Maximizing Impact: The Latest Short-Form Video Trends on Social Media

Thanks to Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, and TikTok, the popularity of short-form video is skyrocketing. This says a lot about how people consume media!

Engaging content snippets that are bite-sized is what people crave. It entertains, educates, and connects people. Short-form videos tick all these boxes! That’s why brands are tapping into this format for its potential and extreme shareability and watching their audience grow. 

If you’re planning to make short-form videos a part of your strategy, keep reading! We’re discussing the top 5 trends that can help you.

The Era of Short-Form Videos

Short-form video is not a fleeting trend. It’s an important way to connect to the current audience, who are attention-starved and fast-paced. The following statistics for short-form video prove it:

• Video views comprise 80% of online traffic.
• Americans spend nearly an hour on TikTok daily.
• TikTok LIVEs have made 50% of users purchase something
• 57% of YouTube views are made up of 60-second-long videos.
• A direct increase in sales via video was reported by 87% of marketers.
• To learn about a service or product, 73% of people prefer watching a short-form video.

There’s more! According to HubSpot’s marketing report, short-form video marketing is more common than other trends. Also, 67% of social media experts are planning to invest in this combat.

Top 5 Trending Short-Form Videos So, what’s winning the audience’s heart and moving conversion rates? Here are 5 of the best formats for short-form videos:

Short-form video Powered by AI

Video content is extremely effective, but it’s also expensive and time-consuming to produce. This becomes a barrier for many brands. Enter AI short-form video generators. As expertise and technology advance, the potential for both creativity and productivity also increases. Today, there are several ways to incorporate AI into videos. Existing text, audio, and video can be utilized for original video content. Then there’s script writing, transcription, ideation, filming, storyboarding, and more. So, for brands and businesses, it has potentially massive time and cost savings.

UGC is King

User-generated content (UGC) is supreme in today’s social media landscape. It’s not similar to influencer content but created by real customers of a brand. They are fans who aren’t being paid to do so, and this improves brand trust and credibility. In a recent survey, 500 marketers who sell services or products on social media said UGC improves their brand awareness. Marketers even rank UGC as a great ROI format. 

Case Study: Theater

Take a look at the accessories and perfume brand Theater. They recently launched their UGC chapter, named Rangmanch (Hindi for theater). Here, users have free access to their graphics and video templates, which users are using to make videos wearing their Theater pieces. Within 3 weeks, they have already amassed a massive amount of UGC!

Optimizing for Soundless Scrolling

The current social media landscape is noisy, so audiences often choose to play videos without sound. Since brands are aware of this, they are pushing for stronger visual storytelling, particularly for short-form videos where each second matters. So, evocative and eye-catching elements such as subtitles and overlays, creative transitions, and motion graphics engage audiences, with or without sound.

Case Study: Tasty

Recipe videos are often a great example of sound-free short-form videos. They heavily rely on step-by-step demonstrations that are visually appealing, conveying each step of the process.

Ingredient close-ups, clear actions, well-paced sequences, and more keep the viewers engaged. Meanwhile, the text overlays provide important information about cooking times, measurements, and ingredients. Visual cues such as the food transforming from raw to cooked or a sizzling pan add to the appeal.

The best short-form video editors at Tasty cracked this a long time ago, going back to 2015. 

With one snackable video at a time, Tasty swiftly reached viral status across all short-form video platforms. Within a year, in 2016, they generated 1.4 billion video views!

BTS for Building Community

Who doesn’t love a sneak peek into how their favorite brand works? While some businesses might feel perturbed about sharing the inner workings, showing the product or service’s human side helps. It fosters relatability and trust among audiences, which in turn builds community, awareness, and loyalty.

The value of connection

If a business is authentic, the consumers know they care about the industry and the people in it. Behind-the-scenes videos, if done well, create a sense of shared interest and belonging. After all, 78% of social media users want connection. Among these users, 70% reported they felt more connected to a brand whose CEO is active across social media platforms. And 65% said it feels like real people are running the business when they see a CEO use social media often.

Brands are leaning more into building a community. They understand a happy and big community isn’t only about increasing prospects or leads.

Brand Challenges  

As brands focus on building communities, success goes beyond just generating leads. It’s about creating a sense of belonging and shared interest that fosters genuine connections with people.

Remember the #IceBucketChallenge from 2014? It flooded everyone’s social media feeds with people dumping ice water over their heads. This was all for a good cause, because the ALS Association ended up raising $115 million for research! 17 million participated as well, which makes this challenge one of social media’s most successful viral campaigns. Nike launched #PlayInside in 2020 in response to the worldwide lockdowns. The challenge motivated people to stay active while indoors. It features users and famous athletes sharing creative home exercises. The campaign resonated globally and aligned perfectly with Nike’s values of perseverance and fitness.

If you want to understand how social media videos can generate revenue, read this blog to know more!

The Future of Short-Form Videos

The rise of short-form videos will continue because people are sharing videos more and more than any other content type.

The incredible growth of Facebook and Instagram Reels and Stories, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts shows the rising consumer demand for vertical and short videos.

Keep an eye on new platforms

The emergence of new technology and platforms will also ensure short-form video remains at the top. It might remain so for online marketing for the coming years. 

Then, there are considerations to be made for countries where TikTok or Instagram is banned. Triller or Red Note aren’t new to trending video formats for social media, so they can be exciting new avenues to check out. It can fill the gaps for users in countries where other, more popular social media platforms aren’t available.

If you want to learn more about social media strategies and how to optimize them, don’t forget to check this blog.

Short-form video is rising rapidly. So are the opportunities to reap benefits from this trend! Do you have thoughts and opinions on short-form videos? Then, don’t wait and write about what you think for us! Send in your thought-pieces to our Social Media Write For Us category.

FAQs

1. What kind of videos are trending on social media?

The videos currently trending on social media include:

• Short-form videos
• Vlogs
• Gaming content
• Product unboxing and reviews

2. What are the positive effects of short-form videos?

Short-form videos have several positive effects, such as:

• Increased engagement
• Improved accessibility
• Enhanced creativity
• Increased reach
• Diversified content
• Personal connection
• Marketing opportunities

3. What platforms support short-form content?

Several platforms support short-form content, including:

• TikTok
• Instagram reels
• YouTube Shorts
• Facebook reels
• Snapchat

4. What is the future of short-form video?

The future of short-form video is exciting and rapidly growing.

5. How do you get leads from short-form content?

To get leads from short-form content, consider the following strategies:

• Include a clear call-to-action (CTA)
• Use lead magnets
• Utilize landing pages
• Leverage hashtags and tagging
• Run contests or giveaways
• Use CTAs in video descriptions
• Collaborate with influencers
• Optimize for conversions

Amilia Brown

Amilia Brown is a seasoned business writer & strategist who simplifies complex business concepts and turn them into engaging narratives. As a trusted business writer, she delivers actionable insights with precision.