Short-Form Video Content: How to Use it to Market Your Business
Last update: 23 September 2024 at 11:02 am
5.00/5The video has emerged as the leading content format for engaging online users. A whopping 91% of marketers use video as a marketing tool, proving how helpful video can be for engaging audiences.
But to succeed with video marketing, you must take advantage of the growing popularity of short-form video content.
Consumers have short attention spans and desire short-form videos that are easily digestible. But with everyone jumping on the short-form video bandwagon, standing out is now more critical than ever.
Read on to discover the best practices to help you create compelling short-form videos to boost your online engagement rates.
Let’s get started!
What Is Short-Form Video Content?
Short-form videos are videos that are at most 60 seconds in length. According to HubSpot’s Video Marketing Report, the optimal size for a short-form video is under 60 seconds, with most marketers (33%) saying the ideal length should be between 31 and 60 seconds.
Image via HubSpot
The videos should be quick and easy to digest so that viewers can go through several of them quickly.
The length of your short-form video varies based on the platform you’re using, but you want to stick to the 30 – 60 seconds sweet spot.
TikTok videos range from 15 seconds to 10 minutes. YouTubes Shorts can be up to 60 seconds long, while Instagram Reels can range from 15 to 90 seconds.
Why You Should Add Short-Form Videos to Your Content Strategy
Short-form video content is so popular nowadays, and you’re missing out as a business if it’s not part of your content strategy. Here are a few reasons to amplify your short-form video strategy now.
They Easily Grab and Hold Viewers’ Attention
Short-form videos are known for their ability to grab and hold user attention.
Have you ever opened TikTok to watch a few videos but found yourself still on the platform one hour later? That’s how addictive short-form videos can be.
TikTok’s young audience is so hooked to short videos that they don’t want to see anything else on the platform.
Nearly 50% of TikTokers said videos longer than 60 seconds are stressful. A third of the users even watched TikTok videos at double speed.
The short-form video craze is also evident on YouTube. Videos less than a minute long saw a 135% growth in Q2 of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021.
Image via Tubular Labs
They Are Easy to Consume
Short-form videos are bite-sized and easy to consume. You don’t have to sit down for 10 minutes or more watching a video. Instead, you can take in all the information in a short-form video in seconds.
As attention spans become shorter, you should be able to deliver real value to your audience on the go. Don’t make them wait longer to get the answers they are looking for as this could see them skip your video altogether.
They Are Easy to Share
Short-form video content is easy to share on social media. You can easily create a catchy 10-second video that will earn millions of views daily.
When someone enjoys your short-form video, they can share it with their friends, and in no time, the video will be trending on social media.
Long-form videos are less likely to go viral because it takes time for someone to understand and share the content. When someone finishes a 20-minute video, a 10-second video could have 100 views and several social shares.
They Have a High ROI
Another reason to prioritize short-form video content in your marketing is its high ROI. A HubSpot study found that short-form video content has the highest return on investment than any other type of video content.
Image via HubSpot
It also leads the way regarding engagement and brand awareness.
For these reasons, 45% of marketers plan to use short-form video content for the first time, while 36% plan to invest more in the format.
The Top Short-Form Video Platforms
The leading short-form video platforms you need to prioritize for your marketing campaigns include:
TikTok
On 27th September 2021, TikTok published a release saying they had reached one billion active users. Launching in 2016, the app achieved no small feat, earning its place as one of the top short-form video platforms.
Image via TikTok
The app was one of the pioneers of short-form video content and is still going strong in 2023. It started as a platform for lip-synching videos but the app is now home to dances, life hacks, viral trends, and more.
Instagram Reels
Following TikTok’s success, Instagram also launched its short-form video platform in 2020. Instagram Reels allows you to create short-form video content up to 90 seconds long that will be shown to users as they scroll the timeline.
Image via Instagram
The app has many video enhancer tools that make it easy to create a Reel. Instagram shows Reels to users as recommended videos, making them reach more people than any other content.
YouTube Shorts
To join the short-form video content bandwagon, YouTube launched YouTube Shorts in 2020. The platform allows users to create and publish short-form video content that doesn’t exceed 1 minute in length.
Image via YouTube
How to Build the Perfect Short-Form Video Strategy
While leveraging the engaging potential of short-form videos, another groundbreaking opportunity lies in utilizing dynamic video ads. These ads tailor content to each viewer in real-time, elevating user engagement and conversion rates by delivering personalized messages that resonate with the audience. By incorporating dynamic video ads into your strategy, you’re not just capturing attention; you’re fostering a deeper connection with your viewers.
Ready to capitalize on the short-form video trend? Here are helpful tips and best practices to help you create captivating short-form video content for your online audience.
Follow the Trends
If you want to succeed on short-form video content platforms like TikTok, you need to study the trends and align your content.
Do almost all videos you come across use specific songs or sound bytes? Is there a specific challenge creator can’t seem to get enough of?
If you notice any of these issues, they are likely part of a trend. Jumping on popular trends increases the chances your content will reach more people.
This is because when viewers recognize a direction in your video, they are likely to watch it to the end. Your content also becomes easy to find when you use the trending hashtags in your video caption, thus increasing your video views.
Create Vertical Content
Most users consume short-form video content in vertical format on their mobile devices. To provide such users with the best viewing experience, you also want to create your short-form videos in a vertical form.
The short-form video content example below shows what a vertical video looks like. Such videos take up the entire width of the mobile device screen, providing the users with a more immersive experience.
Image via TikTok
Mobile users also scroll through their feeds vertically and most likely watch videos in the same format. If your video is not in a vertical format, most will not change their phone alignment to accommodate it. They will simply scroll to the next video in the feed.
Don’t miss views because your videos are not correctly aligned. Always create your short-form videos vertically to increase views and boost engagement. This list of the best online video makers by Attrock includes tools you can use to make vertical videos.
Hook Your Audience Instantly
With short-form video content, you want to hook your viewers instantly. Remember, you compete with thousands of other videos for your audience’s attention.
As such, you want to start with a solid hook to capture viewer attention and keep them watching instantly.
The hook for your video can be:
- Catchy on-screen text
- Captivating visuals
- A tantalizing story.
Such hooks will excite people for what’s to come and get them to stick to the end of the video. This will make it easier to achieve your marketing goals since you’ll be sure your audience has consumed everything in the video.
Create Relevant Content
While following the trends with your short-form video strategy is essential, ensure the content you’re creating is relevant to your brand and audience.
You don’t want to veer too far away from your brand values, as this could see you lose the trust of your target users. When working with influencers to create promotional short-form video content, ask them to stick to your brand values.
You can use trending songs and sound bytes on your videos, but everything else, from the caption to the hashtags, should be related to your business. This will ensure everything remains on-brand and relatable to your target audience.
The appropriate content for your on-brand short-form videos includes:
- How to videos
- Tutorial videos
- Latest industry news
- Customer reviews to capture viewers’ attention and keep them watching instantly art-form video example below; Canon USA compares two of its products, the Canon EOS C70 and the EOS R5 C. The video is only 42 seconds long and is an excellent example of using short-form video content to educate your audience.
Image via TikTok
Repurpose Your Long-Form Videos
Creating content is not easy. It can take hours of shooting and editing to create a 30-second video. If you don’t have the time to do all that, you can repurpose your long-form videos and share them on relevant social media platforms. Using an online video editor can help you to quickly tidy these videos up and overall you will save lots of time.
From your video content management system, identify an appropriate video and crop it to suit the vertical requirements of your chosen venue. Slice the captivating portions of the long-form video and combine them into a seamless video for your short-form video marketing tools.
Ensure the video is not longer than 60 seconds to conform to the short-form video format of most social media platforms.
Leverage User-Generated Content
If you want people to trust your brand and get them hooked to your social media content, you need to start sharing user-generated content. Encourage your followers to create short videos featuring your products and share them on your page.
This type of content will greatly enhance your marketing strategy since it shows potential customers the real-life experiences of other people who have used your products.
In the short-form video example below, Fabletics shares a review from one of their customers. This is a great example of how to leverage user-generated content to build trust with potential customers.
Image via TikTok
For your UGC video marketing strategy, you can also come up with a branded challenge and invite users to participate. Ask the participants to use the hashtag in their caption and share the top videos on your page.
Final Thoughts
For brands and marketers, there has never been a better time to add short-form video content to your marketing strategy. Short-form videos attract more views and engagement because they are bite-sized and easy to digest.
They are also a hit with online users who find long videos stressful and draining. The short-form nature of Reels provides a refreshing and engaging experience, capturing the attention of viewers with quick and entertaining content.
By leveraging the popularity and reach of Reels, you can effectively captivate your target audience and increase your online visibility.
Use the above strategies to create a short-form video strategy that will get you discovered online. Embrace the power of short-form videos and, with a solid strategy for social media marketing in Dubai for example, unlock new opportunities for success in both local and global markets.
