Autumn Aesthetics: Why Fall Feels So Instagrammable

Open Instagram now, you are inundated with autumn aesthetics (however your algorithm is synced up). Fall social media trends have exploded in recent years, with visual marketing and seasonal content creation combining to make this – ironically – one of the hottest times of the year for the content creation economy.

Why is fall popular online? This isn’t just about warm tones and cozy aesthetics. People increasingly turn to social media after summer has retreated, with the nights drawing in and the temperature dropping. Viral fall trends are heavily driven by social media users’ need for serotonin and to keep seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, at bay.

Instagram vs reality

Of course, we need to flag how different autumnal algorithm friendly content is to the reality of this time of the year. Online it’s all pumpkin spice aesthetics and golden hour photography – crackling fireplaces, designer knitwear and even pumpkin décor.

The reality, as we know, is very different. This time of the year means the uncomfortable return of cold weather and biting wind. Of no more al fresco drinks or dining. Of mounds of wet leaves everywhere. Of mud and wet socks. This can be, when all is said and done, a bleak time which ironically drives people online more as they prefer the social media perception of autumn.

Instead, we prefer the moody lighting of fall, a coffee cup photo and blanket scarf aesthetics. The extreme coziness of social media content at this time of the year is linked to the psychology of being safe and at home. In many ways, we’re hibernating and waiting for the weather to improve and for the return to sunny holidays, BBQs and beer gardens!

Viral potential

This is also being driven hugely by sponsored fall content and affiliate marketing in fall is now one of the biggest marketplaces where today’s brands compete for our attention. Influencer marketing budgets soar around autumn, with ad spend in Q4 ramping up ahead of the festive run in. Social media engagement rates can be heavily impacted by aesthetic trends, with the hunt for likes and shares pivoting around fall content ideas.

The way these campaigns are supercharged by a focus on influencer marketing means it can be hard to avoid or ignore this content. TikTok fall trends, Pinterest fall ideas, and Instagram fall stories occupy our screens – all pushing cozy aesthetics, selling a Hallmark movie image of autumn.

Driving sales with aesthetics is nothing new, or restricted to autumn, but shopping posts in autumn arguably have a greater impact. Website traffic from socials increase at this time of year, alongside enhanced conversion rate optimisation, simply because people are less distracted in autumn. They’re not on holiday, at festivals, outside even – they’re more often than not cooped up and cold, scrolling through their newsfeed for something to warm their spirits. And the aesthetics desire of autumn content is geared towards this. FOMO marketing heavily plays into this – combining with emotional spending and nostalgia marketing to help create demand and enhance the value of lifestyle marketing.

Marketing ROI and aesthetic desire

However, capitalising on this is easier said than done. Businesses trying to create visual brand identity in autumn face doing so at an incredibly difficult time of the year. Major brands invest heavily in social media engagement and they take instagrammable fall very, very seriously. What may look like a nice coffee up pic with some fall foliage backdrop and seasonal props may appear innocent and simple enough, but it’ll have taken weeks of planning – and a lot of work to get it anywhere near a social media user’s eyes.

There is room for authenticity in marketing and it’s possible to break through and get brand recognition. On top of embracing sensory marketing, and ensuring all content is rich in autumnal aesthetics, there are some simple ways for smaller brands to get through and make some noise:

· Branding consistency – An obvious start, but know what your brand is and stick with it. Too many brands fail from trying to say too much or being all things to all people. Define your brand – making it clean, crisp and catchy – and go from there.

· Budget for social media ads – It can be easy to spend big on social media ads, with the expectation that failure to do so will give an edge to the competition. However, it’s important to be cautious and accurately calculate what you can afford – don’t blow the whole marketing budget for autumn on some posts now!

· Figure out your target’s aspiration and consumption – Take some time to determine what your social media content needs to drive at. People can smell salesy content a mile away, and will quickly block or unfollow this. Instead, take your product and tie it into your target market’s aspirations and consumptions. What do they want and what do they buy?

The fall feed theme is a major digital content trend, and fall styling clearly isn’t going away anytime soon. People want coziness and comfort at this time of the year, and they’re increasingly going online to get this. However businesses should be mindful of how competitive it is trying to generate a curated online presence at this time of the year (especially with Christmas around the corner!)