By now I think most of us have clocked-in countless hours watching Tik Toks and Instagram Reels. If you’re anything like the rest of the population (nearly 40% to be exact), short form video has occupied your screen dating back to the long-gone Vine era, and probably even before that. Though this video style has come a long way since then, it’s success on platforms like Tik Tok and Instagram have maintained the trend of short form video and displayed that it’s only expected to grow from here.
The concept of what’s considered “short form” video has changed a lot with the introduction and instant popularity of Tik Tok, Vine, etc. Previously, video itself was reserved for platforms like YouTube, where short form video was considered anything around or less than 10 minutes. However, this is where YouTube is an exception. Aside from this platform, short form video is anything up to 2 minutes and 30 seconds in length, but many consider the time limit to be under a minute.
Short form video is so useful for brands because of its functionality. You can create a single traditional video and break it up into short form snippets, which are then able to be distributed to multiple platforms and fit the varying styles of each of them. There’s a reason everyone loves short form video so much right now- it’s much easier to consume. 71% of Gen Z spends more than 3 hours every day watching online videos. If the majority of this content is short form, this means the audience could be watching hundreds of these videos a day. This alternative way of storytelling allows the audience to absorb the information in a more straightforward and comprehendible way.
By no surprise, Tik Tok is the current leading platform for short form video, and generated the most downloads for any app ever in a quarter. Tik Tok completely changed the game, demanding marketers to change the way they create content. Short form video is all about engagement. Brands should be creating content that quickly grabs the audiences’ attention and makes them want to continue watching and hopefully interact. The “old-school” in-your-face marketing isn’t going to work here.
The key to succeeding in short form video is by following trends. The leading platforms for this content are all driven by trend culture- think challenges, dances, sounds, etc! Take advantage of Tik Tok’s discovery page for new content creation ideas on what’s trending.
Other platforms following in the success of Tik Tok and featuring short form video include Instagram Reels, Triller, Hippo Video and Magisto by Vimeo. Instagram Reels is currently considered to be the leading platform’s top competition. Both platforms compete with advantages and disadvantages in different categories like video length, sound selections and analytics, but ultimately the best method for brands is to create content for both platforms, highlighting the strengths of each. It’s clear that short form video content isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. So, for a brand to be successful in this modern era of social media, their marketing techniques must match the foundation of short form content. Incorporating short form video into brand content strategy is a great way to boost engagement and stay involved in a major industry trend.
