What Are Short-Form Videos And How Can They Help Your Business?
Written by Jhasmin Vidal
If you haven’t started making short-form videos for your business, you’re missing out. With traditional marketing losing effectiveness and video’s popularity skyrocketing, video marketing, especially short-form videos on different platforms like Tiktok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts, has become a must-have for every business.
What Are Short-Form Videos?
Short-form videos are those that last from 60 seconds to 2 minutes on average. It is a new way for businesses and creators to showcase content, share information and convey messages. It can be used strategically in marketing content to capture the audience’s emotions and personalize your brand.
Through these videos, customers can interact with your brand on a personal level. And you can use video advertising to capture their attention at various stages of the customer’s journey.
Moreover, short-form video content is already an excellent way to reach millennials and younger generations, who prefer short-form videos to all other forms of media currently available.
How Can You Use Short-Form Videos To Boost Your Business?
Imagine achieving 15,000 billion media impressions in a month without doing anything. There’s no marketing or advertising campaign. You just had a sudden surge of online activity without even lifting a finger. Not only that, but you also experience a massive increase in sales. It sounds too good to be true, right? But for Ocean Breeze, that’s exactly what the company experienced in late 2020.
All that happened just because of one short video. Nathan Apodaca, much commonly known as Doggface on TikTok, decided to film himself skateboarding to work while listening to Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” and drinking a bottle of Ocean Spray’s cran-raspberry juice and posted it on TikTok. The video quickly went viral, spreading across TikTok and the internet. And with it came a wave of goodwill and an increase in sales for Ocean Spray.
This is just one of many examples where Tiktok short-form videos have changed the world of marketing and social media for everyone. Users have flocked to the app’s short, “snackable” content, with the 15-to-60-second format appealing particularly to those under 40. With TikTok’s success, there has been an increase in market demand for video content and marketing in short-form format. Therefore, to keep up with the trend, YouTube and Instagram released their own versions, named ” Shorts and Reels,” respectively.
Believe it or not, short-form videos can turn your business around and boost your sales massively more than your other marketing efforts. However, of course, no one can predict what video will be viral next, but with constant effort and high-quality content, you’ll be much more likely to.
How To Create Quality Short-Form Content For Your Business?
Short-form content creation presents a unique challenge, as audiences expect to be entertained or informed (or both) with each clip. If you’ve been thinking about making your debut on TikTok or Reels, here’s what our social media experts think you should do to succeed.
1. Answer the questions that your audience are asking about your business without being salesy or too promotional
Before you start, research the questions that your target audience is asking about your business. Popular creators on Tiktok and Reels create relatable content that addresses problems or questions that people actually have. Financial tip videos are great examples of creators contributing real value to their audience. They will deep dive into the most commonly asked questions like, “What to do during inflation?” or “When should I sell my shares?”. They are building their credibility without being salesy or too promotional. If you give free value up-front, your audience is more likely to trust you when they’re ready to buy your product or avail your services.
2. Deliver value that aligns with your niche
Because TikTok and Reels are so popular right now, creating content that capitalizes on this opportunity is a huge growth hack for creators and brands. Consider what value you can provide to your audience that is relevant to your industry niche for the best results. Videos that leave viewers feeling inspired, from educational step-by-step guides to quick styling tips, typically perform well and are more prominent on the TikTok For You page and Instagram reels timeline.
3. Create content that’s interactive and entertaining
Think outside the box and be creative! Try featuring your product in new or surprising settings, like the Ocean Breeze’s cran-raspberry juice example earlier.
If you’re new to creating this type of video content, see if you can incorporate your products into an existing trend or challenge on TikTok and reels rather than creating something entirely new. As Pringles did with their #PlayWithPringles campaign, they noticed that many TikTok users are already using their products in a variety of videos, so they use their hashtag to make it a more official trend.
You can also get ideas from influencers or ask for help from our social media experts, who are expert content creators who have mastered the short-form video format. Remember to use branded hashtags to increase the reach of your content!
4. Put yourself in the shoes of your target audience
Thinking like your target audience is the best way to understand them. Consider the consumer’s attitude toward short-form video: can your video make them laugh or teach them something?
Of course, you can make a TikTok or Instagram Reels video about your product—but only if people are actively searching for it! Otherwise, find a new, creative, and trending entry point—is your brand associated with a new trend? Can you make a funny video for an upcoming holiday?
Is your brand linked to the hot new song in any way? Is there anything you can teach people that is related to your product or service that will increase brand awareness? Here are just some of the questions you can ask yourself to come up with better, high-quality content for your audience.
5. Take Advantage of the existing UGC
The majority of the time, the content is already available. Check to see if a customer has mentioned you in a post. Engage with it by commenting, sharing it on your own profile, and repeating the process. When you see customers who are excited about your brand and are already talking about it, it’s simple to reach out and get high-energy content that drives ROI and awareness.
6. Be Real and Creative
Keep it genuine, organic, and engaging. Don’t put too much emphasis on “branding” it. Instead, create something that will generate a lot of user-generated content.
Be creative! That is all brands should think about when engaging with their audiences on platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels. Brands that can demonstrate their creativity in a funny and natural way are always welcomed by viewers!
Conclusion
Marketing as we know it keeps changing. New platforms, new trends, and new strategies will come and outperform the things that you are most used to and familiar with. All these changes can be overwhelming for many businesses, causing them to be left behind or feel outdated.
Fortunately, NDN is equipped with a diverse team of experts to always provide you with the support you need to achieve your business goals. As we enter into a new generation of marketing, NDN will keep you updated with the latest solutions to continuously push your business to its maximum potential.
