If you’ve been on social media in the past few years, odds are you’ve seen a piece of lo-fi content. Lo-fi is short for “low-fidelity,” which essentially refers to content that has a DIY feel and requires minimal production. No fancy shoots, locations, or actors—just some quick content shot on a phone.
Lo-fi content has always existed to some extent, but it’s become super popular on social media recently for a number of reasons.
- Tools: It’s never been easier to create content on mobile. This started with Stories and continued with TikTok, Reels, and more.
- Speed: There are new trends every hour on social media (literally), and if brands want to catch them while they’re still hot, there’s no time for a whole production.
- Budgets: During COVID, brands dealt with a lot of budget cuts and had to learn to be scrappy and resourceful while still creating great content.
- Authenticity: Brands have to be authentic in order to succeed on social media—and the rawness and realness of lo-fi content allows it to “fit in” in the feed in a way that branded content couldn’t before.
So, now that you know what lo-fi content is and why it’s become so popular, you might want to create some. Here are a few of our tips.
- Don’t overthink it. That’s the whole point! If you’re putting as much effort into lo-fi content as you are into your high-production shoots, it probably isn’t worth doing. Have fun with it!
- Go behind the scenes. If you are doing a bigger, high-production shoot, have someone use their phone to capture quick behind-the-scenes content that gives your audience a peek behind the camera.
- Hop on trends. Like we mentioned before, there’s no time for a whole production when you want to hop on a trend. So, go lo-fi!
And last but not least: inspo, of course! Here are a few brands creating awesome lo-fi content on TikTok and Reels.
Peter Thomas Roth
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Chipotle
@chipotle The way the sour cream pours 💆♀️🤍 #chipotle #asmr #organization #viral #fyp
Oreo
@theoreoofficial No thoughts, just Apple Cider Donut #oreo #oreocookies #oreotok #limitededition
U.S. Open
@usopen The hat, the mask, the shirt, the phone case, the watch, I can’t 😭🥰 #tennis #usopen #fan #sometimesallithinkaboutisyou
Likeable (pardon the shameless self-promo… 😉)
@likeable.media new phrase: “you bet your bippy” #casestudy #socialmedia #agencylife @greatwolflodge
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Want some help creating amazing lo-fi content of your own? Give us a ring.
