Video is one of the best content forms that boost engagement and help in building brands. When creating a video, an essential question is which form of video does bring in a good result? Is it a long-form or a short-form video?
Both long and short formats have their own value and advantages. Short videos grab attention immediately, while long video builds engagement. Choose a format that serves the purpose of your videos and will align with your aim in creating the video.
The purpose and aim of video can be anything but not limited to getting clicks, views, engagement, content repurposing, explainer, branding or self-marketing.
The essential metric to read the success of videos is the completion rate. Be it a long video or a short video, viewers must complete the video till the end. So in most cases, short videos do good. But it’s tough to convey messages comfortably in short videos.
You need to look into these three vital factors before deciding on the video format –
- Budget – The longer the video is, the hight the cost and time budget. So, plan according to your time limitations and cost budget.
- Publishing channel – You must know the rules and limitations of the video content in the channel you want to publish. Some platforms don’t allow longer videos. So decide the duration of the video accordingly.
- Purpose – Having a clear purpose or goal for the video will affect the length of the video.
We have listed a few pointers that you need to look for when considering long and short-form videos in this article.
Considering Long-Form Video
Audience engagement
When the core purpose is to engage with the viewers, long-form content is the best choice. You can convey your message with a great emphasis on entertainment and storytelling. Be it fiction or non-fiction content, try to follow a three-act structure while writing the script for the video.
The three-act structure has an introduction, problem or conflict, and the solution. It will let you convey the message in a more structured and interesting way. Long-form videos help you establish a connection with the viewers and build your community. It enables you to create an emotional bond with them.
Algorithm matters
Long-form video content comes with the advantages of video SEO. As long-form videos cover any issue or topic in-depth, you can add every necessary keyword id the metadata. When visitors search for the keywords you have targeted and stay on your page to watch the long video, search engines might conclude that your video is relevant. It will start pushing more traffic to your site when users search with the targeted keywords.
Building brand
Being a content creator, you need to build your personal brand to grow higher. So creating longer content is an essential step towards building your personal brand.
When people want to learn something new or need to find a solution to their problems in your niche or skill set, they will search with keywords you have also already targeted in your videos. Those people might end up watching your video and gain value from the content.
But all this doesn’t mean that you can use longer videos only for educational or explainer purposes. You can also provide entertaining and fun content as well. Choose a genre that helps you achieve your goal.
A few long-form content ideas are – you can collaborate with fellow content creators, post behind the scene or making videos, bloopers, interviews or personal stories.
Considering Short-Form Video
Clicks as goal
If the primary goal of creating a video is the number of clicks it makes, you should go with a short-form video. Short-form videos get many clicks as people think they can watch and benefit in a very short duration.
Short videos will perform well when you make creative, crisp, on to the point with interesting and faster transitions and value-added. It’s not easy to quickly provide the desired information in bite-sized pieces, but you will get the best return of investment if you can do it creatively.
Integrations on social media
Videos that trend on social media sites are primarily of 30 seconds to 1 minute. Most people think that only entertainment or fun videos get attraction on social media, but that’s not true. Many content creators and influencers put out informative, emotional or educational content in Instagram reels and youtube shorts.
If you create short videos, it will be easy to integrate them with social media platforms, websites, or blogs. Video is such a medium, when used along with other mediums, gives more user engagement.
Average attention span
The average attention span of humans is shortening gradually. So it is advisable to prefer creating short videos. If you have content that requires more time, you can break it into multiple parts and publish them.
Wrapping up
Short-form and long-form videos have distinct advantages, so you should try using both and see which grabs your audience’s attention. You don’t need to choose and stick to a single format; rather, use a combination of formats.
TagMango has the most effective tools exclusively for content creators to effortlessly host their webinars and courses. TagMango can help you with creating content, marketing and hosting your webinar.
