promotions feel more human and trustworthy.
- Shareability: When people feel connected to you and your brand, they are more likely to engage with you in various ways, such as watching your full videos, commenting, liking, and sharing your content with their friends. This boosts your organic reach and gets the algorithm to favor your content, further boosting your exposure.
- Resonating Format: This content is typically presented as short-form videos, such as Reels, Shorts, and TikToks, or meme posts with text overlay or captions. The videos are typically bite-sized but can range from 15 to 60 seconds long, depending on the content.
Relatable Content Types and How To Use Them
There are various ways you can participate in the relatable content trend. You can post short-form videos or posts – up to you. Here are the options that perform best with the algorithms, along with how they should be presented:
TikToks, Reels, and Shorts
Aim for your videos to be 15-60 seconds long, as videos over 60 seconds long tend to lose people’s attention. Videos of this length will also encourage fast reactions and comment engagement. Ideally, keep short-form videos under 30 seconds.
Very Short Clips
These clips perform best on TikTok, Snapchat, and Stories. When sharing jokes or tiny moments, the best duration to aim for is 7-15 seconds. Keep it short, simple, and to the point.
Static Posts and Captions
Images, memes, and carousels with text overlay should be no longer than 5 images in a row or collage. The captions and text overlay should be short and to the point, no longer than 100 characters.
Mid-Length Content
Videos that are around 30 seconds long allow you to share a quick story with your audience while keeping the content bite-sized and maintaining your viewers’ attention.
Longer Short-Form Videos
These are best for when you need to add more context to your story. They can be 1-3 minutes long but should be used sparingly. Ensure that the extra minute or two of your story is super relatable or adds essential value to the video.
Remember, you only want to make videos longer when doing so undoubtedly increases the content’s value. Short-form content is super sensitive to fluff.
20 Relatable Content Ideas That You Can Implement Today
Here are 20 unique content ideas (with examples) that you can use to be relatable to your followers, leads, and customers:
- “A day in the life of a {your job title: marketer, content creator, police officer, photographer, writer, etc.}.” Use this caption and share the BTS of your day, funny moments, embarrassing situations, calls, and so forth.
- “You know you’re a {your job title: social media manager, installer, techy, developer, chef, mom, adult, etc.} when…” This one is similar to the previous one – share relatable moments from your space.
- “Things at my house that just make sense.” Say or type this in your video, then share what things in your house make sense to you.
You can reuse the same phrase for different stories. For example, “Things {at my job, in a client’s campaign, on my laptop, in my car, etc.} that just make sense.” - That feeling when something happens. For example: That feeling when your car runs out of gas halfway to work; That feeling when all your clothes are in the laundry and you have to put on your mom robe to open the door; That feeling when you’re the black sheep in the family; That feeling when you made your first million by 30 years old; etc.
- What can go wrong? Use this phrase when you’re sharing a story that may have an anticipated happy ending but turns out to be bizarre and out of the blue.
- Deep quotes, insights, or funny memes that describe why you are the way you are (realistically and sarcastically). Open up and be vulnerable with your audience while being helpful or entertaining at the same time.
- A funny and exaggerated video of you doing something ridiculous because of your mental health. This trend shines a comedic and sarcastic light on mental health issues that one may have, such as anger, depression, and anxiety.
- The phrase “When you finally realize” performs well when paired with relationship situations or business and gym motivation. For example: When you finally realize how much more money you can make by getting out of your comfort zone and learning a new skill.
- “How it feels to {be in a healthy relationship, be single, have money, do what you love for a living, etc.}.” Use this as a caption to your video or a text overlay, with clips of you, other people, or nature that relay the feeling you get from whatever is happening in your life.
- Red Bull for breakfast is a funny and relatable meme that you can model after with your products. The Red Bull one comes in many forms, but one of them goes like this: My body is excited to receive vitamins and nutrients in the morning, but getting an ice-cold Red Bull instead.
Here’s an example of modeling after this meme for someone promoting a marketing newsletter: My brain was waiting all night to be stimulated by today’s breaking news in politics, but getting actionable marketing tips from Vavoza Insider Plus instead. - “How others wake up vs how I wake up.” Share video clips or images of how you imagine other people wake up, followed by an exaggerated one of yourself when you wake up (or use a scene from a movie that fits your vibe). This is super relatable, as most people don’t wake up feeling glamorous.
- “Things I’m too old for.” Share a glimpse of your personal beliefs and opinions on certain subjects. For example: I’m 35 and I’m too old for road rage; I’m 40 and I’m too old to use WordPress instead of Estage; I’m 20 and I’m too old to stay in my comfort zone.
- “My top 3 {songs when I’m upset, marketing automation tools, exercises in the morning, travel essentials, etc.}.” Share your top 3 of something that others can relate to and benefit from.
- Failures and successes. Share the lessons you learned from your failures and losses. Similarly, share the lessons learned from your big wins.
- “Things I used to believe then vs now.” Share a subject and what you thought of it before and after something happened. Your thoughts can remain the same, evolve, or be the absolute opposite of what they used to be.
- “My unpopular opinion about {politics, science, relationships, advertising, gluten, etc.}.” Share your unpopular opinion in a short video and see if anybody else shares the same opinion. (Spoiler: chances are, they do, but they’re just not brave enough to start that conversation.)
- “Tell me what you do for a living without telling me what you do for a living.” Describe your job or daily activities without naming your profession. The goal is to make it obvious without mentioning exactly what you do so that people can guess it in the comments.
- “What I eat in a day.” Share a clip showing all of your meals throughout the day. Everyone eats, so it doesn’t get more relatable than this. If you happen to eat way more than others or eat unusual food, it’s a big plus for gaining views and engagement.
- “My mental health hike destination.” If you go for long hikes to clear your head, this one is for you. Share pictures or clips of your favorite scenic spots and yourself in them, and tag the location so that others can experience it for themselves if they want to.
- “What I thought it was like vs what it’s actually like.” Share a reality check on what you thought something would be like vs what it’s actually like. For example: What I thought paid advertising was like vs what it’s actually like.
Closing Remarks
Being relatable to your target market is undoubtedly one of the most crucial aspects of modern marketing.
In this article, we shared 20 actionable ideas for using relatable content to connect with your followers, leads, and customers.
Pick a few of the ideas we shared, think through how to make them applicable to your niche (which is possible when you think conceptually rather than literally), and start creating relatable content today.
Want more actionable tips continually? Subscribe to Vavoza Insider to access the latest business and marketing insights, news, and trends daily with unmatched speed and conciseness. 🗞️
Key Contributors: Stephanie Hill, Vlad Strizheus
