Short-form video ads are video clips often 5-16 seconds long that businesses use for promotion. Short video ads are much cheaper to make than their long-form counterparts but are equally if not more effective.

There are different forms of video ad formats, such as Instream ads (pre-, mid-, or post-roll ads that play at different points of an online video clip), Outstream ads (video ads that usually appear while the user is scrolling through content on a web page) and mobile ads (a common mobile advertising practice for many free versions of mobile apps is to require users to watch a short video ad before being able to use a particular feature). All of these ad types are widely used today. Online media sites and video-sharing websites such as YouTube love using these types of ads before the video content for two reasons: users cannot skip them, and they do not negatively impact user experience.

Why We Choose Short-Form Videos

Today, there are over 4.5 billion internet users all over the world, which is over half of the world’s population. With the expansion of the internet and digital media, marketers have been funneling their efforts towards the online realm. No business wants to miss out on such an enormous potential audience. Media agency Zenith sees internet video/rich media spending in the U.S. climbing 40% to $34.219 billion in 2021 from $24.442 billion in 2020 with a growth of 11.2%. The upward trajectory is expected to continue in 2022 and 2023, with spending rising to $38.667 billion and $43.308 billion respectively.

However, as people spend a lot of time and money on online consumption and the world shifts from traditional advertising to digital advertising, two things are happening: everyone is now bombarded with ads at every corner, and people’s attention spans have decreased drastically due to our faster lifestyles.

In general, video content is the now, but short-form video content is the future. When it comes to your video marketing, less is more.

Strategies for Short-Form Videos

Six-Second
A Facebook study showed that six-second ads had 11% higher ad recall, provided a 12% rise in return on ad spend, and improved video completion rates by 271% over longer-form ads. Video ads longer than 15 seconds have significantly higher abandonment rates than their shorter counterparts, making it clear that shorter ads are the best way to go.

Tease
Teasers are effective tools for intriguing your audience. By giving your consumers just a glimpse of what you have in store for them, you’ll get them curious and will likely make them return for more later.

Amplify
Long-form and short-form videos have different advantages and disadvantages and can complement each other. You can base your entire advertising campaign around longform video ads that will get your brand’s message across and then segment the message in multiple parts and deliver them with some short ads.

Echo
Another way you can use short video ads is to reinforce your brand’s message as your advertising campaign comes to a close. These types of advertisements should be punchy, memorable, and should convey your campaign’s goals in brief. You can also use short-form video ads during the mid-point of your campaign to encourage users to take action.

Trends of Video Content

1. More User-Generated Content (UGC) 
Consumers generally love UGC. In fact, it influences their purchasing decisions more than brand- or influencer-generated content. It is budget-friendly: without using up too many resources, brands can publish videos that evoke emotion. This is a great example of how you can leverage user-generated content in your strategy. For instance, Chipotle collaborated with these content producers to create a fun, viral-worthy video. One of Chipotle’s target audiences might be young, college students looking for inexpensive meals. Its video features two creators who reflect the audience they may want to attract. When creating a UGC video, brands should think about whether their audience can relate it to themselves.

2. More Behind-the-Brand Videos
Consumers seek out authenticity and transparency in brands. Consumers tend to feel more connected to brands that show the people behind the brand. In a study, 70% of consumers said they felt more connected to brands whose CEO is active on social media platforms. So brands should pull back the curtain and engage with their audiences on a more personal level.

3. More Explainer or Educational Videos
Educational videos are great added-value content because they help audiences in their day-to- day lives. Brands that make education a priority in their marketing strategy can improve lead generation and build stronger brand loyalty. Similarly, explainer videos target users who are at the decision-making stage of the buyer’s journey and, if done right, they can turn decision-makers into customers. It’s a win-win situation that brands get to address their audience’s pain points and offer solutions.

Popular Platforms

Tik Tok 
TikTok is the platform of the Millennial and Gen Z population with 69% of its users between 13 and 24 years old. This app was first launched in China in 2017 and later amassed millions of users all across the world and became a hotspot for dance trends, popular music, and hilarious memes. TikTok features a video creation interface that allows creators to film bitesize videos and in music, sounds, and AR effects. Its notable feature ‘For You’ suggests infinite feeds of videos by an algorithm that seems to know exactly what you like to watch.

Instagram Reels 
With over 1 billion active monthly users, Instagram already had consumers’ attention. Instagram caters to a broader age demographic than TikTok. And when considering their other marketing features, Reels is another way for brands to expand their reach in 30 seconds or less.

YouTube Shorts
As a platform for long-form videos, YouTube also has decided to launch its own short-form video feature- Shorts. As one of the earliest and most successful video platforms with a large user base, YouTube is no exception in targeting short-form videos to tap into the existing market.

Triller
Triller has made music a prominent feature on the app by making the top and trending music the main tab and focuses on a specific group of users-music fans, backed by famous musical artists and owned by Proxima Media Sony Music, Warner Music, Universal Music, and more. The app reports having 13 million active monthly users who spend an average of 20 minutes a day on the app. With music playing a key role in the app, marketers should use music as a storytelling element in their videos.

Conclusion

The popularity of short-form videos is growing fast. The main social media companies developed this feature on their apps following this trend and creating a new large platform for marketing opportunities. This shift is due to people’s shorter attention spans and changes in content preferences. Learning how to create great short video ads for your brand will become an unavoidable issue of your company’s marketing strategy.