A good story, an old camera, and redefining the grid

August has begun, Lollapalooza will no longer be in our feeds, and countless platforms are tackling AI slop in a way that makes it feel like content is getting fresh again. So let's explore three ideas that showcase how simplicity and good storytelling go hand in hand, plus why the next social media trend is deinfluencing the influencer.

Let's get to the week ahead.

Good Storytelling: a customer phone call

Here's a line that is sure to go well in your next social media pitch meeting: "What if we just have customers tell people how good our restaurant is?"

Yet that is the main premise of this idea, showcasing how simple ideas paired with good and creative execution can make for something truly one of a kind on social media.

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A post shared by Kaprica X (@kaprica_x)

This post by Kaprica X (@kaprica_x) has gone viral, creating 1.2 million views around this story of customer losing a hat at a restaurant, and recounting his night to the person on the phone in an effort to find it. But the missing hat is the viral hook, the misdirecting story that gets viewers involved as they listen to a patron describing their night full of food, drinks, and laughter with friends. And what makes this a great piece are all the editing elements that support the story. Here we have

1. On-Screen Subtitles — telling the story with subtitles, so even those who scroll without audio get the story.
2. Showing & Telling – where the visuals line up directly with what we are hearing/reading on screen
3. Audio SFX — A phone call that sounds like a phone call

Now, to be fair, this idea is not as simple of an idea that we usually showcase: there are a lot of shots, cuts, and editing pizzazz to make this work. But the idea isn't dependent on flawless execution—in fact, if you look critically at the post, there are couple of things that we can be critical about from a filmmaking perspective. There's shaky footage, dim lighting, over-exposed shots. But none of that mattered because the story is good. And if the story is good, people will engage.

So while this execution may seem daunting — (there are programs like Davinci Resolve (free) and Capcut that can make editing something like this achievable) – the story it can tell for your brand makes it all worth it. So how can we use this?

For brands and businesses

The first step to this idea is crafting the story, and the easiest way to make this story is to combine why your customer chooses you with what you want your customer to know about your brand. Do you have the best workouts in town? The newest and best styles? The best brunch? Start here; this is your list of things to show/mention on the phone.

Then, combine that with what your customer might experience when they interact with you. Is it helpful staff, good food, or exceptional ambience? Or is it quick service, a nice waiting area, or a positive conclusion? This is your second piece: everything your customer did.

Combine the two with a misdirecting reason for a call — a lost item, a referral, or a wrong number — and you have the general story.

For example, for a gym, imagine a customer calling about a lost gym bag after an intense pilates class taught by a friendly instructor. The bag could either be near the spacious locker room or at the complimentary smoothie bar.

Or imagine a realtor, where a customer calls asking about a three bedroom house with a beautiful yard for kids to play in, a nice two car garage, and a lovely living room for hosting. Is it still available? The answer is yes.

Or a lawyer's office, whose receiving a call from someone asking if there case is something that you can take on and asking if all of the services you offer are true.

Whatever your story, craft it in a way that shows everything you want to tell about your brand, and make it a run through of your customer's experience. The idea isn't in what your brand or business does, but in everything your customer will experience when interacting with your business.

For creators

This one gets a little bit trickier for creators, but I think the story should be best set for those who want to showcase what collaboration could look like or what an experience can be like working with them. Here the story is showcasing everything you can offer over other creators, which you can pull from real experiences or real interactions with clients.

For freelance creatives, imagine this as a client calling to ask if you can make a video on a tight deadline that gets thousands of views with fancy effects. For book-tok creators, imagine this as a friend calling you to recommend a book, listing out the plot and character arcs of something you want to review.

The disposable film camera

This one has been making the rounds everywhere, and for good reason. It's an easy execution that is all about making the brand fun and personable. Here is a great one from a restaurant who is highlighting their back of house staff and everything they create.

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A post shared by QUITÉRIA (@quiteria.rio)

For brands & businesses (& creators)

This one is kind of easy to execute; hand someone a disposable camera, and then post the results. It's easy, simple, and can work for most industries and niches, from restaurants to clothing brands to construction. And while it may not result in polished and professional photography, the fun comes from the imperfection.

Why Use This?

The charm and fun that is emerging from good social media is a lack of polish; a feeling that the emerges when you make content that is human —imperfect, unmanicured, natural – all done to make something that feels personable and relatable. And personality is what can help brands stand out from the crowd in 2025.

Grid Pattern

While this one isn't necessarily a trend, it is an example of great execution and storytelling that can be used across niches and industries. Or maybe I'm just hungry this week.

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A post shared by Osteria Renata (@osteriarenata)

This execution is simple; a couple of shots of their storefront, their offerings, and people at work; yet each frame tells a short story and showcases everything that they want you to know. Fresh good food with a lot of personality. So how can we use this format for our own content?

For Brands and Businesses

To set this up, we should approach this as a combination of "day in the life" content with a "finished product" showcase. Take six different shots that highlight the day to day, establish the scene, and showcase a moment of the magic being made. Finally, finish with the final product, and you have yourself a mini ad.

For a gym, this could be a showcase of your workout classes, gym space, and friendly staff. For a creative company, a behind the scenes showcase of the work in progress and the final product. For a car dealership, a highlight of different cars at the dealership, or moments inside a singular car to showcase all the different features that car haves. Be creative and keep things simple.

How do you construct the grid? Well, here is where your favorite editing software comes into play along with a couple of youtube tutorials. I won't train it here, but.I personally like to use Davinci Resolve (it's free) and there are plenty of tutorials on how to edit and make grids on Youtube. Editing is an easy skill that everyone should learn, as it can help with every bit of content you start to make.

For creators & individuals

This one is your behind the scenes content play of the week. Your six scenes should be a mix of establishing your workspace, your work process, and then your final work piece. Moving from space to process to piece is an elegant way of showcasing your creativity or passion, and let's people see the person behind the persona. If there's one motto this week, I think it is that social media needs to become more social.

Lately, I’ve noticed a shift in the type of content that’s rising to the surface. Maybe it’s just my algorithm, but the feed feels different — a little quieter, a little more human. What used to be a steady trickle of anti-influencer sentiment — things like digital detoxes, dumb phones, off-grid van life — has turned into something more. It’s no longer a quiet rebellion; it’s a full-blown movement. The floodgates have opened, and the backlash to “influencer culture” isn’t just present — it’s trending.

It’s hard to pinpoint the exact moment this shift happened, but you can sense it in the tone of the content. The satire is sharper, the jokes hit harder. There’s a weariness behind the eyes of creators who’ve spent the last five years staging morning routines and building personal brands that now feel as flimsy as the matcha-swirled cardboard cups they’re sold in. Maybe it’s the Labubu effect — the inevitable cultural backlash to cute capitalism. Or maybe people are just tired. Tired of micro-celebrities selling us skincare routines sponsored by hedge funds. Tired of every moment feeling like a pitch deck.

Whatever the cause, the effect is clear: the next wave of popular creators aren’t polished. They’re not curating aesthetics or optimizing for conversion. The ones gaining traction feel real. Not “authentic” in the way that marketers weaponized the word, but authentic in the way your friend sounds calling you on a Sunday morning. They’re messy and unbranded but still intentional. And that feels refreshing.

This shift isn’t just aesthetic — it’s structural. The old model of content creation was built on aspiration: you followed people because you wanted their life, their body, their closet, their vacation. But aspiration has a shelf life, especially when it’s built on consumption. Eventually, people get wise to the fact that chasing someone else’s life means never really inhabiting your own. And what we’re seeing now is a return to content that values presence and personality over performance.

It’s worth paying attention to what this means for creators, brands, and anyone trying to build an audience. The success stories of the next few years probably won’t look like the last decade’s batch of hyper-curated, algorithm-pleasing influencers. They’ll look more like friends. Or at least like people who talk to their audience, rather than at them. People who don’t just generate content — they create connection.

If you’re trying to build something online, this is your moment to stop asking “What do people want to see?” and start asking, “What do I actually want to say?” The difference is subtle but seismic. Audiences are tired of being sold to. They want to be seen. And the people who are brave enough to show up as themselves — weird, warm, chaotic — might just find that the algorithm, for once, is on their side.

This week's creator of the week is (@shotbydcl). He's doing cinematic videos every day, and has been upping his game daily. 100 day challenges are hard, and something all of us should try at least once in our own content.