Short Form vs. Long Form Videos

Adventures Media Solutions

In the modern age of media, video content has proven time and time again to catch the attention of consumers. Visual content stimulates consumers and piques our inherent curiosity, plus it has a much higher likelihood of getting shared than all-text content, nearly 40 times more! Videos allow your audience to consume more entertaining, laid-back content rather than having to comb through all your social posts or dig through walls of text on your website. Nearly all of us are guilty of mindlessly scrolling through TikTok or watching a YouTube video instead of reading up about a topic, so tap into that market! With effective production and promotion, uploading videos can increase conversion rates, brand association, and audience engagement for your business. What’s not to love? Knowing and understanding the difference between short form videos vs. long form videos is key.

What’s The Difference?

When it comes to posting video content to your social platforms or website, knowing where to start or stop can be a difficult question. Short videos may be more easily consumed by your audience, but long videos can better tell your business story. So, what’s the difference between them? 

Typically when we discuss long-form and short-form videos, long-form means videos over ten minutes, and short-form means videos under ten minutes. Nearly all social media videos are short-form, excluding platforms specifically made for longer content, like YouTube. These longer videos also find homes on business websites. When producing video content, keep in mind the platform it will be posted to. While short-form content is technically any video under ten minutes, attempting to post a nine-minute video to Twitter may not be the wisest choice. Plus, many platforms do not allow videos longer than a certain mark. Google My Business bans videos over thirty seconds, and TikTok does not allow videos over three minutes. 

Strategize, Produce, Post!

Now that you know the difference between the two categories and where they typically do best, it’s time to plan. Think about the different platforms either you or your client have, social media, website, blogs, etcetera. Where do they want this content to be? If the answer is YouTube or their website, you know that long-form videos are probably better. If it’s to be posted on Facebook or Instagram, a shorter video will do better. Think about your audience as well. Younger audiences may respond better to short, vertical videos posted to platforms like Instagram Reels or TikTok, older audiences may prefer something horizontal on Facebook. 

Lastly, think about your purpose. What’s the goal of this video or set of videos? If it’s something fun and lighthearted, it might go better on social media. If it’s informative, posting it to the business website may be a better play. By knowing the video purpose, you’re easily able to reverse engineer the production process and get the best outcome.

Whether you’re looking for long-form or short-form content, a professional look is key to drawing in audiences. The proper equipment, setting, and script will all lead to much better looking and better engaging content for your followers. Need a hand producing video content? Get in touch with AdVentures! We offer video production and creative services to bring your business to the next level.