Lifting the lid on the DIY content flooding your feed (and why it’s working)
Scroll your feed for sixty seconds and you’ll spot it: the shaky selfie video, the talking-head explainer from someone’s car, the customer review with poor lighting but pitch-perfect honesty. It’s raw, real, and, let’s be honest, kinda everywhere.
Welcome to the lo-fi era. And no, this isn’t just about saving on your video production budget. It’s about a full-blown shift in what audiences want to see, hear, and share. In 2025, being relatable is currency, and lo-fi is cashing in.
Lo-fi ≠ low effort
Let’s get one thing straight. This content might look rough around the edges, but the strategy behind it is anything but. The brands doing lo-fi well aren’t winging it. They’re watching what sticks, leaning into their personality, and giving their audiences a reason to care, without the airbrushing.
We’re talking about:
Unfiltered testimonials that feel like a mate giving you a rec.
Quickfire TikToks made in-app but backed by smart messaging.
Employee videos from the office stairwell that perform better than your $20k brand film.
Lo-fi explainers that cut through, because they don’t feel like ads.
And the numbers? They’re wild.
Lo-fi content garners up to 40% more views than polished hi-fi content. UGC (user-generated content) drives engagement rates up to 9x higher. When employees share, their content gets re-shared 24x more often than your corporate posts. It’s not hype, it’s happening.
Why does it work?
Because your audience is tired. Tired of being sold to. Tired of perfect. Tired of scrolling past the same sleek sameness. Lo-fi breaks that rhythm. It feels human. It’s got quirks. It makes people pause.
Plus, the social algorithms love it. The more engagement, the more reach. And guess what sparks engagement? Real, imperfect, personality-filled content that sounds like a person, not a brand manager.
And let’s not forget the agility. When something happens in culture, lo-fi lets you jump in fast. No waiting three weeks for the video edit to come back. Just film, caption, post, done.
But don’t get sloppy
There’s a difference between lo-fi and lazy. You still need:
A clear point of view
Content that aligns with your brand values
A sense of structure
Lo-fi works best when it’s intentional imperfection. That means you still need storytelling smarts. You still need to know what your audience cares about. And you still need a content plan, even if your camera crew is just your phone and your lunch break.
So, what now?
Here’s your cheat sheet for doing lo-fi right:
Ditch the polish – embrace the awkwardness and phone lighting.
Turn your customers into storytellers – reviews, reactions, everyday wins.
Empower your team – employee content performs. Don’t overlook it.
Keep it short – under 20 seconds is the sweet spot for scroll-stoppers.
Build community – hashtags, challenges, Q&As, responses. Talk with, not at.
Use data – see what’s working and adjust. Lo-fi content is easy to test, so test it.
As Campaign Del Mar puts it:
“Being relatable trumps being perfect. Who knew?”
This isn’t about throwing your brand guidelines out the window. It’s about letting some fresh air in. The content flooding your feed isn’t lazy, it’s strategic, social-first, and (often) better at doing the job than your big-budget productions.
The DIY content crowd isn’t getting lucky; they’ve just cracked what audiences actually want. If your brand still sounds like a brochure, it’s time for a rethink. The creators have shown us the way.
Need a hand translating that insight into action? Get in touch with the team at HMC. We’d love to help you create content that connects.
