Is Short Form Video Better?
When deciding to embark on a video marketing campaign, there are a lot of decisions to make. One of the major questions is whether to produce a long-form video or short-form video. One is not necessarily better than the other, but they can achieve different goals. Let’s compare short-form vs long-form videos to help you decide the best form for your campaign.
Short Form Video: Pros and Cons
Everyone’s been talking about how our attention spans are getting shorter and shorter. Which to way to go?
Pros
One of the great things about short-form video is that they require less in terms of time and resources. Because they are simple and quick to produce, creating short-form videos is accessible to a business (and budget) of any size.
SF videos are also much quicker to produce, and the rapid turn around time means you can post videos about current topics while they’re still relevant.
If your main goal is reaching clickthrough rate goals, then a SF video is a good choice.
Also, many in-stream ad inventories don’t permit long-form ads. If your goal is to have your ad run (without the user having to opt-in) before another video, you’ll want to keep it short and sweet.
With SF video, you’re likely to reach a larger audience. If you’re just trying to get the word out about your brand, producing shorter content can put your ad in front of a lot more faces.
Shorter length videos are also much more shareable than long-form videos. That means that a successful short video is more likely to have its views rise exponentially.
Cons
Short-form videos aren’t the best for all types of video content, however.
Since you only have a short window, you have to condense your communication so much that you may feel you have to leave out important information. Your SF video is just a small glimpse of your brand. There isn’t time to get in-depth.
Some topics and styles might not be benefitted by only a short video.
Because they are confined to a short time span, SF videos can feel more like an advertisement than a story. Without as much time for the viewer to get engaged, it’s more difficult to create a strong connection with the brand identity.
Long-Form Video: Pros and Cons
Feeling like your creativity is being stifled by trying to create a 15-second ad? Long-form video gives you a lot more room to breathe.
Pros
Long-form video is a space where you have room to tell a story. If you’re more interested in building brand affinity than having a high clickthrough rate, a long-form video might be the format for you.
Free from time constraints, this is the perfect place to get more in-depth. Long-form videos are great for creating memorable emotional experiences, establishing your brand as an authority in your industry, and creating brand identity.
This is a great format for documentaries, interviews, how-tos, behind-the-scenes stories, meeting the team, and much more. You won’t be rushed to tell a complex emotional story in 30 seconds. You’ll have the time to flesh out your message in a way that the audience might connect with on a much deeper level.
Even though you might get fewer total viewers, the viewers you do get will likely be further down the marketing funnel. That means this video should be geared to a smaller, more precise buyer persona than your short-form videos. These videos should be less broad, addressing more niche topics in-depth.
Having fewer viewers is not a bad thing when those that do watch are more self-selected. Long-form video can make a significant impact on your marketing objectives.
With long-form video you can always edit shorter versions for sharing on social media or using as an ad. This makes it a versatile choice in your video marketing campaign.
Cons
Making a long-form video is more of a commitment. You’ll have to invest more time in the planning and production of the video. This is also going to take a substantially larger budget than a SF video, depending on what you plan to do.
Creating engaging long-form content is not always easy. It’s vital to be able to tell a riveting story that holds your audiences’ attention. Otherwise, they’ll just close the tab.
These videos are not particularly shareable, though they aren’t unshareable. It can be more difficult to post longer videos on social media, and so you might be relying on your audience sharing the video through a different means.
Long-Form Vs Short Form Video: They Both Have Their Place
Long-form, short-form, which will it be?
It’s perfectly reasonable for brands to utilize both short-form video and long-form video as a part of their video marketing strategy. They serve different functions, and both have their own upsides and drawbacks. Once you have the form and content decided on, it’s time to march onward in your video marketing campaign.
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