In the forever changing digital world, attention is a highly valuable resource that converts into traffic, awareness and money. Short form content found a way to capture and retain people’s attention and now it runs modern day media.
For digital marketers, understanding and leveraging short form content has become increasingly essential and has controlled many marketing campaigns for several years now.
What is Short Form Content?
Short form content is brief, easily digestible media which is usually packed with the most information/talking points in the smallest amount of time. Examples of platforms specialising in short form content are TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts and Snapchat Snaps.
Is it Killing Our Attention Span?
The rise of short form content has revealed a deeper shift in consumer behaviour, and more specifically consumers’ attention. As a result of this content and a few environmental / societal factors, attention is scarce and this could affect the way we market digital media forever.
One reason why short form content has had this effect is a cycle that it traps many people in called the dopamine loop. This is when platforms constantly reward users with instant gratification, keeping them invested for ages. For apps like TikTok, it means that as long as users get the videos that they are hoping to find, they will stay on the platform scrolling for the near future.
Also, possibly as a result of this, people’s commitment levels have changed and as its easier for someone to watch a 10 second video VS read a 1000 word article, people are getting more accustomed to the easier way of consuming.
How Short Form Content Has Changed Marketing
The first way short form content has changed marketing is with its storytelling capabilities. You used to have minutes to tell a story, but now you must capture your audience in the first six seconds or else you risk them scrolling past. Brands are still learning how to effectively capitalise off of this by distilling their message into micro moments.
Also, short form content thrives on user-generated-content (UCG), meaning there are a lot more unboxings, reviews and tutorials, creating a reliable and trustworthy feel from videos.
Impact on Creators
Short form content has low barriers to entry, so you don’t need a camera crew and director to make videos look appealing. This type of media birthed a new wave of creators with niche communities launching brands and propelling their careers.
Challenges and Criticism
Despite its extreme popularity, short form content still has its challenges and fair share of criticism.
The first criticism is based on shallow consumption. There’s a growing concern that people are consuming more and more content with no critical thinking or depth. This will most likely reduce our ability to consume long form content and, outside of media, would stunt people’s deeper understanding on a vast number of topics.
Also, due to creators and brands constantly chasing trends and relevance, their messages can become diluted and drain the value from what they make. This could impact tonnes of brands currently doing well online.
Final Thoughts
Short form content has truly changed everything all the way from shopping to entertainment. As platforms continue to innovate, it’s definitely clear that there is going to be a continued emphasis on communicating in 60 seconds or less; a huge shift in marketing culture especially with the influence of short form content only just getting started.
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