7 reasons your brand should use short form video content

1 Aug

Wondering why your existing content strategies seem to get less and less effective? Here’s your answer: short form video is taking over. If you’re not using it, you're likely losing customers in the digital space to your competitors that are — it’s that simple.

Short form video content, or video that lasts 30 seconds or less, has rapidly become one of the most popular forms of content on social media, with the rise of channels like TikTok and Instagram Reels. It’s no wonder — video content grabs people’s attention faster than any other medium, you can communicate with your audience in a quick and easy to understand way, and it delivers better return on investment than other content types.

Here are 7 reasons why your brand should be utilising short form video.

1. Shorter attention spans = shorter content

Today’s attention spans are getting shorter and shorter, and our smartphones and social media feeds make it easy to quickly move on to something else. If you want your content to be seen, then you need to keep things short, sharp and engaging. Instagram Reels and TikTok videos both clock in at just 15 seconds, which is just enough time for users to catch a glimpse of your brand, and for you to leave a lasting impression - while not wasting their precious time.

2. It's what your audience are watching online

According to an Ipsos Global Advisor Survey, 53% of millennials watch short form video online every day, and it's only increasing. Platforms like TikTok are seeing huge growth in user numbers as well as engagement times - the average UK user watches TikTok for 66 minutes a day. If you want to reach your audience where they are online, short form video is one of the best ways to do it.

3. Increase visibility and engagement

With 81% of marketers saying that video is their #1 content type for increasing visibility and engagement with their audience, adding short form video to your social media strategy makes sense. Comparing different content formats like posts, stories and video, there's no debate - video sees far higher engagement, reach and better click-through rates, for almost all of our customers. It'll help you increase visibility within your existing audience (and beyond), while driving higher engagement - sounds like a win-win!

4. Video makes it easy to explain your products

Have you ever tried to explain your product to a customer in a social post, and then in person? What did you find easier? Explaining a product or service in person is often far easier than trying to communicate with written content - and that’s exactly why using short form video content on social media and your website is the way forward.

HubSpot research shows that a huge majority of people (94%) watch explainer videos to learn more about a product, with 84% of those going on to purchase. And it’s not just about physical products, either. Eight out of ten people say that they’ve purchased an app or piece of software because of a video. The numbers don’t lie - so why wouldn't you invest in short form video to explain your products?

5. Video can add personality and build trust

Videos allow businesses to communicate in a more personal way with their audiences, since consumers can actually see and hear about their products. And when people feel like they know a brand or person better, they’re much more likely to trust them. While it might seem counterintuitive for brands to share personal videos, research shows that branded short form video marketing is more effective when it contains real people - whether that be users giving testimonials, or showing the faces behind the brand.

6. It's not all about TikTok and Reels - Google loves video too

Video isn't just for your Gen Z and Millennial audiences - it's got huge benefits when it comes to optimising your website too. The more you can do to stand out in Google’s search results, to show up higher than your competitors, and to make it easier for searchers to find what they need (and convert!), the better.

Today, adding video content is an easy way to enhance your SEO game. Add videos that are targeted to keywords you want to improve your Google rankings for — one keyword per video — and then optimise these videos with high-quality metadata (information about the video), like titles, descriptions, and captions.

7. Boost conversions and sales

We know that there is demand from your audience for video content, and we know that video helps establish trust with the consumer. But does that really translate directly to a sale or conversion? According to HubSpot research, 80% of marketers that utilised video saw increased sales. So the answer is yes - using short form video content can help you showcase your product effectively and drive sales by easily converting casual viewers into potential customers.

Now you’re armed with all the knowledge about WHY you should be using video, it’s time to start thinking about incorporating it into your strategy. Here are a couple of tips to get you started...

You don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Think about how you can repurpose existing brand videos, cut them into 10-15 second snippets and format them for portrait viewing on TikTok, Instagram Reels or Stories.
Get ahead of the game by utilising paid promotion on these channels. As they’re relatively new to the NZ market, there’s less competition - which means cheaper advertising. TikTok has just launched their ads platform to Kiwi agencies and we’re proud to be a partner, allowing us to effectively advertise to your audience on this new channel.

If you need a hand working on your short form video content strategy and paid placement, reach out - we’d love to help.

Lili Stellingwerf