"Short vs. Long-Form Video Content: Which One is Right for Your Marketing Strategy?"

These days video content tends to fit into 1 of 2 categories - long form or short form content - and understanding which of these video types is best suited to your marketing strategy can make the difference between success and failure.

So, which type of content should you be making and why?

Well, let’s start with short form content, which, if you’re familiar with TikTok, YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels, you’ll already know all about. Usually, short form content is no longer than 60 seconds in length and is often filmed in a vertical orientation, so that it’s best suited for viewing on a mobile as short form content is most commonly consumed on these devices.

One of the main benefits to creating this type of content is that it’s fairly quick and easy to create. This means that you can generate a lot of content in a relatively short amount of time, making it ideal if you want to create daily content.

The production quality of your videos doesn’t have to be Hollywood level either as most people expect this type of content to be more candid and rough around the edges - this means the barrier to entry is a lot lower than traditional video content.

The downside to short form is that you really won’t have time to deep dive in to more complex issues or cover multiple subjects, and if you take too long getting to the juicy bits then most people will lose interest and swipe away.

So, the key to making good Short form content is ensuring that it’s quick paced, informative and, ideally, entertaining. My advice is to just pick a single very specific topic and get to the point as quickly as you can. As you’ve probably guess, long form content is the opposite to this, consisting of videos that are longer than 60secs in length and are typically in a horizontal orientation - though not always.

These types of video will generally be expected to of a higher production quality and you’re best to view them as an extension of your company branding or portfolio. If someone is taking the time to watch your videos then you’ll need to wow them or risk making a bad first impression.

Long form content is better suited for topics that require a bit more explanation, however, if you get too carried away and end up making a mini documentary then the likelihood is no one will ever make it through to the end without falling into a coma.

So, my advice is always to try and keep even your long form content, short and sweet - 2-3min maximum. The aim of the game is to keep people watching right until the end, so if there’s a lot of ground to cover then consider splitting it up into a handful of shorter 2-3min videos rather than a single 20min epic.

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