Why modern poetry thrives on social media and what marketers can learn from it
Poetry has long lived in journals and notebooks and paperbacks for the masses. Poetry as oral form likely even predates most written text as it is believed to have been sung and likely resembled hymns to remember things like history, genealogy and law. When someone mentions poetry you might think of William Shakespeare, or Robert Frosts’s poem, Nothing gold can stay, or arguably Mary Oliver’s most quoted line from The Summer Day, “What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” Or perhaps you even remember Amanda Gorman’s powerful performance of her poem The Hill We Climb during the U.S. presidential inauguration in 2021.
Maybe you think of form instead of specific poets, and you remember writing a “haiku” (syllables in a 5.7.5. pattern) back in your early years of school or maybe you think of something more complex like a “sonnet” with a rhyme scheme,14 lines, and iambic pentameter (a rhythmic pattern that consists of ten syllables per line, with alternating stressed and unstressed syllables). Wherever the word “poetry” takes you, it’s likely moved you at some point. Poetry is often read aloud during moments of celebration like weddings and graduations or during moments of deep grief and pain such as the loss of a loved one. Poems are printed on mugs, and totebags, and t-shirts and hallmark cards. But what does something as seemingly archaic and ancient as 16th century poetry that uses english language (thee, thy) have to teach marketers in the 21st century? Honesty and accessibility.
Poetry tells the truth about the human experience. In the age of AI and misinformation the value of this can’t be understated. Post-pandemic we are all still looking for connection and reminders of our humanity in new ways. And poetry, like all art, has a way of meeting people there.These may be contributing factors in the recent surge of modern poetry and modern poets on social media platforms in recent years such as “Insta- poets” and “Poetry-Tok”. Modern poets on these social media platforms focus on immediate emotional connection and responding to events in real time. Often pairing their poems either with simple plain backgrounds or moving imagery and visuals and using accessibility features like closed captions in their spoken word videos. Poets can bypass traditional publishing outlets and find and speak directly to their own niche audiences online, another lesson marketers can pay attention to. There’s something in that for marketers too not manufacturing demand, but recognizing where people are already gathered and showing up there.In no particular order and not a conclusive list these are some of my favorite poets to follow on the gram: Rupi Kaur- Milk and Honey author (as well as other collections the sun and her flowers, and homebody) the Indian-Canadian Instapoet who self-published her first book.
Lyndsay Rush- owner of the infamous social handle @maryoliversdrunkcousin and author of She’s a bit much, the poetry collection and viral poem of the same name. (Creates poems from news headlines)Kate Baer- Author of What kind of Woman, and yet, and how about now , called “The Instagram Poet for People Who Don’t Like Instagram Poets” by Vogue. (Also creates blackout poems from unsolicited advice and dm’s she receives) Morgan Harper Nichol - Artist, Author of All along you were Blooming, look how far you’ve come, and others, PhD Student at UGA with an MFA in Interdisciplinary Media Arts, and creator of the Storyteller App. So what does poetry, arguably one of the oldest, most analog forms of art and communication we have, and somehow still resonating with younger generations in new formats have to teach marketers? I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately, mostly because poetry hasn’t just been something I scroll past or save countless screenshots of ( although I do). It’s something I’ve come back to in different seasons of my life. I wrote poems as a young girl in early journals that I still have copies of at 7 and 8 years old, and through womanhood, through motherhood as a way to process things I didn’t always have the language for yet.
For the past couple of years, I’ve been showing up to a community writing workshop once a week—on the other side of being a student working mom, in a room full of people of all ages and backgrounds who are there just to write. Before that, I’ve taken online workshops here and there, whenever I could fit them in.And I’ve started to realize that having a space like that alongside more technical, corporate work isn’t separate from it, it actually makes me better at it. It keeps me paying attention. It keeps me human in the work. It gives me a place to practice saying things more honestly, or sometimes not fully knowing what I’m trying to say until I’ve written it.
I think that’s part of why I keep coming back to the same two things: honesty and accessibility.Maybe it’s not about poetry teaching marketing anything new. Instead, it’s reminding us of something we already know but keep trying to out-strategize and over-optimize. Poetry doesn’t try to sound smarter than it is. It doesn’t over-explain. It just communicates the thing:, the pain, the beauty, the grief, the joy, the absurdity, and trusts that it will land where it needs to or not. During a time when content feels over edited and optimized within an inch of it’s life, honesty and nuance stand out. Poetry is accessible. Not just in the formatting though that’s important but in who it’s for- everyone. You don’t need an English or Poetry degree to understand it. You don’t need context. You just need to feel something. Rather than gatekeeping, poetry meets people where they are, something that is still a challenge in the age of modern marketing even with all our tools, datametrics, and advertising and targeting options. I keep coming back to a few things when I think about poetry and marketing:
People respond to specificity more than polish. Something deeply personal is often what makes it universal.
Timing matters, but sincerity matters more.
People know when something is written at them vs. to them.
And most importantly, people want to feel seen.
I think that’s the point. It’s not that poetry is doing something revolutionary but that it is just doing something honest. And people can tell the difference. That’s more than enough reason for marketers to pay attention and take a few notes from poetry along the way.
Written by Hannah Lacy
Bio: Hannah Lacy is a digital content strategist with over seven years of experience in marketing and social media, and more than a decade of experience as a freelance writer contributing to various publications. A working mother of two school-aged children, she writes at the intersection of ambition and parenthood, with a passion for storytelling, advocating for working moms, and partnering with mission-driven brands and organisations.
Connect with her on LinkedIn or at hannahlacymedia@gmail.com.
