By Tamilore Oladipo

Question: Why have short-form videos become so popular in the past few years, and how can I use them for my social media?

Move over software — there’s a new world eater in town. Short-form video snuck up on us, becoming the most consumed online content in a few years.

It’s your best bet if the consensus is anything to go by — 85% of marketers say short-form video is the most effective format on social media. This is backed up by attributed to having the highest ROI of top marketing trends

This article explores the rise in popularity of the format and some tips for making the most of short-form videos for your social media.

What is short-form video content?

Short-form video is a content format, usually filmed vertically and no longer 60 seconds (although this is up for debate).

The standard length is a more contentious topic, as no one can agree on how long short-form videos should be. Google defines it as any video over 10 minutes, while HubSpot found that the optimal length is 31-60 seconds.

However, going by the allotted times on popular short video platforms, the average length probably falls between 30 seconds to 3 minutes.

These videos can be shared on any social media platform, but there are specific ones that offer a range of creative capabilities (and the accompanying algorithmic boost):

• TikTok
• Instagram Reels & Stories
• YouTube Shorts
• Snapchat Spotlight & stories

Short-form video as a concept isn’t new — Vine saw immense popularity from 2013 to 2016 with its 6-second or less looping videos. In the past few years, however, we’ve seen a sharp rise in interest in the format. This can mostly be attributed to the rise of TikTok around 2019.

Today, TikTok is the most downloaded app in the world and ranks number one for consumer spending,  according to a report by data.ai.

Why is short-form video so popular?

In one word: convenience. They are easy to make and easy to consume, with an average video length of 15-30 seconds. The format allows creators to communicate quickly and users to consume their content without investing hours of time and focusing on one thing – truly an “everybody wins” scenario.

Also, shorter videos tend to perform better; the shorter a video is, the more likely viewers are to watch to the end. Short-form videos are also:

• Easy to watch and share: A report found that people share videos at twice the rate than any other form of content.
• Accessible on any computer or mobile device
• Cheap and easy to produce as long as you have a smartphone
• Free to access on any social media platform that supports the format, which is all of them
• Prioritized by the algorithms of the top social networks, making them a high priority for creators
• Increasingly a preferred format for learning about new things: This report found that …read more

  Source:: Buffer Blog

        

  

  Author: Aaron