Edutainment Takes Centre Stage:
The Rising Trend from CES 2024 and Its Impact on Social SEO
By
Kait Shiels
CES never fails to infuse the new year with excitement as it unveils technological innovations and trends poised to power 2024. Beyond the usual spectacle of groundbreaking gadgets and visionary tech, this year’s event also highlighted important marketing trends. A highlight was the exploration of the next stage in storytelling; the pivotal role of ‘edutainment’ in crafting content that captivates and engages, combating a marketer’s most formidable challenge – dwindling attention spans.
Understanding Edutainment
The fusion of educational content with entertainment – known as ‘edutainment’ – is emerging as a strategy for enhancing audience engagement and retention. This content style leverages the allure of entertainment to heighten shareability, while simultaneously embedding educational value to enrich the audience’s experience. Imagine a VR experience where you not only watch but also participate in a NASA space exploration mission, learning about space in a highly immersive way. Or an interactive game that teaches sustainable living practices while players navigate a virtual eco-friendly city. This style of experience caters to the demand for content that is quick, highly engaging and informative. But how does this translate into social media?
Edutainment as a Social Media Powerhouse
Social media has transformed the way we consume content, and edutainment is riding this wave. Platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube present a fertile ground for edutainment content, where creative visuals, storytelling and interactive elements combine to create a social media powerhouse. This content doesn’t just inform; it sparks conversations, engages emotions and can go viral, making learning a shared social experience. At this year’s CES, several exhibitors leveraged edutainment to great effect. TikTok’s presence was not merely a showcase of their product features, but also a platform for brands to deploy concise, engaging, yet informative videos to demystify complex technologies in relatable terms. Such content design not only aligns with the browsing habits of modern social media users but leverages the algorithm of these platforms, amplifying the content’s reach and impact.
The Intersection of Edutainment and Social SEO
Improving the SEO of your social media marketing is based on optimizing content for enhanced discoverability and shareability on your chosen platform. In an era where social media platforms are often the primary portal for information discovery, strong SEO practices are crucial for brands to distinguish themselves and effectively engage their target audience. The key to this strategy is not just the traditional focus on keyword and hashtag optimization, but also ensuring text-based features like alt-text, and closed captions, and ensuring clear and concise captions are incorporated in all your edutainment posts to help audiences find your content more easily. We also recommend tagging your location and optimizing your social profile by ensuring relevant words are used in your bio and headline.
Navigating the Challenges of Edutainment
The incorporation of edutainment into social media marketing offers the potential for heightened engagement, audience expansion and the cultivation of brand loyalty. However, marketers will need to navigate the challenges this content style presents. The right balance between educational value and entertainment appeal must be achieved; posts must be engaging without compromising on relevance. Content cannot become overly simplistic or excessively technical. Understanding the nuances of each social media platform and tailoring edutainment content to specific audience segments is a task both time-intensive and essential for the content’s success. Brands need to work with content marketers who have a strong comprehension of the audience preferences and behaviors on each platform. Finally, hyperfocus on collaboration is key; engaging with educators, entertainers and influencers can infuse the content with new perspectives and specialized expertise.
Looking Ahead: Edutainment’s Evolution in Social Media Marketing
Following CES 2024, the advancements announced in AR, VR and AI offer social media marketers a ripe opportunity for edutainment content. Whilst emerging AR and VR technologies with naturally lend themselves to edutainment becoming more immersive and interactive, these experiences will need to use AI for hyperpersonalization to ensure content is catered to individual preferences and learning styles. We also expect to see a strong integration with e-commerce, promising to revolutionize how brands interact with customers, turning brand education opportunities into potential points of sale.
The key to successful edutainment is in the balance. It’s about understanding your audience’s preferences and crafting content that educates without overwhelming and entertains without diluting the message. This balance is what makes edutainment a powerful tool in social media marketing.
Edutainment is more than just a trend; it’s a strategy that can significantly enhance social SEO and brand presence. Its ability to simplify complex concepts and make learning enjoyable is invaluable in today’s fast-paced, information-rich environment. Marketers are encouraged to embrace edutainment, experimenting with different formats and technologies to discover what resonates best with their audiences. The future of marketing is dynamic, and edutainment is at the forefront of this evolution.
Kait Shiels is Founder and Managing Director of Spark Social Agency
