Short-form videos are one of the most powerful marketing tools out there. Videos help you connect with your audience, show off your expertise, build up your personal brand and engage more deeply than any other medium.
Today, I’ll lay out a few key strategies that can help you make your short-form video content much more effective. Shorter does not mean easier, but it does open the door to create unique content that can be engaging and entertaining in just a few seconds.
Short Form Video Best Practices
1. Optimize Videos for the Platform:
When you’re creating a short form video, consider the platform you intend to share it on. Each platform has a specific format and time restriction. For example; Stories on Instagram or Facebook, allow you to share up to 15 seconds of video at a time, disappear after 24 hours, and you have to click on them to see them. YouTube Shorts or TikTok videos autoplay when you open up the app or browser, can be up to 60 seconds long and tend to perform well when following a trending theme.
2. Repurpose Existing Video Content:
Repurposing content gives you tons of options and, compared to creating a video from scratch, is quite efficient. You can take an already existing, long form video and edit it into multiple short form videos. Or, you can update a video by adding text on screen using Storyblocks text templates, rearrange the video clips in a new order, or add effects using After Effects templates from our Stockblocks library, to freshen up an older video. Repurposing existing content allows you flexibility to share across multiple platforms and gives you more videos to release!
3. Make a Plan:
Get clear about the message you want to send in your short form videos, who these videos are for, and how you can share concise information in a way that will connect with your customers. If you’re recording content, make sure you have what you need readily available to show on camera. And if it applies, add a call to action at the end of your short form video.
4. Use High Quality Content:
When creating short form videos, make sure your subject is well lit, check your frame before pressing record to ensure there are no distracting elements on screen, and make sure your content is shot in at least 1080p. Platforms tend to compress the quality of content when posting, so providing them with a high quality video is best, and if you’re shooting video on your smartphone, typically, the camera on the back of your phone will be better. Also, for the best results, try to record good audio by reducing and removing distracting background noise, speaking loudly and clearly, and within a few feet of your microphone for best results.
5. Use Stock Content:
Stock content makes creating high quality short form videos easy by giving you an abundant amount of professionally shot clips, creative templates and royalty free music. You can create entire videos with stock content, in a fraction of the time it would take to film them and with Storyblocks constantly updating their stock catalogue, there’s always new content readily available to keep up with your businesses short form video needs. A Storyblocks unlimited subscription gives you and your team access to creative stock media resources, with a cost-efficient plan. When you’re continuously creating content, using stock media will save you tons of time and money, compared to a pay-per-asset plan or hiring a video production crew.
Short form video has become the most consumed type of content and the go-to way to share a message fast while capturing the attention of consumers. Businesses big and small are starting to recognize the value of leveraging short form videos; not only to expose consumers to their product or service, but to build a loyal brand community. With so much content being uploaded every second, it’s more important than ever to stay top of mind by posting short form videos frequently.
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