In our fast-paced, constantly-connected world, it's no surprise that short-form video content is the most popular content type. Whether we're looking to be entertained, educated, or inspired, we often turn to content that can be consumed quickly and easily on the go.
Of course, short content isn't always suitable for every purpose. When it comes to complex topics or in-depth analysis, long-form pieces are still queen. But for many of us, shorter content is the preferred option - and that's likely to continue as our attention spans continue to dwindle and capturing our target market's attention becomes harder and harder.
Thanks to the power of technology and the rise of social media, there's no shortage of short-form video content out there. However, the challenge is to create great short-form video content that attracts, engages, and converts our target market.
In this blog post, we’ll go over what short-form video content is, how it differs from long-form video content and how to create engaging videos that capture your prospect's attention.
Let's get to it.
What is Short-form Video Content?
Short-form video can be anything up to 3 minutes, although many platforms like TikTok are increasing that length to 10 minutes. These types of videos are typically created for social media and are meant to grab attention and engage the audience using snackable content topics.
While long-form video can be anything over 10 minutes. These types of videos are created to talk about a topic in greater detail and are often posted on YouTube.
Essentially short-form video can be seen as a way to capture your audience's attention, while long-form video can be a way to build and maintain a deeper connection with them.
Short-form Vs. Long-from Content
There is a time and place for long videos, but short videos prove to be more than worthwhile. Consumers simply don't have the time, energy, or attention span to engage with long-form content on a daily basis. To support this, we need to find new ways to interact with them where they are - this is where short-form videos come in. According to Vidyard, "56% of viewers will watch a whole video if it's under two minutes."
Consumers are looking for bite-sized content.
The shorter a video is, the greater its chance of being opened and watched till the end. This is because consumers are looking for snippets of content to be entertained, educated, or inspired.
Short-form videos can help brands get their message across faster than long-form videos. They are more memorable and thus are likely to have a higher engagement and retention rate. Which ultimately makes it easier to build community and spur growth.
The Types of Videos Businesses are Investing in
1. User-Generated Videos
2. Explainer Videos
3. Testimonial Videos
4. Onboarding Videos
5. Training Videos
6. Demo Videos
7. Sales Videos
8. Advertising Videos
These videos can also be created in long form, but they tend to do better when short and sweet. They are commonly distributed on social media, their website, and by email.
How to Create Short-form Video Content
A. Create With the End User in Mind (Target Audience)
It can be easy to create content based on our needs, but that is not what's going to attract dream customers. Creating content with your target audience in mind is essential if you want to attract them; otherwise, you're throwing darts in the dark.
It's important to ask yourself what your ideal audience wants and is actively seeking out when it comes to your brand, product, or service? What kind of content will resonate with them? What language will speak to them? Answering these questions will help you create content that is not only relevant to your target audience but also engaging and compelling.
Your dream customers are out there - it's up to you to reach them! It can be helpful to see what the competition is doing that is gaining traction and see how you can replicate it for your brand.
B. KISS (Keep it Simple Stupid)
With consumers seeking authenticity in the people and brands they follow, consumers are actually not seeking out highly polished, unattainable content but rather prefer engaging with real raw content. This takes the stress off of businesses and content creators from feeling like they have to create perfectly manicured content and pull out the red carpet every time they create a video.
C. Encourage User-Generated Content
When promoting your business, user-generated content can be an extremely valuable asset. After all, when customers share their own experiences with your product or service, it carries more weight than if you simply try to tell people how great you are, right? No one wants to see that.
What's more, encouraging customers to generate content is a low-cost investment on your part. There are several ways you can encourage customers to share their experiences, such as offering incentives, making it easy to submit content, and promoting user-generated content on your website and social media channels. By taking advantage of user-generated content, you can reach new audiences, build trust with potential customers, and save time on content creation.
D. Share Behind the Scenes
In today's marketplace, people are increasingly interested in brands that align with their values. They want to know the story behind the brand, and they want to feel confident that their purchase is supporting a company with a mission they can get behind.
According to Sprout Social, "70% of consumers feel more connected to brands with CEOs that are active on social." As a result, many brands are now seeking out ways to put a human face to their business. This might involve featuring the faces of employees or customers on the website or sharing the story of how the company got its start.
By seeking ways to connect with their audience personally, brands can build trust and loyalty among potential customers. For example, Hubspot often features employees in its video marketing efforts. They even have a dedicated employee YouTube account. Viewers can get a better understanding of the people behind the brand from this content.
E. Balance Between Trends and Evergreen Content
It is essential for brands to find a balance between creating content that is trendy and evergreen. On the one hand, if all of a brand's content is evergreen, it risks losing out on potential traffic that can come from viral posts. On the other hand, if all of a brand's content is trendy, it risks appearing superficial. In addition, brands are notorious for hitting trends when it's too late. This is often because they have lengthy approval processes.
Creating content that is both trending and evergreen can be challenging, but it is not impossible. For example, let's say that the current trending topic is the recession. A brand could create evergreen content around how this has affected business going forward. However, they could also create trendy content helping people navigate through these difficult times. By striking a balance between the two, brands can ensure that their content is both timely and timeless.
F. Repurpose Videos
There is a goldmine in repurposing content. If you only create a video and use it once, you are not maximizing its potential. Scaling the video creation process doesn't necessarily have to require coming up with new content ideas. Rather it requires finding new ways to package it.
When most people think of scaling their video content, they think of coming up with new topics to cover. This is necessary to a degree, but it's only a small part of the equation. The real key to scaling video content creation is finding new ways to package the content you already have. This could mean creating new types of videos, repurposing old videos for new platforms, or simply finding new ways to market and promote your existing videos. Taking a strategic and targeted approach to packaging your content can greatly increase your reach and ensure a sustainable video creation process.
Gary Vaynerchuk is the king when it comes to repurposing content. He has someone follow him around recording his every move. That content then gets chunked down and distributed on social media and other relevant platforms. Without this, his brand would not have been able to grow into what it is today.
For example, he has created a YouTube Short about why you should be posting YouTube Shorts in 2022. In addition, he has repurposed the exact same piece on Instagram Reels.
Now, if you’re just starting out, you can create a YouTube video and cut it into pieces for social media. This way, you can get more mileage from your video content and reach a wider audience. You can also add voiceovers or subtitles to make the videos more accessible.
G. Batch
If you're like most brands and content creators, you probably struggle with being consistent with video creation. One way to overcome this challenge is to batch your content creation process. This means setting aside a specific day or block of time to shoot all of your videos for the week or month:
First, it helps you be more efficient with your time by allowing you to focus solely on creating content during your shooting sessions
Second, it helps you stay organized and prevents you from forgetting to shoot or falling behind
Finally, it allows you to be more creative since you'll have more time to plan and execute your ideas
If you're looking for a way to improve your content creation process, give batching a try.
H. Automate Video Editing with Peech
Peech takes all of the guesswork out of video editing. We understand that you want to focus on your business, not editing videos. That's why our technology does all the hard work for you so you can create high-quality, engaging, and consistent videos and edit them with one click.
Peech understands the context of your video, emphasizing relevant keywords and creating visual messages to highlight the most important parts of your video for viewers. You create the video, and Peech edits it for you!
Final Thoughts
With the rise in demand for short-form content, platforms like Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube have hopped on the bandwagon, making it easy for brands to leverage the potential of short-form video content.
Short-form content is highly engaging and can be consumed quickly, making it ideal for today's busy newsfeeds. What's more, short-form videos are often more shareable than longer videos, making them a powerful marketing tool. With the right strategy, brands can reach new customers, promote their brand, and drive sales using short-form video content.
Are you ready to stop struggling with complicated video creation processes and start creating videos at scale?