We are sure you have seen this new form of highly addictive and highly entertaining content popping up on your socials. The marketing term for this type of video content is “Short-term video” or as most of us know it nowadays “Reels” or “TikTok videos”, since these platforms made this format popular.
These are short 15-30 second videos that use the selective attention span of the global social media audience to entertain, tell stories or excite people about a brand or product in a quick and engaging way.
The numbers don’t lie….
- According to the 2022 Marketing Industry Trends Survey done by Hubspot: Short-form video has the highest ROI of any social media marketing strategy as 30% of social media marketers plan to invest in it more than any other trend in 2022.
- More than half of marketers (51%) who use short-form video plan to increase their investment in 2022.
- In 2020, 87 percent of marketers reported that video content led to a positive ROI, according to Wyzowl.
- 60% of marketeers in a databox.com survey reported that video ads tend to drive more engagement according to their experience one marketeer even said “We have found our clients to have 20 to 30% more conversions when utilizing video over images when it comes to Facebook ads.”
This format is here to stay and in this article we will guide you through the process of implementing it into your social media strategy in a way that fits your brand and genuinely helps you connect with your audience.
Before we get started…
Allow us to summarize why Reels and TikTok videos are essential for your digital marketing strategy:
- This video format promotes a higher engagement than images. On average the reach on Instagram reels is 80% higher than on image only content.
- Short-form content is easier to consume making it the perfect fit for the ever-decreasing and more selective attention span of social media users.
- Reels and tiktok videos allow for repetitive consumption. If a video is 15 seconds it is easier for someone to consume it more than once, repeat views are key because they lead to: higher engagement and ranking and with repeated views the content becomes more memorable for the viewer.
- People are more likely to share a reel or tiktok on their stories than images or long form videos. This will help increase the reach and impact of your content.
- This video format promotes a higher engagement than images. On average the reach on Instagram reels is 80% higher than on image only content.
Where can this type of content be used?
The most popular platforms for short form video are:
• TikTok
• Instagram Reels
• Instagram Stories
• YouTube Shorts
• Snapchat
Ideas for Short form video content for your business
The following is a list of possible ideas you can implement today to make use of this type of video format to assist in your marketing strategy:
- Brand Challenges and User Generated Content (UGC): A great way to engage with your loyal customers is to promote their participation online and an online challenge can be a fun way to do this. These challenges can help you reach new audiences that love these types of viral challenges. To find some examples you can do a quick search on Instagram or tiktok with the hashtag “challenge” (#challenge) and explore the way brands are using this strategy to drive engagement and brand recognition.
- Q&A: Brands with a loyal following find themselves answering questions from engaged clients from time to time, you can transform these questions into short video. Ask your followers to submit questions and make a selection to answer in the form of a video and if you have a lot of submissions split it into a part 1, part 2 etc.
- Product demos: Show your followers the possibilities your product has to offer, this type of video should represent your audience and the uniqueness of your product over your competitors.
- Testimonials: Social proof is a powerful tool in human behaviour. The validation of others can have a huge impact on our own decision-making process. Asking users to review and share their thoughts on your product or service in the form of video can be the perfect method to get new audiences to try out your product or service.
- Behind the scenes: This type of content further enhances the connection your audience will have with your brand; you are taking them on a journey behind the scenes of something they already know and love. Use this type of content to tell your brand story and show your uniqueness to your followers.
- Brand Challenges and User Generated Content (UGC): A great way to engage with your loyal customers is to promote their participation online and an online challenge can be a fun way to do this. These challenges can help you reach new audiences that love these types of viral challenges. To find some examples you can do a quick search on Instagram or tiktok with the hashtag “challenge” (#challenge) and explore the way brands are using this strategy to drive engagement and brand recognition.
Tips to make your reels and tiktoks videos more efficient.
We know that content creation can be challenging so we have gathered a list of tips to help you a bit in making use of short form video on your Social Media channels:
1. Keep it simple…
You only have about 15 to 60 seconds (max) to show what you want to show. Don’t overcomplicate the message or the execution.
2. Don’t deviate from the essentials of your brand, stay authentic…
Trends are important and keeping up with them even more but not all are relevant for your brand. Keep your message and content authentic to your brand.
3. Use the tools you have (but don’t compromise quality)…
A lot (if not most) of the short videos that go viral are recorded with a smartphone, so a big production is not necessary for this type of content but good lighting and high quality images are essential in order to relate your brand with quality.
4. Tell a story…
Storytelling is as important now as it was during our hunter-gatherer era. Stories touch us and trigger our emotions, don’t neglect this factor even in short-form branded videos.
5. Dive deep into your data…
This is where the results can be found. Analyse relevant metrics such as engagement, reach and followers carefully before and after posting. Experiment and have fun trying new things out. Double down on what is working and always question why something is, or isn’t, performing as you think it should. Data based decisions drive growth.
6. Analyse what’s out there…
Last but not least, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Explore how big brands are leveraging this type of content, analyse your competitors and test these ideas out with your own audience.
To conclude…
As our attention span decreases or becomes more selective (depends how you want to see it..) the importance of video becomes more clear. Use it often and use it smart, the experts and numbers show that you will see positive results as long as the content is genuine and of high quality.
