By now you definitely know that video is a vital piece of content marketing.
However, saying ‘Make videos for your business’ is the same as saying ‘make food, it’s good for you’.
There are so many specific details that need to be considered because everything matters. Objectives, timelines, promotions, intentions, audiences – just to name a few.
But one of the main things to think about is – what kind of content should you be making for your marketing campaigns?
Videos generally fall into one of these three categories –
- Awareness – brand awareness, product awareness
- Engagement – drawing users to interact with your content
- Education – teaching users about your products, services or information
#1 Short form video content
Short form is anything that is between five seconds and five minutes in video length. These videos are primarily vertical and (of course) short.
What are short form videos?
The concept behind short-form content is that it’s easy to consume and great for engagement.
Think about platforms like TikTok, SnapChat, YouTube shorts and Instagram Reels/Stories – these mediums changed the way we consume and create content. These vertically formatted videos are short and catchy.
So, if you’ve got a specific message that you want to get out there quickly and visually, short form is probably for you.
Quick tip
Don’t make the mistake of trying to capitalise on the engagement of a short video, using a longer video – for example TikTok/Reels videos where the creator says ‘follow for part 2’. Immediately no.
Either change your script to accommodate the time or change your format.
Short form videos are also a good source of user-generated content.
Choose short form content for –
- Specific and memorable messages
- Brand videos
- Higher engagement and brand awareness campaigns
- Visually appealing content like art
- Summarised unboxing videos
#2 Medium form content
Medium form video content is anything that is between five and 30 minutes in duration.
These videos are most likely hosted on Platforms like Linkedin, Facebook or video hosting sites like Youtube, Vimeo etc.
What is medium-form content?
Software explainer videos, tutorials and webinars are prime examples of medium-form content.
As the internet is a vast landscape, there’s a very good chance that your videos are not going to be the only ones out there of your topic – so, it’s important to stick to a singular topic to engage with your audience and keep their attention.
Depending on the platform you’re using, you can also monetise your videos through advertising. Your video topic needs to adhere to the platform’s policy to qualify and your channel size, views and engagement rate must meet a certain criteria as well.
Quick tip
Know your audience and how they’re searching for you. Medium form content on platforms like YouTube use a carefully crafted algorithm that shows your videos to people that are already engaged in your topic. However, it’s vital that you use the correct captions and tags in your videos in order for the search engines to find it.
Choose medium-form content for –
- Vlogs
- Product introductions
- Case studies
- Testimonials
- Educational content
#3 Long form content
Long form video content is any video or audio that’s 30 minutes or more. In most cases, this kind of content is often consumed while users are doing other tasks like driving, exercising or working.
For some topics, it might be difficult to create longer content. However, it’s also an important tool if used correctly.
Long form content is posted on similar social media platforms as medium content, therefore you have smart algorithms (and paid media options) to help push your video to users that are interested.
What to know for long-form pieces
- Users are less likely to take notes
- Your content should be on-brand (always)
- Strategically plan your topics so that it flows
- Allow your brand’s personality to show to stand out
Choose long-form content for –
- Live stream videos
- Real-time videos
- Podcasts
- Virtual events
- Interviews
- Webinars
- Bring it all together
There’s no reason why you can’t use all three forms of content for your business.
Create a long or medium-form video for one platform then release ‘teaser snippets’ in short form to get a broader reach.
Dark Matter offers a range of carefully curated documents that can help you make videos.
Most importantly, our video production team can help you conceptualise, create and release your video marketing campaigns.
Contact us today for more info.
