Follow Along For Progress
The rising content trend that could grow your business. Plus, an essay on stores locking up toothpaste, new Instagram features to know about, and an easy way to make your phone less tempting.
The Kind of Content Where Everyone Wants to Follow Along
This content trend has been around for ages in one form or another. Picture the original Project Runway TV series, where viewers could watch fashion designers complete a dress or outfit from sketch, to fabric shopping, to construction, to finished product—complete with mistakes big and small, emotional meltdowns and triumphs, plus feedback and critiques from their peers and from professionals.
While it’s not exactly new, over the last year or so, follow-along-for-progress content seems to have reached a new level of creativity. It’s so compelling to watch and consume. Viewers instantly feel intrigued with the process. They engage with the content by asking specific questions and offering suggestions. They stay tuned in and keep coming back because they want to see what will happen.
This kind of content is particularly human and vulnerable. To watch someone go from embarrassing novice to confidently competent, or even to impressive pro, is relatable—we’ve all been embarrassed novices, and it’s inspiring—because we can see proof that their hard work and creativity produced actual results!
Not only is this style of content compelling, but it can be extended along any length of time—from a few weeks to a few years. This takes the heavy lifting out of figuring out what you’re going to post. Some creators use a series like this to sell a related product. Others use the series to build a following and interest in them as a creator, so that they can access brand deals or launch a product from the platform they’ve built.
More importantly, follow-along-for-progress content is so varied, and can be applied to so many topics and categories, that it hasn’t become overdone or played out yet. There is still plenty of room to explore this kind of follow-along-for-progress content series and see if it would work for you or your business goals.
Here are a few examples of creators who are doing it well:
