The most recent ephemeral narrative I interacted with was an Instagram story posted by a tattoo artist. They had a cancellation and hoped to book someone in the same day, with a generous discount rate offered on flash pieces. Sadly, I did not see the post until my late-night scroll before bed. I wanted to kick myself – I had the notifications on for the artist’s posts, but not their stories! From their subsequent story posts, I saw that the Instagram story was quite effective, as they booked someone in a few hours later. However, like me, many followers saw the post late, which prompted the artist to promise more flash sales soon. So, not only did using an ephemeral narrative allow them to reach their goal, but its fleeting nature also promoted further, more profitable business in more expensive flash sales. My initial interaction with the post made me think of Barnea et al.’s discussion of scarcity; while they argued that scarcity does not always play the same role in ephemeral marketing as it does in traditional economics, in this case, it somewhat did. Because followers believed the deal to be a “limited edition” product, they expressed their disappointment and were willing to pay a higher rate later on when they believed themselves to be getting a comparable deal. This made me think that while we may not consider ephemeral communications as “scarce” per se, their use in marketing (particularly, the sale of a product or service) does contain the same scarcity aspect as old business models.
Along the same lines, my reaction to the post (albeit
delayed) also highlighted the role of time pressure and competition in
ephemeral narratives and how these factors drive our valuation of them and
their business (Barnea et al., 2023). Additionally, the post exemplified
Wakefield’s theories on social bonding (through consumer-producer engagement
and bringing together like-minded followers for demand), action (through the
urgency of booking), and loyalty (through marketing to a niche, established,
smaller network). Reflecting on this interplay of theory and execution, I
gained a better understanding of the pros and cons of ephemeral narratives,
specifically through a small business lens. As explored by both aforementioned
texts, different levels of ephemerality work best for different products and
audiences; this post worked as the high ephemerality was needed to reach a
small, loyal audience within a short timeframe. However, while this tactic
favoured the tattoo artist, it worked against consumers (like myself) who saw
the post too late and may be duped into seeking similar “limited edition” flash
sales that are marginally cheaper than the others. The Instagram story also
made me aware of how ephemeral narratives lead me down social media rabbit
holes, where I go deeper and deeper into looking at other people’s linked
accounts (like the person who ended up getting the tattoo) and going through
various stories to create brief parasocial relationships with these online
strangers; this online danger of social comparison is something I’d like to
avoid, especially given Kim and Kim’s research on its more serious effects on
self-image possibly catalyzed by high ephemerality. So, while I would love to
try and create more ephemeral content as a producer, its efficiency and the
psychology behind it make me wary as a consumer. Going forward, I would be
curious to learn about whether repeat visits to ephemeral content (like
rewatching a Snapchat post or Instagram story) impact the business-consumer
relationship and explore in more detail how/if the rise of highly ephemeral
platforms is changing our face-to-face social interactions.
Works Cited
Barnea, U., Meyer, R. J., & Nave, G. (2023). The Effects
of Content Ephemerality on Information Processing. Journal of Marketing
Research, 60(4), 750-766.
https://doi-org.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/10.1177/00222437221131047.
Kim, D., & Kim, S. (2023). Social Media Affordances of
Ephemerality and Permanence: Social Comparison, Self-Esteem, and Body Image
Concerns. Social Sciences, 12(2), 87.
https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci12020087.
Wakefield, L. (2024). Conceptualizing ephemerality in online
marketing communication for consumers and firms. European Journal of
Marketing, 58(6), 1437-1462–1462.
https://doi.org/10.1108/EJM-05-2022-0366.
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