Video powers up your digital content

“We need a video,” is something you’ll hear in marketing meetings worldwide. Visual, moving content is now considered one of the ‘must-haves’ in an intelligent content mix that provides a more dynamic experience for consumers. The format is always evolving, and what we have seen in recent years is that social media channels, like Instagram and Snapchat, have disrupted the traditional idea of what a video should look like and brought us a challenge: to make shorter, more personalised content.

The emergence of the short-form video

The short-form video is now dominating the scene. Research by Olapic and World Business Research found the following data:

• 90% of marketers surveyed are using short-form video in their marketing efforts
• 74% of marketers surveyed report short-form video performs either “exceptionally well” or “very well” in campaigns on Facebook
• 66% report a lack of production quality as an obstacle in activating short-form video across channels

One of the channels where brands can build their short-form video strategy is YouTube. Try to watch a music video and you’ll most likely have to sit through a short-form advertising video before you get to hear the song. The older, long-form advert would not be acceptable in this scenario on YouTube, as audience interest dissolves after about 10 seconds, and if you are a frequent visitor to YouTube, you’ll know that the short-form videos are usually somewhere between five and 10 seconds.

Our dwindling attention span

One of the major reasons for the growth in short –form videos is that people’s attention span is starting to resemble that of goldfish, If we don’t receive the message in a short, sharp burst, we’re off to look at something else. It’s not easy to appeal to consumers’ emotions in a few seconds, but that is the task copywriters and art directors plus the rest of the marketing team all face.

There is a small window of opportunity to grab attention and the short-form video now also has many formats, ranging from snaps and sizzles to teasers. It sounds a bit like Kellogg’s ‘Snap, Crackle and Pop’. Above all you must stimulate interest and emotion and make sure they know it is your brand that is talking to them.

Three reasons to use short-form video

So, we know why brands are using it from a communication perspective, but what about its other values as part of a rich, content marketing mix. There are three good reasons:

• Its is easier to distribute due to small file sizes
• They are easier to remember
• They are easier to repurpose, simply making a few small changes you can refresh the content while keeping it the same length.

You need to harness the power of video marketing and especially the short-form video. Get in touch with us today and we’ll be happy to discuss how you can power up your brand with video marketing.