Marketing in today’s time has reached a new level. The gap between marketing and entertainment has thinned to a great level and a huge hand for the same is that of video format content that people consume. In today’s time, 89% of consumers wish to consume brand videos to gain an idea of what the brand does rather than going through the entire website. Hence, it can be said that, now, maximizing the conversion of your audience should be more based on reducing the time spent by the visitor on your website (in a way). While that sounds very weird, the truth is, that the faster you provide the consumer with what he/she needs, the faster you convert them to your customer. In this blog, we dive deep into the aspect of videos and determine what format of video format suits your small business well be it long-form or short-form videos.
What Are Short-Form Videos?
Short-form videos are the type of videos that range typically under 1 minute. The performance of such videos typically depends on the platform on which they are posted. All such platforms are TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Short-form videos are generally used by the brand to deliver brief and engaging messages.
Benefits Of Short-Form Videos
Based on various studies, videos ranging between 30-60 seconds are the most successful, which justifies the claim that people prefer watching short videos to learn about a brand’s offering. There are various reasons for this.
- Short-form videos perform because them being attention-grabbing quite quickly.
- Such videos are easily generated on a limited budget.
- The crisp and concise nature of short-form videos engages viewers more.
- The short length of the videos is very accessible hence more likeable therefore causing the viewers to take a quick action on such videos which makes them more shareable if liked by the viewer.
Limitations Of Short-Form Videos
While this era is declared that of short-form content that aligns well with the short attention span of the viewers and audience of today’s generation, there are yet many reasons why creating short-form videos for you can be a hassle and therefore a limitation.
- When it comes to delivering complex and detailed messages, short-form videos may fail in doing so due to their short length.
- Short-form videos have a higher tendency of getting lost in the feed of the user quite quickly with a shorter span of time for them to get viral.
- Short-form videos are way harder to optimize for search engines due to the lesser availability of keywords.
What Are Long-Form Videos?
Long-form videos are contrary to short-form videos which are, as the name suggests, longer in duration that can ranging from a few minutes to several hours these types of videos while have been the prime focus of marketers in the recent past, are the new era has turned more towards short and quickly digestible content consumption. That doesn’t make long-form videos entirely void in today’s time. Long-form videos are considered best suitable for educational content, product demonstrations, and content that caters to detailing. There are only limited platforms that entertain long-form video formats like YouTube and Vimeo.
Benefits Of Long-Form Videos
Despite the trend of short-form videos, it is well noted that long-form video content is the fastest-growing segment to date and there are viable reasons for the same.
- Long-form videos provide your business a medium to build authority among the audience through in-depth information about subjects.
- Long-form videos help in bringing in the consistent engagement of the audience to your business helping build a connection with your audience.
- Moreover, the longer duration of such videos hold the tendency to keep your audience engaged for a longer period thus helping the algorithm understand the interest of the audience towards your content and your business.
- The bonus is that a well-created long-form video has an extended shelf life than a similarly created short-form video.
Drawbacks Of Long-Form Videos
Despite long-form videos being very sustainable, the trend of short-form videos is simply because of the loopholes that the long-form videos leave behind.
- Long-form videos hold a huge challenge to grab the attention of the audience in a very short time because of the diminishing attention span of the audience in the market.
- Creating high-quality long-form videos is way tougher and time-consuming than creating a high-quality short-form video.
- Further, the distribution of long-form videos is quite limited due to the availability of fewer platforms that support such lengths of videos.
What Video Format Suits Your Small Business?
While we understand that both video formats are incomparable at a certain level, it thus boils down to the factors of your business that make a certain content length best for your marketing efforts.
Content Objectives
The foremost factor to look upon is the objective you want to serve with the content you want to share online, short-form videos are best for you if you wish to create a quick buzz or facilitate brand exposure. On the other hand, if your objective is to provide an in-depth understanding of the brand then you must go with long-form videos.
Target Audience Preferences
Next up you need to understand the type of audience you cater to. Hence, if your audience has a shorter attention span (generally younger audience) then you must go with short-form content and if your audience seeks an immersive experience (generally older audience) then you must go with long-form videos.
Platforms
While deciding various factors of this topic, you must go through the platforms that support your type of video format. Short-form videos generally perform well on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts while long-form videos are supported well by YouTube and Vimeo.
Industry Type
In addition to the same, you must also perform research as to what type of content and format performs well for the niche that your business is in. For this, you must indulge in a detailed competitor analysis.
Conclusion
All in all, choosing between long-form and short-form videos depends on the specific needs and goals of your business which must be clear in your mind so that you can take a further step to choose between whether to do it yourself or hire a digital marketing expert to do it for you.
In case of any dilemma, you should always opt for a detailed consultation.
