As a small business or emerging brand, finding smart ways to reach your customers is key to your success. Without big budgets or resources to leverage, cutting through the noise and reaching new shoppers is all about being savvy and selective with where you spend your time.
If we had to recommend one content format to prioritize in your social media marketing, it would be short form video content. From TikTok to Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts, bite-sized vertical videos are your ticket to huge organic reach and a meaningful uptick in engagement.
With more accounts vying for attention, now is the time to be doubling down on your short form video content strategy. Not sure where to start? We’ve rounded up the experts from our Plann Crew to bring you their top tips, tricks and hacks for capitalizing on the power of video on social media.
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What is short form video content?
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As the name suggests, short form video content is a piece of video content that is anywhere from five to 90 seconds long.
This style of video is currently dominating social media platforms, following the rapid rise and popularity of TikTok (a social platform dedicated nearly exclusively to short form video content)
What makes short form video unique is that this content is:
- Bite-sized: With just seconds to share your key message, this style of video content is known for rapid transitions, compelling visual hooks and trending sounds you can’t get out of your head.
- Highly engaging: Nearly two thirds of short form videos are watched for 40-80% of their length, demonstrating how effective this format is at grabbing and holding attention.
- Made for mobile: These videos are typically shot on mobile phones and optimized for vertical viewing (1080×1920 pixels), offering an immersive full screen experience for viewers.
What short form video platforms should you be leveraging?
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There’s no shortage of places to share your short form video content on social media. In fact, repurposing and cross posting your video content across multiple platforms is one of the best ways to test and learn what content resonates with your audience.
If you’re looking to get started with bite-sized vertical videos on social media, here are three places to start:
- YouTube Shorts: In our opinion, YouTube Shorts are the golden untapped opportunity of short form video. Why? Because the platform is still emerging, meaning user’s appetite and demand for content is currently outstripping supply. Now is the time to be jumping on this platform to establish your brand as a leading content creator on the platform.
- TikTok: This is the platform that exploded the popularity of short form video content. With over 1 billion monthly active users, TikTok unique For You Page (FYP) gives creators and brands of all sizes the chance to be seen and get in front of relevant new users
- Instagram Reels: Last but not least is Instagram’s answer to TikTok: Reels. Housed within the Instagram platform, these videos offer brands an opportunity to produce curated, aesthetically pleasing content in a format designed to boost your organic reach.
Five reasons why you need to be leveraging short form video
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Whether you’re an emerging service provider or a small product-based business, short form video content gives you the unique opportunity to connect with potential customers at scale.
Still not convinced? Here are five key benefits of tapping into video on social media as a small business or brand.
1. Simple to shoot and share on social media
Do you have a smartphone? If so, you can create short form video content!
The beauty of this content format is that it celebrates candid, iPhone-quality footage. In fact, the more relatable and authentic the footage feels, the more chance your content has of being prioritized in social media algorithms.
Best of all, this content is designed to be edited and published directly from your phone. Take YouTube Shorts for example: within the YouTube app, you can easily upload your clips and edit like a pro (from adding text overlays to voiceovers and filters).
👀 Keep Reading: Discover our top five tips for editing YouTube Shorts like a pro.
2. High-performing content format
Did you know that short form videos receive 2.5x more engagement than longer form videos?
It makes sense: short form videos are concise, punchy and eye-catching. Rather than taking minutes to share value with audiences, these bite-sized videos deliver value in seconds.
The sooner you can communicate your key message with audiences (whether that’s your latest sale or access to your latest resource), the sooner you can get them to take action.
3. Increase your organic visibility
The best thing about short form video content? Users don’t have to be following your brand to see your latest posts!
From TikTok’s FYP to the Shorts tab on YouTube, short form videos score their own dedicated discovery feed on social media platforms. The aim is simple: get more eyeballs on your content.
With the right keywords and hashtags on your videos, you can even help the algorithms to correctly categorize your content and show it to users who are searching for the topics you’re talking about too.
4. Low-cost way to market your brand through video
The days of throwing thousands of dollars towards studio-quality videos are over. The best short form videos aren’t captured on fancy cameras or produced in flashy editing software.
This is good news for small business owners: all you need is an iPhone and internet connection to shoot, edit and publish your content to social media.
YouTube Shorts, TikTok and Instagram Reels require you to show up consistently, meaning you need to be publishing videos multiple times per week. But by batching your filming days, editing multiple videos in one session and scheduling everything ahead of time in Plann, you can create a consistent posting schedule that allows you to grow your audience and build your brand online.
5. Perfect for repurposing across platforms
Every single video you create has the potential to be shared across multiple platforms. That’s right: one single piece of content can reach audiences across three or more social media channels!
As an early stage business or a small brand, this is music to your ears. With the right tools to help you effortlessly repurpose and cross post your content, you can maximize the value of every video you create and quick A/B test different types of videos across different audiences.
Psst… did you know that you can now schedule your YouTube Shorts content with Plann? Our all-in-one social media suite just got even better, allowing you to plan, schedule and auto-post your short-form video content across all your favorite platforms, from YouTube to TikTok and beyond.
Expert insights on short form video content from our Plann Crew
Ready to learn from our team of curated experts about how to successfully harness short form video content? Keep reading to learn the top tips from our Plann Crew.
Chanelle Nicolas from The Social Twenty’s top three tips for creating engaging videos
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1. Always use a captivating hook based on the struggle you know your ideal client has.
2. Incorporate some type of movement, whether it be text on the screen, text overlays synced with the audio beat, smooth transitions, different camera angles, zoom effects or engaging movements like dancing or walking into the frame, and;
3. A call-to-action that encourages people to interact with your Reel or YouTube Short.
Kat Tepylo Murphy from Social Kat Media on why you need to invest in short form video content
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“Short form video may seem overwhelming at first, but strategically using b-roll and behind-the-scenes footage can take way less time than creating graphics or staging photoshoots. To make your time even more effective, I recommend setting aside time every quarter to film a bunch of b-roll content so that you always have video clips ready to add to trending audios, CapCut templates, and trends.
Focus on b-roll of you working (making products, packing orders, on your computer, on your phone), vibe shots (showing your personality and style with on-brand props), and your products if you sell them! Save a folder on your phone with all the videos so that they’re right at your fingertips when you get to posting.”
Sarah from Saralina Digital on why short-form video is your secret weapon to success
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“You have the power in your hands (literally) to create cinematic quality content from your phone. Most phones nowadays have 4K quality video capabilities. As a film major, I approve of your 4K quality iPhones! Shoot in 4K quality and in 60 frames per second or 30 frames per second. If your phone has a cinematic lens—use it!
Remember to use lighting or natural lighting, avoid low light shooting, use a tripod or stabilizer/ gimbal and hire a video content coach (wink, wink) to help you learn the ropes.”
Ready to kick off your short form video strategy?
Whether you’re struggling to keep up with the fast-paced nature of social media or simply want to devote more time to growing your business and focusing on those tasks that take place offline, Plann’s range of features is sure to help save you time with an automated social media strategy.
From AI-generated captions to cross-posting, analytics, hashtags and more, Plann can help you maintain a consistent posting schedule while you remain focused on business growth.
Go on, and redeem your 7-day free trial of Plann Plus. If you don’t like it, keep using Plann for free!
