5 Tips for Maximizing Short-Form Video on Social
Some sing its praises, others curse the day it was born…but regardless of how you personally feel about it, it’s clear that Short-Form video content like TikTok and Reels are dominating social. According to Vidyard, 68% of people watch a 60 second business-related video all the way through! What if we told you that you don’t need to be 23 in order to create successful TikTok and Reel content for your brand (although that does help)? Read on for some info about the short-form takeover, and some tips for making the most out of your time in front of the camera.
TikTok (Not just a Ke$ha Song)
If you say that you’ve not considered joining TikTok (if you haven’t already), we’re calling your bluff! TikTok has absolutely boomed these past couple years, due in large part to COVID-19 and lockdown protocols. TikTok:
Is available in over 150 countries.
Has over 1 billion users.
Has been downloaded over 200 million times in the United States alone.
Has been downloaded a whopping 2.6 billion times worldwide since December of 2020!
Despite its beginnings as an app for kids and teenagers, statistics show that other age demographics are active on the app, too.
In the US:
20-29 y/o’s = 29.5% of users.
30-39 y/o’s = 16.4% of users.
40-49 y/o’s = 13.9% of users.
50+ y/o’s = 7.1% of users.
Lights, Camera, Action: Reels
With the popularity of short-form video content on TikTok, of course other social platforms followed suit. Enter Instagram Reels, Instagram’s answer to fun, quippy video content.
This isn’t hearsay either- it came straight from the horse’s mouth! CEO Adam Mosseri said back in 2021 that Instagram is ‘no longer a photo-sharing app.’ It was even announced that Instagram’s algorithm would be shifting to prioritize Reels and the accounts that make them, proving further that short-form video is a major tool for social media marketing professionals and small businesses.
This fact is even reflected in the data: A study by Conviva analyzed all the teams in the NBA, NHL, MLB, and NFL and found some interesting results that speak for themselves:
‘Across all leagues, the average engagements per Reel was higher than the average engagements per video on Instagram.’
‘The average NFL team’s Reel is generating 67% more engagements than their average Instagram video.’
‘The Patriots lead all NFL teams with an average of 121.8k engagement per Reel. During this same time period, which was prior to the start of the NFL season, the Patriots averaged 21.6k engagements per video.’
Tips for Maximizing Your Short-Form Video Output
If you’ve read this far and are interested in creating short-form video content, here are a few pointers for making the most out of your video creation and optimally utilizing TikTok and IG Reels:
Reposting
Recycling content between TikTok and Reels is an excellent strategy if you are not particularly interested in creating video content but still would like to, or if you don’t have a designated social media team member working for your business. By creating content that will be posted to both platforms, you’re able to get more bang for your on-camera buck. Video content can be created natively on your camera, and then uploaded to each platform respectively! Something to be aware of however, is Instagram’s new proclivity to demote video content that is blurry or that contains TikTok watermarks, so be careful when taking on a reposting strategy!
2. Trends Dominate
One of the most significant elements of TikTok and Reels is the dependence on and the rapid cycling of content trends. Trending video challenges, dances, audios, and memes populate these platforms and are always changing, and (aside from the user-personalization aspect of the algorithm) participation in these trends will improve the virality of your content. Keep active on these platforms in your free time, or set aside time each day to scroll through these platforms and pay attention to what kind of sounds and videos are trending. These trends will inform the video content that you’ll create, and staying on top of trends will show your audience that you are actively engaging on the platform and are not simply there to sell them a product or service.
3. Influencer Partnerships
Influencer collaborations on TikTok specifically have shown some incredible results for a multitude of brands who’ve taken the plunge. Outsourcing your video creation to influencers native to/popular on these platforms can help you out with your short-form strategy if you or your team is not necessarily interested in being on or behind the camera.
TikTok Influencer Strategy Success Story: Blk Water
One example of a company who jumped into the deep end of TikTok influencer marketing only for it to pay off big time is Blk Water, a fulvic-acid infused water brand going on 10 years of operations (whose water is, you guessed it, black).
They were able to rack up a whopping 400,000 followers on TikTok in 2021 all thanks to their organic influencer collaboration strategy.
Although TikTok offers paid media options for advertising such as branded hashtags/challenges, video ads, and page-takeovers, Blk Water went the way of paying influencers to create video content, and it’s proven successful.
Prior to this, the company had barely any money dedicated to influencer ad spend, and now they are paying thousands of influencers a month to
Their activity on TikTok and collaborations with TikTok influencers made real change: sales were boosted 800%.
4. Community Management
Similar to the earlier point about dedicating time each day to scrolling through TikTok and Reels to keep abreast of trends, your company’s community management efforts on the platforms can also make a difference, especially on TikTok.
Being active in the comment sections of trending videos and videos you’re tagged in helps to increase your reach and brand awareness, as TikTok comments are filtered so that the most popular comments are pushed to the top of the comment section, and prioritizes brands with blue checks here as well.
Doing this showcases your company’s involvement with these apps as more than just sales and makes consumers feel like they are understood by your company, especially Gen Z and Millennial aged consumers.
See Taylor Swift’s Red (Taylor’s Version) announcement TikTok, and the fact that the first 12 comments in the comment section are all from brands such as DuoLingo, Nascar, and The Met Museum as an example of brand involvement in comment sections.
Another excellent example of how engaging on TikTok can create buzz for your company is creator Emily Zugay’s series where she humorously redesigned popular brand logos by taking suggestions from the brands in her comment section.
5. Make These Platforms Work for Your Brand
A world of branding possibilities arise when creating short-form video content, and you can make TikTok and Reels work for your company even if it seems like your branding may not align with what’s popular on the platforms. After all, TikTok Business’s slogan is: “Don’t Make Ads, Make TikToks”.
Short-form video on TikTok and Reels range from silly and goofy to polished and visually impressive, and it’s up to you on how you present your brand there. Funny, lighthearted, meme-focused videos can liven up your brand if what you’re selling isn’t the most entertaining or engaging, and you can focus in on the visually appealing and aesthetically curated corner of these platforms if you’re interested in keeping things more professional.
Irreverence Matters: DuoLingo on TikTok
Language learning app DuoLingo has garnered over 4 million followers on TikTok all thanks to their silly video content and community management efforts.
What seems like a “dry” product in nature (an app for learning languages), made TikTok work for them by taking on a goofy and self aware persona that makes their product interesting and engaging to viewers.
They participate in video trends and memes and make them their own, and their signature Duo the Owl mascot is a staple on the app.
DuoLingo’s TikTok success is a great case study for other companies looking to liven up their product or service via marketing, and get younger generations on board and interested.
Keeping Up Appearances: Gucci on TikTok
Gucci is a great example of a company staying true to their branding and aesthetics and making TikTok work for them.
Much of their content is professionally shot and visually appealing, with much of it being snippets from ad campaigns or runway shows.
They utilize influencers to create content for them like makeup tutorials and other artistic videos, keeping in line with their visually clean and compelling aesthetics.
They don’t have to participate in the irreverent goofiness inherent to TikTok in order to find success on the app. A genius move by Gucci was integrating TikTok directly into their ad campaigns by featuring popular and wholesome TikToker Francis Bourgeois in a train-themed series of video and photo ads in collaboration with North Face and High Snobriety.
Overall…
Don’t be scared of creating and posting short-form video if it doesn’t come naturally to you! There are all types of options for maximizing your short-form content and/or outsourcing it to creators who consider it their bread and butter. Reposting video content ensures that you’re doing double duty with less work, and staying active on TikTok and Reels in your spare time will ensure that the content you’re creating is on trend and aligned with what’s popular. Consider whether it might be worth it to revise your budget to include spend dedicated to short-form video influencer partnerships, and don’t be afraid to make Reels and TikTok work for you (no pun intended), and not the other way around. Need help coming up with or actioning on a short-form video strategy? You know where to find us…