The only constant in marketing seems to be that it’s always changing. That’s true in most years, but it looks like things are gearing up to change even faster. The rise of Short Form Video has been swift, and it’s looking to reshape the marketing world in 2023.
What happened so far
Lets back up a little. In the early days of Covid lockdown you probably remember hearing about this new thing called Tiktok. At the time it seemed like a novelty. With lot’s of kids making short dance videos and going viral, it seemed like a fun way to blow off some steam while not having to go out in public. Most of us probably thought this was a novelty that would quickly use up it’s 15 minutes of fame.
But it turns out that we were all wrong, and not just by a little bit. Tiktok exploded over the past 2-3 years and if you believe the stats, it’s now getting as much traffic as Google and Facebook. On the surface it seems impossible. Facebook is over a decade old and Google is more than two decades old. To think that Tiktok has caught up (at least from a traffic perspective) in just a few years seems crazy. Yet it’s happening.
As a result Alphabet (the parent company of Google and Youtube) and Meta (the parent company of Facebook and Instagram) have introduced competing short-form products like shorts and reels to keep from losing market share. These are crucial products for Alphabet and Meta to keep pace. To be clear, Tiktok did not add new users to the internet, it has taken the attention of users from other platforms.
In a seemingly bizarre turn of events in 2022, Tiktok suddenly became a search engine for Gen Z to find events, reviews, restaurants and experiences- stealing search traffic from Google, and video experiences from both Youtube and Instagram. And if you think about it, it makes sense. If you’re looking for an experience, what better way to research a new bar or restaurant to hit on a Friday night than a guided tour in the form of a short video.
What happens next
But don’t think that Alphabet and Meta going to just sit and around and let this happen unchallenged. They can see Tiktok stealing traffic from them and it’s not likely that they are not going to take it lying down. It’s probably a safe bet that they are going to be working very hard in 2023 to figure out how to integrate short-form video into their product roadmap.
When you look at Youtube Shorts and Instagram/Facebook Reels it seems as though they haven’t got their monetization strategy figured just out yet. But you can bet they are thinking about it. There’s a lot of speculation that Google search results will include short form video content in 2023. Just as Google introduced long-form video into search results a few years ago, it’s not unlikely that they will start to incorporate short-form video as well.
What to focus on
So if you’re looking to get in the game and start producing your own short-form video content, here are a few quick tips to get you started:
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Plan to publish across multiple platforms (ie Tiktok, Youtube, Instagram, etc).
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Esthetic is quick, simple and direct
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Authenticity is appreciated over production value
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Make videos between 15 sec – 2 min
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Shorter videos get more repeat views
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Be anything but boring. Be interesting, informative, engaging, provocative, or fun are all good bets.
Why you should get on board
There’s going to be a lot of opportunity here as everyone is figuring out how to do this. Because it’s early, small, independent brands can make their mark on a relatively level playing field with much larger competitors. It’s safe to say that a lot is going to unfold for social media platforms, search engines, and content creators in regard to short-form video in 2023. If you want to stand out from your competitors, you should make short-form video part of your marketing strategy in 2023.