June 21, 2024
For a full immersive experience, pop your headphones in and listen while you read…
Have you ever found yourself minutes deep watching ASMR content on social media before? Thinking to yourself, why am I watching someone squish their fingers into slime or someone whispering into a microphone… The content itself is fairly basic so what about it is so intoxicating that you can’t help but stop the scroll, watch and listen?
ASMR is a trend that has been uptaken across social media, particularly on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. While a trend will typically last 1-2 years and then begins to die out, ASMR content is one that has managed to disrupt the typical for several years now. It was actually first termed in the social media space in 2010 by YouTuber Jennifer Allen and we’re still seeing content referring to it over a decade later.
The science behind it - yes there really is some there!
While not everyone gets a pleasant feeling from ASMR content, a lot of people find it to be soothing and calming, and some even report experiencing a tingling sensation. Researchers suggest that ASMR may cause the brain to release certain neurohormones, dopamine, oxytocin, and endorphins, which are closely associated with these feelings as described.
How popular is it?
On Instagram alone, there are 17.8M posts hashtagged with #ASMR and a term often used alongside ASMR is #oddlysatisfying which has 4.1M posts.
So how can marketers jump on the trend and utltise this success? Here are a few examples!
