People in 2022 expect their interactions to be efficient and brief. Commuters expect their trains and buses to arrive on time, and their coffees to be made fast. The realm of digital marketing is no different. When these same people browse the internet searching for content to consume, their attention spans are short. It is crucial for brands to realize this and examine the helpfulness of short-form videos to boost their site traffic sales and clientele. 

Social Media and Short-Form Video

According to HubSpot, in their 2022 Marketing Industry Trends Survey, short-form video has the highest Return on Investment (ROI) of any marketing strategy involving social media. They found that thirty percent of social media marketers plan to invest in short-form videos more than any other trend in 2022. 

This isn’t shocking when you take a look at just how powerful and popular the platform Tik-Tok has become in the world of social media. Specializing in these short-form videos as opposed to still images or longer-form videos, TikTok has over one billion active users. For comparison, Twitter has 186 million daily active users. Even more noteworthy, teenagers, in particular, are hooked on Tik-Tok, spending an average of 80 minutes per day on the platform. 

For an example of how powerful influencer marketing on TikTok can be, look no further than Chipotle. Tailored toward the key Gen Z audience, Chipotle has created numerous “challenges” for followers to complete and brought in major influencers to spread the word. In one of these challenges, called the #ChipotleLidFlip campaign, Chipotle partnered with influencer David Dobrik, resulting in 111,000 submissions in the first week of the campaign, and hundreds of millions of views. Your brand may not be as big as Chipotle, but the lesson is clear; tailor your short-form content on Tik-Tok toward the demographic that uses it the most, young people. 

What does effective use of short-form video look like?

Finding success with short-form videos will depend on your company’s overall content strategy, but there are a few things to highlight that can be useful for all brands. First, use short-form videos to invite engagement. If on social media, invite users to comment and share your video and incentivize them to do so. Think about any promotional content your company could produce, which would drive strong engagement and create the reposts and retweets you’re looking for. In a similar vein, short-form videos can be productively used for things like product teasers and supplementary information embedded in website content.

Here is an example of an effective use of short-form video, from one of Fortress Consulting’s clients, Chicago-based Falafel and Shawarma restaurant, Benjyehuda. It’s a simple idea being executed here, but it’s effective, nonetheless. When the user sees the overhead shot of the employee putting together a meal, they themselves, while scrolling through their Instagram reel feed, can envision making a trip to Benjyehuda for a meal. 

Here is another example of short-form video and how it can be effective, from Fortress.

Short Form Video for Website Content

Another slightly different but equally important example of how short-form video can enhance your brand is seen with this webpage from another one of Fortress’ clients, Action Injury Law Firm. Action’s goal in including multiple case studies on their website is to show their potential future clients just how dedicated they are to the success of the individuals they represent. As you can see on the link provided, they included a clip of their client, James Gibson, speaking about his case. The video is about ninety seconds long, but its effect is just as strong, even if the average user only watches thirty seconds of it. What this video does is provide true testimony to the work Action does, from a client themselves, not a company representative.

While we tend to think of social media as the main place for short-form videos to thrive, the Action Injury Law Group example shows that all companies, regardless of their presence on social media or the services they provide, can benefit from incorporating short-form videos into their digital persona.

Takeaways

Remember that short-form video is your friend, regardless of the size of your business. TikTok presents an immense opportunity for smaller brands to reach wider audiences. This is because their algorithms allow posts to go viral regardless of how many followers the account who posted the video has.

While some content is better than no content when it comes to short-form videos, the best practice is to be as creative and engaging as possible. Thinking about how to tailor your videos towards a younger audience.