Why generic content no longer cuts it – and what brands must do next.
Since 1941 and for more than six decades, broadcast was the only game in town. One format, one audience, one set of rules. Ads evolved, become spectacular and had entire companies marketing budgets thrown at them. However, the marketing landscape is drastically different place now.
First to the digital ads game was YouTube in 2005. It wasn’t just a video site, it was a seismic shift in how audiences engage with media. From that moment, the concept of a “universal video” began to unravel. Today, marketers face a fractured landscape of platforms, each with its own language and logic. What worked for TV no longer works for online, and what worked for online five years ago, no longer works today.
So how do we navigate it?
The Platform Problem
We now live in an age of hyper-targeted, context-sensitive media. Ads run on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Amazon, and OTT platforms like Hulu – each requiring different creative, formats, and attention strategies. The assumption that one video can serve all these platforms is outdated and ineffective.
Time and time again, we’ve seen brands fall into the trap of a generic suite of assets that they utilise cross-platform only to see limited results.
Research shows that tailoring content to each channel increases engagement and ROI. Meta reports a 71% increase in return on ad spend when advertisers create platform-specific creative Meta for Business. That’s a HUGE statistic and game changer for potential revenue! This is not about preferences, it’s about how people consume content today. Each platform is a different psychological environment.
YouTube: Where Attention Starts
YouTube remains the most powerful video marketing tool globally, with more than 2.7 billion users and occpying the number 2 spot for biggest search platform, behind Google. It rewards creators who understand its CPV (cost-per-view) model, meaning you only pay if someone watches 30 seconds. This encourages bold, fast-starting creative that hooks viewers instantly.
Importantly, users come to YouTube to watch, not to scroll. That makes it ideal for longer-form content that entertains or educates. Some of the most engagemenet heavy videos are 45+ minute long! And while Youtube Shorts is a rising force, it does not compete in revenue share to TikTok, thus it becomes more of a supplementary source for creators rather than a staple.
Facebook & Instagram: Visual, Quick, Shareable
Meta’s platforms lean into passive discovery. Users aren’t actively searching for video, they’re encountering it between social updates. That means content has to grab attention instantly, work without sound, and offer social value. We’ve seen the rise of Insta-hooks, both visual and audio, subtitles on everything, meme interactions and more – just to get a slice of your attention. As for content types – humor, humanity, and visual polish are the top rankers and matter more than length or production value.
Instagram skews younger and more visual than Facebook, but the same rule applies: design for the scroll. Forget long intros or slow builds. Your first second is your last chance.
A great resource is Ava from Personal Brand Launch on Instagram.
TikTok: Authenticity Over Perfection
TikTok is where culture happens in real time. Its audience, heavily Gen Z, doesn’t care about polish. If anything it rejects it. It rewards brands that are quick, real, and willing to play. TikTok’s default bidding method, oCPM, is designed to prioritize conversions, but only if your creative feels native to the feed.
TikTok is also the BEST place to A/B test, as it is the only platform that allows multiple uploads of virtually similar videos in order to see what performs best. And no this isn’t a hack, TikTok actually promotes it!
Content that works here looks like it belongs. That means lo-fi, trend-driven, and emotionally resonant. It’s not a platform for control freaks. If your brand can’t move fast and take risks, TikTok might not be for you.
LinkedIn: The Outlier
LinkedIn offers some of the highest CPMs in digital advertising and some of the weakest returns unless your creative aligns with a specific goal like recruitment or B2B brand awareness. Users are in career mode, not consumer mode. Sales-driven content often falls flat. To be completely honest, we avoid it almost entirely.
If you can tell authentic stories about your people or your purpose, it’s worth testing. Otherwise, spend your money elsewhere.
Final Thought
Marketers who treat video like a commodity are falling way, way behind. Success now requires strategic intent before the camera starts rolling. Pick your platform, know your audience, and design creative that fits both. The media landscape is only getting noisier.
As a production company, we obsess over these details as our success is based on the success of those we work with. So it’s imperative that as a brand, agency, or company, you find a production partner that knows the media landscape intimately.
Relevance isn’t optional, it’s the new baseline.
