“As short as possible” has been the constant refrain of social video creators in recent years. However, what if we told you long-form social videos is slowly making a comeback? Longer videos are being favored by Facebook, and research by video platform Wochit reports that, in 2017, longer videos obtained 79 % more shares and 74 % more views than all brief videos.
However, what counts as long-form? There are a few methods to define it. Based on Google, long-form social videos are videos for longer than 10 minutes. However, the Shorty Awards think about a video to be long-form at the two-minute mark. Think With Google additionally considers a video around the two-minute mark to be “long-cut video advertising.”
For the targets of this text, we will take a look at videos from brands which are longer than two minutes and examine what made them unique.
But first…
Advantages of short-form vs. long-form social videos
Fortunately, you do not have to choose one type of social video over the other. We talked to Hootsuite’s own social video professional, social media advertising and marketing specialist Christine Colling, about the advantages of each kind and how they could complement each other.
Based on Hootsuite data, right here’s what we could tell you.
Advantages of short-form social videos:
- Good for brief attention spans (we see high completion rates on our shorter videos—that is the percentage of your video the average viewer watches)
- Good for teasing content (e.g., at Hootsuite, we use it to advertise a small portion of a new blog post in order that readers are enticed to read the complete article)
- Good for announcements (i.e., shorter videos get the message across quickly)
- Simpler to remember (re: short attention spans)
Advantages of long-form social videos:
- More room to tell a story, which has a greater opportunity of making an emotional connection with your viewers (In a Google video ad experiment, in-depth storytelling creates “a more meaningful connection to the brand.” Instead of just making brand awareness, a longer story “could be essential to persuade people to change how they think.” That is, making an emotional connection via storytelling has a greater chance of changing how your audience thinks about your brand.
- Good for educating your viewers—which is helpful at different points in the customer journey, like before and after they have purchased a product (e.g. in-person interviews, product review, or demo).
Based on what we find out about attention spans from a research by Locowise (they are reducing rapidly, and as of 2017 are as short as 10 seconds), our social team uses short-form videos for most networks.
Nonetheless, our social group usually assessments longer movies on Facebook. Our information reveals audiences have longer consideration spans on Fb, and as beforehand talked about, its algorithm additionally favors valuable content that people talk about and come back to, which might usually imply longer and more substantial content, as opposed to short, snackable video content.
1. Hyundai
Hyundai pulls at heartstrings in its Summertime 2018 marketing campaign, “Brilliant Moments with Hyundai.” Instead of an excessively product-focused advert (the product does not appear until the 1:30 mark), the company created a series of long-form videos on how people could get attached to things in their life. For this campaign, it’s the sentimental value of holding a Hyundai over the years.
The video is a recreation of buyer moments with Hyundai. It is a celebration of the last 20 years of Hyundai buyer experiences in India—a thank-you for buyer loyalty. To accurately reflect the unique experiences of their customers, the marketing campaign even asks real clients to share their own “great moment with Hyundai” for an opportunity to win a prize.
What we could learn: When you are going to make long-form social videos for your brand, concentrate on channeling human emotion. A Harvard Business Review study illustrates that emotional connection issues more than buyer satisfaction when it comes to building brand loyalty.
For Hyundai, these videos are all about nostalgia and that feeling is captured in a series of buyer stories. Long-form works well for showcasing these stories because it permits more space for in-depth storytelling. Which means more time to connect with the characters, build tension, and reveal a full story arc.
2. Patagonia
Patagonia made a series of long-form social videos on YouTube for their Worn Wear used clothing program. The videos function people who wear Patagonia and discuss who they’re and how Patagonia matches into their lives.
Not only do the videos show off a community of Patagonia patrons, but they’re also meant to talk to the company’s mission to protect the environment. Patagonia encourages customers to hang onto their clothes as long as possible or to pass it onto others.
Long-form social videos are well-suited for this kind of content (following a customer story) and for the Patagonia brand itself because it features beautiful pictures of the outdoors. The Worn Wear video series has been viewed lots of thousands of times since first published in 2013.
What we could learn: Create a long-form story around your brand ethos, goal, or mission. When your customers are buying your services or products, they are buying into your brand values as well. Putting your brand ethos on film is a reminder to your clients that they are a part of a community that shares the same values. Taking time to discover that sense of belonging in long-form videos could clearly pay off.
3. Buzzfeed
Known for their short, fun, and shareable videos (like the ones on their Tasty channel), one of Buzzfeed’s long-form videos received impressive outcomes.
The video has over 7 million views on YouTube and 189 million views on Fb – “The Power to Live and Forgive” is a 14-minute video about how Eva Mozes Kor survived the Holocaust. In it, Mozes Kor describes how she and her twin sister were used as medical experiments at the Auschwitz focus camp.
What we could learn: Don’t be afraid to check different video sorts. You could be doing really well in one format, however, that does not mean you cannot also see great outcomes on another.
4. Airbnb
In its #HostWithPride marketing campaign, Airbnb aims to “help create a world where all love isn’t only accepted, however, welcomed.” The video marketing campaign demonstrates Airbnb’s sponsored help in San Francisco Pride week (the city Airbnb was founded in) and its commitment to diversity and inclusion as an organization.
The “Love is Welcome Here: Our #HostWithPride Film” is compiled of personal interviews from LGBQT+ all over the world: their stories, experiences, and struggles with feeling safe while traveling. Long-form lends itself to “Love is Welcome Here”, as the length provides time to weave between the stories of several ‘characters’ in the video. The viewers get to know several, not just a 10 second snap of one. The stories are also fascinating, educational, and emotional, keeping the audience’s attention despite their length.
What we could learn: Take long-form as a chance to not only emotionally connect with your viewers but educate them. AirBnB used this video to educate us about their values, but also about the struggles LGTBQ+ clients face while traveling. People are likely to hold watching if they are learning something and invested in the content. Talk about the causes your brand helps. People who help a cause will be more inclined to help a brand whose values align with their own.