Social media platforms have dramatically reshaped how brands and consumers communicate, and ephemeral content marketing has become one of the most important formats in today's digital marketing landscape. This study examines how ephemeral content marketing affects advertising value with mediating role of self-brand connection and customer engagement. Building on self-expansion theory and the entertainment-based model of communication, the research explores the psychological and behavioral processes through which temporary, story-based content shapes how consumers perceive advertising effectiveness. Data were collected from 369 university students in Lahore, Pakistan, who met the study criteria, including being active users of at least one story-based social media platform. The study used a structured adopted questionnaire based on a five-point Likert scale. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was used for the analysis. Results show that ephemeral content marketing significantly enhances both self-brand connection and customer engagement, and that both of these in turn positively affect advertising value. The findings offer practical insights for digital marketers aiming to improve advertising effectiveness through immersive, time-limited social media content.