Michael Epps Utley {kind=image/jpg}
People love short-form video content. Today, TikTok videos, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts dominate the online content space. If brands want to connect with more prospects, they must consider this trend and add short-form video creation to their marketing plan.
This guide provides an overview of short videos and explains the psychology behind their appeal.
The Rise of Short-Form Video Platforms
TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts have become leaders in the social media and digital marketing space. Once known for dance videos and viral challenges, TikTok has transformed into a central resource for all types of short video content, from educational material to product demos. Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts were developed to capitalize on TikTok’s success (and possible demise).
Why Are Short-Form Videos Successful?
The popularity of brief videos can be attributed to the fast-paced nature of online consumption. Attention spans are shorter than ever and continue to decline, so content that engages people quickly and is easy to digest is now in high demand. Short-form videos are ideal because they typically open with an attention-getting bang, deliver fast and engaging experiences, and come to quick and impactful conclusions.
Short-form videos are like dopamine bombs of online content, exciting the human psyche. They get viewers excited to consume, enjoy, and share with friends. It’s like a digital visit to an amusement park that can be enjoyed with other platform users.
Why Brands Must Be in the Short-Form Video Game
For small businesses, the extraordinary popularity of brief videos offers an excellent opportunity to connect with prospective and current customers in a highly engaging and affordable way.
Despite being brief (typically under one minute), this type of video still allows for creative storytelling that can showcase products or services in a positive light at a relatively low cost. The right video can increase brand awareness within a few seconds. Plus, you’re not forcing consumers to enter your realm to learn about your company. You’re meeting them where they spend a large part of every day.
Another plus is the interactive nature of short video social media platforms. The comments, shares, and likes offered through them provide immediate engagement metrics and feedback, allowing small businesses to quickly gauge the success of their videos and adjust their strategies and tactics based on data and anecdotal feedback.
Using Short-Form Video in Marketing
To create videos that resonate with prospective and current customers, small businesses should focus on audience insights, authentic storytelling, and quality (yet cost-effective) execution.
Here's how your organization can do this.
Understand your audience. Gather insights about the people your business is targeting — and developing videos for — through surveys and focus groups. You can also use social media analytics and comments to learn about consumer preferences and pain points. This will provide a reasonable foundation for developing your short video content. Take things to the next level by developing complete target audience personas. The extra effort will pay off in more resonant videos and other marketing assets.
Feature authentic storytelling. The best way to introduce genuineness into short video content is to feature real customer stories and testimonials. It’s also a good idea to include actual employees in behind-the-scenes content to build trust. Real people and situations convey authenticity more than staged events.
Limit humor. Be careful when using humor in your video content. Jokes must be relatable to everyone, align with your brand, and never offend anyone.
Inspire and relate: Demonstrate business success by sharing stories of how your products or services helped customers overcome challenges (extra points if you can link these success stories to your brand values). Be sure to convey empathy in your videos. Showing emotions makes storytelling more compelling.
Don’t ignore production quality. You want your videos to come across as authentic, but you also want them to be viewed as professional. Investing in a tripod to ensure the videos are steady and not shaky probably makes sense. A professional microphone will enhance sound quality. A video editing app will smooth transitions and eliminate mistakes. Finally, format your video content so it meets the standards of each social media platform.
Analyze engagement. Once you release your videos, monitor their performance. Watch which topics followers engage with and which they ignore. Also, pay attention to when people stop watching a video to identify production and other issues that could interrupt viewing. Monitoring metrics will help you find opportunities to improve your short video marketing program.
The Psychology of Short-Form Videos: The Final Word
The dominance of short-form video content platforms underscores the critical importance of small businesses embracing this type of content. If your brand isn’t present where your consumers spend their time, they may never become aware of it. Use the insights in this article as motivation to start — or jumpstart — your short-form video marketing program.
