Creative TikTok Agency | Blue Rocket

From TikTok to Reels: How to Master Short Form Video Content

Vasiliki Patsali

Vasiliki Patsali

SEO Specialist @BlueRocket

As we live in a fast-paced environment, we tend to favor and prefer short form videos that we can more easily watch and garner information from.

Business owners and marketers, in order to keep up with the new challenges and thrive in this new landscape, should leverage the benefits and growing popularity of short form video content to gain and maintain competitive advantage.

This is exactly why, in the following guide, we’re going to cover:

  1. What short form video content is
  2. The main benefits of short form video content
  3. The difference between long and short form video content
  4. The best platforms for this type of content

And last but not least, how to master your short form video content strategy in 2023!

Let’s get started.

Short form video content is any video that is usually under 60 seconds. The exact length depends on the partform that someone uses and refers to. The optimal length for a short form video is between the range of 30 to 60 seconds.

This fact has been supported by various studies, including Hubspot’s video marketing report.

Now that we talked about what a short form video is, let’s dive deeper into its benefits and why it should be an integral part of an effective content marketing strategy.

Short form video content is without a doubt one of the most promising and popular forms of social media content.

Thus, it’s no wonder an increasing number of marketers and B2B businesses consider its immersive value.

Below, we have gathered some of the most important benefits of short form video content.

Let’s begin with the first one.

Nowadays, a user’s attention span has been shortened to a great extent, meaning short form content is more easily consumable and attention-grabbing.

After all, according to Hubspot, almost one third (30%) of all short form videos have an average watch percentage over 81%.

The above report also advocates that the average watch percentage of these videos can even exceed 100%, as the audience replays them.

A great advantage of short form video content is that it is more flexible by nature. It can more easily be repurposed into other content formats, as well as be distributed to other platforms.

You can easily use the same short form video and post it to different social media channels with little or no change, always complying to the formatting requirements.

As an example, the same TikTok video can also be uploaded as an Instagram Reel and a YouTube short.

This way, your brand can accomplish more with less effort and time.

Short form content tends to also be more shareable for users, since it requires a smaller time investment to be consumed, so it’s more appealing to them.

Especially on TikTok, which currently has more than 1 billion users globally, the content that is being shared combines education and entertainment elements (edutainment method), having a much bigger potential to go viral fast.

After all, laughter is a shareable emotion that tends to unite people.

It is most likely you have come across a meme or a short video that captivated you and you ended up sharing it with your network.

This key advantage is what brands tend to love about short form videos and leverage to raise brand awareness.

Naturally, shorter form video content usually requires less time to produce, as well as a smaller cost, compared to long form video content.

This is why short form content is more appealing to brands and creators who in most cases have busy schedules and quite often end up running out of time.

Also, as mentioned, the time limitation is not the only factor, since the longer your video is, you will probably need to pay more in production expenses.

Since, as we stated above, short form video content can be consumed and shared more easily, this benefits the algorithm.

As more and more people see it, impressions, interactions and overall engagement rates are scaling up.

Afterall, short form video is the best format for lead generation and has the highest ROI.

The main difference between long form and short form video content is their duration.

According to Google’s own definition: “Short form videos are under 10 minutes and long form videos are over 10 minutes”.

Of course, this is a little generalized approach if we consider that platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels use videos that don’t often exceed 60 seconds in length.

Generally, short form video content is well-suited to the format of some platforms including TikTok and Instagram, while long form videos might work well on YouTube.

Afterall, many platforms won’t even allow you to post a video over a certain length.

Moreover, short form video works well in ads which are short by nature to attract leads.

Short form video allows you to squeeze a few seconds of your content into your ads to showcase your brand identity, what makes you unique and expand your reach.

What is more, when you aim for something quick and on-the-go for the growing number of mobile users, short form videos can do wonders for your audience.

In each case, what you should consider is identifying your target audience and prioritizing their needs.

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Following up, let’s continue presenting the best platforms that facilitate short form video content.

Brands that use short form video content can step up their game and see their efforts flourish when utilizing the power of TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts.

Let’s analyze each one along with some examples and best practices for better understanding, starting with no other than TikTok!

TikTok is currently the master in its field, conquering the world with its endless capabilities.

It was launched back in 2016 and is dedicated to short form content.

According to Statista, during the second quarter of 2022, TikTok had the highest engagement rate, with users worldwide spending approximately 95 minutes per day on the app.

Based on different behavior characteristics and demographic elements, users have multiple options including their “For You” page, the “Following” option and a well curated “Discover” section.

On TikTok, businesses can thrive leveraging different trends that emerge daily such as POV, behind-the-scenes content or storytimes featuring their customers.

As an example, the CRM platform Salesforce, quite often features its own customers, sharing their stories for authenticity and relatability.

Being authentic and consistent is key and a stepping stone to reinforcing brand identity.

Thus, adding a unique hashtag to the arsenal of your content marketing strategy can possibly help your brand to amplify its efforts and expand its reach even further.

For optimal results, try to record vertically and keep your video under 60 seconds.

Also, the dimensions of a TikTok video should be 1080×1920 pixels and subtitles should always be placed in the right area.

The nature of short form video platforms is that users tend to quickly scroll to go from one video to another, if they are not interested.

To combat this and grab their attention, choose to start with a hook the first two seconds.

Instagram Reels allow users to upload video clips for up to 60 seconds that they can edit or add some special effects to, before sharing.

Using short video types of content, brands can post creative content, share their perspective and vision, and utterly what differentiates them from other brands.

According to Hootsuite, as a general rule, it’s a good tactic to stick to 7 to 15 seconds, since short Reels loop more frequently, pushing up the number of your views and helping more users discover your Reel.

Reels can be found under their own tab on account profiles and shared on Instagram Feeds, Stories, or Explore tabs.

If you want your Reels to be seen by as many people as possible, then a good practice to consider is to use 3-5 hashtags and try posting during the time of day when most of your audience is active on the platform.

Also, don’t forget that consistency is a valuable factor to take into account when trying to engage with your audience.

When creating a Reel, keep an eye on the dimensions you use. For Reels, the ideal aspect ratio is 9:16 and sized 1080×1920 pixels.

Brands can also utilize its platform to showcase how their products work, nurturing their leads into customers.

Shopify, as seen below, utilizes the famous unboxing trend to give potential customers a flavor of its new customizable order counter, Shopify Display.

Youtube Shorts are short form videos up to 60 seconds long and help creators catch the audience’s attention quickly, skyrocketing the overall YouTube channel engagement.

According to Search Engine Journal, YouTube is aware that thumbnails for Shorts are an important factor for video creators.

Integrating eye-catching thumbnails in your YouTube Shorts can play a vital role in deciding whether the viewer will click or skip your YouTube Shorts.

Besides leveraging the power of custom and unique thumbnails, the titles of your YouTube Shorts are another aspect to keep in mind, if you want to captivate the user’s attention.

For that matter, avoid using any misleading titles, since this tactic will possibly harm your efforts to build trust and engagement with your viewers.

Also, try to be consistent and post regularly to cultivate a strong connection with your audience.

Brands can also utilize YouTube Shorts, besides Instagram Reels and TikTok, to give a sneak peak of their upcoming features.

To continue with, as we can see below, Adobe leverages Youtube Shorts to showcase briefly its new feature.

Qing Liu presents a humorous, yet informative how-to guide of the project All Of Me, which is meant to help users generate un-cropped components of photos and edit out unwanted distractions.

In all the above platforms you can also integrate User Generated Content (UGC) into your videos for a more personalized approach, building a strong community.

To sum up, we talked about what short form video content is and its main benefits, what elements differentiates it from long form content as well as the best platforms for this type of content.

By integrating short form videos along with some effective tactics into your marketing strategy, you’ll be able to expand your reach, and eventually stand out from the competition.

If you are excited and intrigued to learn more about how you can master your short form video content strategy, don’t hesitate to book a free call with us to discuss your needs!