You Have to Let it Linger: Why Resonance is the New King of Content
- Jive Bullock
- Apr 24
- 3 min read
In a performance-driven landscape, content creation is often guided by one dominant question: Will it generate engagement? As businesses chase likes, shares, and visibility, the pressure to produce content that performs quickly has overshadowed the deeper goal of creating content that actually connects.
Numbers always talk. However, when content is created solely for reach, resonance suffers. True, engagement tells us we are being seen, but we tend to forget that resonance ensures we are remembered.
If Engagement Is a Moment, Resonance Is Momentum
On social media, engagement metrics have become the default markers of success: likes, views, comments, shares. These numbers matter, but often at the expense of long-term impact.
By contrast, resonance is slower. Deeper. Stickier.
It’s the emotional and psychological alignment between a brand’s message and its audience. It doesn't just create awareness — it builds trust, loyalty, and affinity.
A 2020 Sprout Social report found that 64% of consumers want brands to connect with them emotionally, not just push products. Emotion drives connection, and connection drives sustainable growth.
Is Resonance Backed by Data?
Yes, and increasingly so.
Last year, Deloitte Digital reported that emotionally intelligent brands consistently outperform competitors in both trust and loyalty.
Salesforce found that 68% of customers expect brands to demonstrate empathy and understanding — a core function of resonant messaging.
Ipsos revealed that emotionally driven ads are twice as likely to build long-term brand equity.
The data tells us something powerful: Feelings influence behavior more than facts. Resonance is not empty talk. It is the foundation of meaningful communication.
Creating Content That Lingers
So, how do we shift from fleeting engagement to lasting resonance?
1. Understand Deeper Motivations
Go beyond demographics. Explore your audience’s fears, aspirations, and values. Resonance begins when you care about what they care about.
2. Speak with Authenticity
Authenticity is no longer what sets you apart — it is the baseline. Audiences are perceptive. They could sense posturing. Speak simply. Be human. Let them see reality.
3. Tell Stories That Mirror Experience
Resonance is built through recognition. When someone sees themselves in your message, the connection becomes personal and powerful.
4. Prioritize Emotional Clarity
Ask yourself: Is this designed to inform, or to move?
Good content educates. Great content makes people feel something worth acting on.
Measuring the Intangible
Resonance is not as easy to measure as reach, but it is not invisible.
Look for:
Qualitative signals: thoughtful comments, DMs, testimonials
Behavioral patterns: returning visitors, time spent on page, content saves
Brand advocacy: unprompted shares, mentions with context, word-of-mouth referrals
These are signs that your content is not merely seen. It is being held.
The Strategic Shift Ahead
It is always tempting to prioritize what is easy to track. Engagement is convenient.
However, if your strategy stops there, you are missing what drives real, lasting growth: trust, emotion, and memory.
These are not soft ideas, but business-critical outcomes that start with resonance.
When content resonates, it lingers.
When it lingers, it leads.
Let’s Make You Memorable
Tell your story in a way that outlasts a moment.
Connect with us and let’s make you memorable – the J+C Way.
References
Deloitte US Economists. (n.d.). 2024 US retail industry outlook: Looking for loyalty in all the right places. https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/us/Documents/consumer-business/us-consumer-business-retail-outlook-2024.pdf
What are customer expectations, and how have they changed? (n.d.). Salesforce.
Sheridan, A. & IPSOS. (2021). WE DON’T NEED TO TALK ABOUT ADS.
Sprout Social. (2020). Index XV: Brands forging connections.
