The question is no longer whether or not video should be a part of your marketing plan. Video is here to stay. The question we have to answer is how much video do you need and how video content strategy will integrate with other aspects of your marketing plan.
Short-form video content is a rising trend in 2019, thanks to enhancements in technology and increased accessibility on all platforms. Social platforms like Facebook and Instagram now favor and enable native video content. The newest social platform, Snapchat, only allows users to post “micro-videos” that disappear after 24 hours. With these content platforms focusing their efforts to make short-form videos more accessible, even more users are creating and consuming video content.
A recent research report by the Altimeter Group found that short-form video content was the best performing content in terms of engagement across every industry and every geography. It raanks as more engaging than blog posts, whitepapers, and podcasts. Developing a solid video content strategy is a powerful marketing tool that shouldn’t be dismissed.
So, let’s get to it!
What is Short-Form Video Content?
Short-form video content is anything short enough to hold a viewer’s attention span, but long enough to get your point across in an engaging way. Typically, this lands in the 15 seconds to two minute time frame.
Short-form video content is found on YouTube and popular social media platforms like Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram, and Facebook, however, brands also leverage this type of content for their websites and blogs. Google, of course, favors YouTube content and even LinkedIn users are embracing video content.
Short-form video performs exceptionally well because it allows a brand to get its point across in a visual and very personal way. Another major advantage is that it forces companies to deliver their brand message in a memorable way.
Benefits of a Short-Form Video Content Strategy
Human attention spans have rapidly decreased over recent years, thanks in part to the increased popularity and use of social media and smartphones. A study by Microsoft reported the average human being now has an attention span of eight seconds. And, according to Jampp, our attention span has been rapidly decreasing over the last 15 years and at a rate of 88 percent year-over-year.
Video content strategy offers an opportunity to humanize and personalize your brand identity. Another benefit of using video as part of your digital marketing plan is that it creates more natural opportunities for email marketing. Research shows that adding video to email can boost click-through rates by 200-300 percent and accelerates a company’s sales cycle.
Short-form video also helps with your Google and SEO ranking. YouTube videos tend to rank high in Google search results and the most popular type of videos on YouTube are short-form. Additionally, embedding videos into your website’s landing pages can help increase the time visitors stay on your site, which contributes to search engine rankings.
How to Make a Great Short-Form Video
Don’t overthink it when creating a short-form video. Remember to keep it short, anywhere from 15 seconds to 2 minutes is best. This is great for camera shy executives that a company’s message should be coming from in a video for the brand.
Remember to make it meaningful. Videos that create an emotional response work best, especially on social media platforms. Video content that evokes an emotional response from its viewers also has the best chance to go “viral.”
Here are a few more examples of a short-form video highlighting B2B services from some of our clients, JWB Family Law and HipHire:
Types of Short-Form Content to Include in Your Video Content Strategy
Here are some ideas of different short-form content you can start creating for your video content strategy in 2019:
How-to videos for your company’s products, tools or services.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ez-2M3C_4wU
Videos showing the benefits and features of your products or services.
Behind-the-scenes video of your team in action, such as your company’s manufacturing/production line or featuring a day in the life at your business.
Customer testimonials done interview-style with past or present customers, partners, and clients sharing their positive experience with your company.
Messages from C-level executives expressing gratitude for company milestones and/or wins at the end of a quarter or fiscal year.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1wZtgvDupA
Teasers for upcoming events or your company’s new products, tools, and/or services.
Live-streaming from events of your company’s presence at industry conferences, speaking engagements, or tradeshows.
There’s no time like the present to begin developing an effective video content strategy for your small business. Schedule a free strategy review with our team so we can help you make 2019 the year that your content marketing strategy produces results!
