Social media is vast, yet some videos, audios, and challenges go viral in an instant. Some trends last the test of time, and others vanish in a week. Trends move so quickly it’s nearly impossible to predict, but while they’re in the spotlight, we can examine how they get there, why we love them, and why some may hate them. Let’s take a look behind our next trend, POV.
POV is a trend that has not been around since the dawn of the internet. POV, or point of view, is a trend that was born on and gained massive traction on TikTok. Despite the POV trend only going viral in the last few years, it already has the potential to be an ever-lasting trend like asmr and unboxing.
POV: You’re Learning About the POV Trend
The POV trend is a video that speaks directly to the viewer and inserts them into whatever scenario the creator has constructed. Often the creator will address the viewer directly or show the viewer a niche scenario from a first-person perspective.
What makes POV videos unique is that they have no common theme, in fact, it is probably one of the most versatile and expansive trends out there. Vice dubbed the trend TikTok’s “chameleon genre.” The videos can range from a funny skit to a fantasy plotline, to a shared childhood experience, or anything else a creator’s imagination can conjure up. There is no limit to the creativity that can be inserted into a POV video.
TikTok was released globally in 2018 and began gaining traction rapidly in the US in the following years. During these years, we begin to see the growth of POV trend videos. On Google Trends, the searches for TikTok POV began spiking in 2019 and reached peaks in July 2020, November 2021, and June 2022. This helps us to identify the start of POV was in mid-2019, and it began gaining traction in the TikTok influencer marketing universe and hasn’t stopped growing since.
How TikTok’s algorithm and FYP are set up is what’s believed to be a big part of the success of the POV trend. Users see content tailored to their interests on their TikTok feed, so the creator of the POV is more likely to reach people who will resonate with their content and find its intended audience. Combining the fact that POV videos can be highly unique and obscure with the fact they address the user and pull them into the video is a recipe for thumb-stopping content.
The POV trend has carved out a place in most TikTok niches and made its way across platforms. POV can make a home on any platform that supports short-form video, such as Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube (Shorts). However, the place POV truly thrives is on TikTok.
On TikTok, #POV has 732B views, #povstory has 1.1B views, and #povchallenge has 1.2B views, all of which grow every day. On Instagram, #POV has over 2.9M views.
POV PSYCH 101
We are the main characters in our own lives, and who doesn’t love being seen as the main character? POV content makes the viewer the main character!
POV videos have the power to reach people on a very personal level. POVs allow people to become involved in each other’s interests or relate to topics ranging from mundane everyday experiences to hyper-niche experiences. For example, creators can bring people into their fantasy or horror plotlines, share work or day-to-day experiences, and even give POVs into past traumas (that they can usually laugh about now).
Even if experiences are very obscure and unusual, there is always a group that can relate. This helps both the viewer and the creator feel seen and build a sense of community. POVs take people beyond the typical content and memes they see on social media and leverage the trend to appeal to shared human experiences (or fantasy experiences).
“That sense of belonging and interaction is a particular draw for young people. A survey conducted by the Royal Society for Public Health found that nearly 7 in 10 teens reported receiving support from friends and peers through social media during particularly challenging times in their lives,” says Alexandra Helfer, Psychology Today.
POVs enhance the support people feel, whether providing the feeling of escaping or allowing people to relate and vent.
TikTok’s raw and original content, in general, is highly appealing to people because of the relatability of the content and the joy and sense of belonging it brings to people. “POVs are anything but predictable. Instead of appealing to a common meme formula, POVs appeal to a common humanity,” says Caroline Haskins, Vice.
Can Brands use POV to Bring Relatability to Their Campaigns?
Brands can tap into POV content to create campaigns that are relatable to people, but it must be done carefully. The love of POVs stems from their originality and relatability. Marketers must be able to bring a very creative angle to their marketing when creating POV videos, or else it may come off as forced and inauthentic.
Since POVs are more about experiences than products themselves, creating POV content will require a unique angle and more creative brain power than it would for tapping into a trend like unboxing. The good news is that creators are highly skilled in creating relatable content, and there is a way to create an experience from any product.
If executed with maximum creativity, the campaign will shine and earn a positive response from target audiences.
“In creator marketing, I think they’re a great way to leverage a creator’s relatability to drive engagement, especially in the comment section. That said, with a long-standing trend like POV videos, it’s important to put a new spin on it to stand out on platforms and get creators excited about the creative strategy.”
– Glynnis Cummings, Account Manager
Tips for successful POV content:
- Give creators creative freedom, they know their followers best.
- Lean into comedy, even borderline absurdity, making people laugh earns positive engagement.
- Encourage duets with witty dialogue or interesting CTAs.
- Keep the content raw and not too over-produced.
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The POV trend has emerged in the last few years and is still flourishing on social media. The versatility of the trend makes it exciting and likely to be around for a long time. Have you tapped into the POV trend?
Open Influence’s creative marketing agency experts constantly stay on top of trends that will help you create winning campaigns. Reach out to us today to begin working on a fun and captivating campaign.
