Short-form video is a game-changer, and that’s no secret. We’ve all been there, scrolling through TikTok or Instagram Reels and suddenly realizing we’ve lost an entire hour! With the fast growth of TikTok, other social media platforms are following suit by adopting short-form video themselves. This shift is putting pressure on social media practitioners to become movie directors. According to the Sprout Social Content Benchmarks report, 52% of marketers cite changing content formats as a challenge when planning and scheduling posts. But don’t worry, the short-form video format is here to stay and is worth investing in for the long term. In this article, we’ll give you eight tips for maximizing short-form video strategy.
Why Short-Form Video is Worth the Investment (and How to Get Buy-In)
If you’re hesitant to embrace short-form video, or need to convince someone else, don’t worry – we’ve got you covered.
Short-form videos are typically between three seconds and one minute in length, and they can do wonders for your social strategy and brand awareness. You don’t need a big budget or fancy equipment to get started – anyone can incorporate short-form video into their video marketing strategy.
Check out these awesome cases for short-form videos that will make you and your leadership team want to invest in this format!
Short-form video has a quite great statistics
Here are a few examples of how short-form video can benefit your business, based on proven data:
- Short-form video is 2.5 times more engaging than long-form video
- TikTok, a short-form video platform, has the highest engagement rate of any social platform, according to Socialinsider.
- 55% of TikTok users have made a purchase after seeing a brand on the app.
- Reels account for nearly 20% of the time spent on Instagram.
- Reels have the highest reach of any media type on Instagram.
- In 2022, the average engagement rate for Instagram Reels was at least double that of other post types, according to Socialinsider.
- As of June 2022, YouTube Shorts had more than 5 billion monthly active users.
The benefits of short-form video are clear right now!
Short-form video is the most popular content format
It’s a fact: people love short-form video! 66% of consumers say that short-form video is the most engaging type of social content in 2022.
It’s not hard to see why – short-form video is easy to watch, easy to share with friends, and downright entertaining. By using this format, you can easily capture your audience’s attention with the content format they already love.
It’s easy to make and repurpose
While coming up with a short-form video strategy requires some effort, creating video content has become much easier in recent years.
In fact, according to Wyzowl, 41% of marketers who used video as a marketing tool for the first time in 2022 did so because creating video in-house has gotten easier.
Thanks to social platforms like Instagram and YouTube offering their own short-form video feeds, it’s now easier than ever to repurpose your content across platforms. This can save you time and energy while still providing your audience with fresh and engaging content.
Help you reach more organic audiences
Did you know that short-form videos can help you reach more people without breaking the bank? In today’s digital world, many platforms require payment for reach, while budgets are getting tighter. It’s not exactly an ideal situation. But fear not, because short-form video is here to save the day! Its popularity makes it more likely to be clicked and shared, leading to more engagement and more visibility on social media algorithms.
ROI of short-form video
Want to prove the worth of your short-form videos? Doing so can gain the support of your leadership team and help you stay ahead of trends. According to Wyzowl, 63% of video marketers use video views to measure ROI. However, the metrics you choose will depend on your social goals and platforms. Here are a few examples: video views, average watch time, full video views vs partial, likes/dislikes, card clicks, link clicks, and engagements.
To speed up the approval process, Olivia Jepson, Sprout’s Senior Social Media Manager, suggests building trust and using data to back up why reviews need to be faster. Using a tool like Sprout’s Analytics and Reporting suite can streamline the process, allowing you to prove your ROI across all your channels in one hub.
What platforms are the best for short-form video format
Here’s a rundown of the most popular short-form video platforms and the ideal video length for each. It can be tough to keep up with all the changes, but with this list, you can prioritize where to post your videos and maximizing short-form video:
- TikTok: This platform deserves attention, as it has over one billion monthly active users. Videos can be as short as a few seconds, and as long as 10 minutes.
- Instagram Reels: Reels are still a powerful reach tool, ranging from 15 seconds to 90 seconds long. Read more about how Instagram Reels compare to TikTok to see which is best for you.
- Instagram Stories: These short-lived videos disappear in 24 hours, but with over half of Instagram users visiting a website after seeing a product or service in Stories, they’re worth using for promos. Individual Stories can be up to a minute long, but you can string multiple Stories together.
- Facebook Stories: Similar to Instagram Stories, Facebook Stories can be a valuable resource for brand awareness, as they have over half a million daily users.
- YouTube Shorts: Since launching in 2021, YouTube Shorts have officially surpassed 50 billion daily views. Shorts can be up to 60 seconds long.
Read more about the 8 tips for maximizing short-form video in the next part!