Aura Farming & Quiet Moments

How a kid on a boat in Indonesia is a trend your business can copy, while big brands everywhere have minimized their reels to maximize their impact. Plus more posts, trends, and reels to use this week.

Welcome to the week ahead.

A trend to hop on: Aura Farming

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A post shared by Aura_Farming_daily (@aura_farming_daily)

This viral meme recently resurfaced thanks to a slew of professional athletes using it as a celebration, and it has now gone viral again with several meme formats that you can follow. (Hint: it involves learning a dance). It's currently making the rounds on Tik Tok, and is in its infancy trend wise, making this the perfect opportunity to add to your reels. Here's what you can do.

For small businesses

The easiest way to hop on this trend is to follow the "Boat Racing" format or a variation of this format. Gather up a couple of co-workers, find the one with the most rhythm, and give them a pair of sunglasses.

In the foreground, have your "boat kid" do the dance, while in the background the coworkers either row the boat behind them, or better yet, work as normal. Add a little bit of camera movement like the original meme if you're feeling fancy.

Finish this with on screen text that celebrates a positive moment, use the original audio, and you've started aura farming.

For restaurants and offices, this is a easy way of showcasing a winning moment that could help spread your brand message, while beefing out your social media presence.

Examples: https://www.tiktok.com/@tuffjawn/video/7522557254940314911?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7494359455459755551

For creators

For individual creators or solo businesses, you can hop on this trend the same way as the "boat kid." Think of this as an emote or goal celebration; do the dance with sunglasses with a caption overhead that celebrates as sale or an action that you want your audience to take.

If you want to go the extra mile and it works for your brand, consider adding in the moving element or some sort of "boat" if you feel safe and comfortable.

Example Below

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A post shared by Crew Stories (@crewstoriesig)

Before / After

Before & After's are a timeless idea that work pretty much everywhere. However, this week's inspiration comes from probably the best looking iteration of this example, coming from @MasonHoracek on Instagram, a cinematographer.

Probably the best looking before & after in a while.

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A post shared by Mason Horacek (@masonhoracek)

So how can we use this?

For brands & businesses

This is a pretty easy idea to implement, that allows you to highlight both the behind the scenes work and the finished product. We mostly suggest this trend to those businesses who make things or have a really distinct before/after scenario: restaurants, clothing designers, construction companies.

To do this, simply film a bit of the behind the scenes work: scenes from the kitchen, a moment of designing, masonry being built. Then, film a moment of beauty B-roll of the finished product in a nice static shot that really accentuates the finished product. Repeat 2-3 times.

Then, add in some text in all caps (Before, After), add in your voice (Before, After), and finally the bell SFX.

You now have 3 examples of your work all while showcasing the work that goes behind it.

Going horizontal is optional.

For Individual Creators

This trend is for artists and creators of all kinds, and can really showcase the process of going from "nothing" to something for artists, or the behind the scenes moment for photographers & cinematographers.

We also think this is a great trend to hop on for individual business owners like makeup artists or interior designers, who can use this as a way of highlighting their service with easy examples that show the work behind the work.

(Hint: you should go give Mason a follow. His work is phenomenal)

Trending Audio: ATTENTION!

To be honest, I first saw this viral audio in a reel about some chicken tenders. In fact, it was this post here:

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A post shared by The Red Chickz (@theredchickz)

And after exploring the different reels that used this audio, we definitely recommend this as an easy piece of content that can use the instagram algorithm to boost your engagement.

For brands, businesses, and individual creators:

The way to use this trend is particularly easy. It is a simply two shots, and can be used as an advertisement for a product you want to highlight, or a piece of work you want to bring attention to.

Here are some great examples across industries on how you can implement this for your brand.

Fitness:

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A post shared by Nikki DeLuca | Online Fitness Coach (@nikkidelucafitness)

Travel:

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A post shared by Couples Travel • LGBTQ Destinations (@thetransparenttravelers)

Makeup:

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A post shared by Kaddy | Bridal Makeup Artist (@khbeautymua)

An easy piece of content that has high potential for any industry.

Last year, the style many brands chose was a feeling of maximalism, where each highly produced reel was a commercial full of SFX, VFX, and camera transitions/overlays. It has been all about catching your attention, and holding it with quick cuts.

But now recently a couple of brands have been trying a different alternative; minimalism. No cuts, no transitions, no music. Just ambient audio, lone voices, and a moment of quiet. It's something that stands out when everything is demanding attention.

Here's the original post that took me by surprise from running brand TrackSmithRunning. Look how simple and elegant it is, all while conveying the right emotion and right brand messaging.

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A post shared by Tracksmith (@tracksmithrunning)

We've been seeing this across other big brands as well.

Gatorade has had a couple of one-shot moments where they let either the camera or action create the story, instead of creating the story through multiple cuts.

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A post shared by Gatorade (@gatorade)

Adidas has been leading the way with a lot of their commercials using zooms and telling a story through dialogue. However, this post stands out. No cuts here, along with some interesting framing for clean art direction.

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A post shared by adidas Originals (@adidasoriginals)

So if you're a creative looking to pitch the next idea to a brand, consider a concept that is slow. In a world full of noise, people will be drawn to moments where they can enjoy the silence.

We do have to shout out Mason, not only for his beautiful grid and for being the shining example of our trend of the week, but also because he has led with some similar great ideas throughout his grid. Here is one that stands out to me:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DLaDgOUs5lh/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Give him a follow: https://www.instagram.com/masonhoracek/#

Good luck creating this week. If you have a trend, post idea or just want to highlight your work, reach out to us at UseThis@UseThisNewsletter.com