Short Form Video Content

We are bombarded by media every day which is why content creators must pay attention to popular video trends such as short form video content. In order to stand out on social media, your message needs to be packaged nicely, easy to understand, and as fast as possible to consume. With some big brands releasing ads as short as two seconds, it’s clear that short form video content is becoming more popular! People don’t have time these days to sit around and consume long videos. When we look at the videos that win on social media it is all about bite-sized and very clear short form video content. In this article, we will discuss what short form videos are, why you should create short form video content, and some popular short form video content trends to experiment with.  

What is Short Form Video Content?

What is short form video content? The “official” definition of short form video is up for debate but it is typically referring to a video that is 10-60 seconds in length. Short form videos largely became popular thanks to social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram Stories, and Snapchat. 

Why Short Form Video Content is Amazing

There are two main reasons why short form video content is impactful on social media; shorter attention spans and more repetitive engagement from viewers. Both of these reasons make short form videos a key formula for success on social media these days.

1. Our Attention Spans

Our attention spans have been heavily preyed on by the media and as a result, we are quick to dismiss videos. We simply do not have the time to consume every piece of content that is put in front of us on a day-to-day basis. Because of this, social media users have no problem quickly scrolling by a video if it doesn’t catch their eye immediately. According to a study done by Microsoft, the average human’s attention span is less than 8 seconds. When you think about your own social media use, how quickly do you scroll by something that doesn’t instantly grab your attention? Short form video content is more important than ever to ensure you capture people’s attention before they move on. 

2. Repetitive Views

The other reason short form video content is so important is because of repetitive consumption. If a video is only 8 seconds long it is very easy for someone to consume it more than once. However, if a video is 5 minutes long the chance of someone taking the time to watch it more than once is very low. For brands especially, repeat viewers are key as it really gets your message ingrained into the viewer’s mind. 

Short Form Video Content Trends

So we know that short form videos are effective, but how can you do your own short form video production? The main challenge with short form videos is trying to fit your entire message into such a short time span. There are many different formats of short form video content so pick the one that will tell your story in the most concise way. Some popular short form video trends are:

1. Stop Motion Videos: One of the fastest and most engaging methods of short form video is Stop Motion. Stop motion videos are an animated video technique that consists of taking a series of pictures and stitching them together into one video. You take one picture, move the objects in the shot and then take another photo. Once you have enough pictures (usually 12+) you can stitch the pictures into one video clip. Check out our other blog post on Stop Motion Videos for more info. 
2. A Quick Video Montage: Keeping your videos short and having quick-cut video clips is a basic and great way to tell a story. Challenge yourself to make 8-15 second videos that get your message across effectively. Because your montage will be so short make sure that each frame has a purpose and adds to your story significantly. When watching your video back be very critical - if a shot isn’t essential then take it out. 
3. GIFs: A GIF is similar to stop motion but a bit more scrappy. You can take a selection of photos from any scene and piece them together in a video that plays on a loop. This is a fun and super fast way to grab people’s attention on social media. 
4. Boomerang’s: Creating a Boomerang on Instagram is a great way to keep your message short and sweet. Boomerang was created by Instagram and is essentially a fancier GIF that shoots a bunch of photos and stitches it into a short video that plays forwards and then backward. Simply use the Boomerang app on Instagram to capture.

Short Form Video Content Summary

Whenever you’re making a video these days consider the following question; is every second of this video necessary? Does each frame add to the objective of my video? When in doubt, take it out. To succeed with video content today you must have respect for the viewer’s time. Short form video content is the perfect way to share your message and ensure that it doesn’t get lost in the never-ending wave of content coming at viewers. Keep experimenting with different formats and techniques.

Short form video content is here to stay, but how you create is up to you - get out there and create some short form video content!