Why do we love Short Form videos

We can all fall victim to getting lost scrolling through social media, whether that's TikTok, LinkedIn, Instagram or the rest, it's too easy to waste time there. But what is it that grabs our attention and holds us there?  

What is short form content?  

These clips are usually anything less than 60 seconds, with the golden length at just 30 seconds. Delivering information in a short digestible format, allowing watchers to understand the whole product you're offering in an instant. Keeping it short and sweet makes it very easy to watch on your mobile, meeting the demands of a mobile-centric society.  

With the abundance of information and products available online, it is becoming paramount that you need to get your message across quickly. Short form content is shown to have the highest engagement on social platforms, its concise nature makes it more appealing for users to click through and engage with the content, comment and like – therefore boosting the post the post through the algorithm, getting more eyes on your content. Contents shareability is enhanced when a user finds a short clip interesting or entertaining, again spreading your business to more people.  

This snappy content is getting more and more successful, in an age where our attention span is getting shorter you can understand why. Although there is nothing new about content that lasts less than a minute, its popularity is soaring. This concept has been in use for years before we have seen its explosive take-off. For example, back in 2009 ‘Miller High Life’ ran a one second advert at the Superbowl, in doing so they avoided the insane price tag for such a spot and saw an increase in sales of 8.6%. Blink and you’ve missed it! 

The science behind it 

Science tells us that as a generation our attention spans are shrinking. Psychologist, Dr Gloria Mark, discusses this idea in her book ‘Attention Span: A ground breaking way to restore Balance, Happiness, and Productivity’ Over the last two decades she has been studying our ability to concentrate on a Word document, before we lose focus and do the usual, check an email or procrastinate. In recent years this time scale has dropped to a shocking average of 47 seconds, compared to a much larger two and a half minutes back in 2004. This trend of a dwindling attention span is affecting how we consume content, not just in marketing but movies and television, everything is getting cut shorter.  

Versatility and Repurposing 

Granted, your whole audience will not be regular users of social media. However, short form content is versatile in how it can be shared, it is small enough to be embedded in a monthly newsletter or even incorporated into presentations for clients. Reusing this content allows your business to maximise its value by reaching different segments of your audience and reinforcing brand value – all whilst saving time and money on producing new content.  

Effective Strategies for creating short form content  

Whilst the basic rule of short form content is it’s time limit, there are certain things you can be doing to improve your contents performance, using effective techniques to craft attention grabbing headlines, delivering clear and concise messaging, leveraging visual storytelling, and incorporating interactive elements.  

• Attention Grabbing Headlines, these are essential to entice your audience to click, read or engage with your content. Try using numbers, evoking a sense of urgency or posing an intriguing question such as ‘10 ways to increase engagement, FAST’  

• Clear and concise messaging, with limited time available, it's important to focus on the core message of your product and cut out any unnecessary jargon. Simple and direct language is best practice here, ensuring that your message is understood quickly and directly.  

• Visual storytelling makes you memorable and it captures the user's attention quickly. Combining compelling images increases the user's emotion to the content, making it that bit more memorable and more likely to be shared.  

• Interactive elements, anything such as polls, quizzes or interactive infographics can massively boost engagement. Not only are you creating a more immersive experience for your client, but you can also get true feedback from your targeted audience about your product.  

Whilst short form content is not a groundbreaking new discovery in marketing, it has become increasingly accessible on social platforms through built in, easy to use editing tools and it’s integral to modern strategies. We no longer need a camera and an understanding of high spec editing software, it's as simple as filming 30 seconds, adding a catchy title and sharing your product worldwide in an instant. For businesses this presents a powerful, cost-effective opportunity to enhance marketing efforts, bolster brand awareness, and solidify brand identity. By leveraging these tools, companies can reach and engage with large audiences quickly and it just might give them the competitive edge in this fast-paced digital landscape to stay ahead of the competition. Go ahead and give it a go