5 Tips To Elevate Your Association’s Brand With Short-Form Video Platforms
Short-form videos are among the most effective ways to draw an audience in, with 73% of consumers preferring them over their long-form counterparts.
Associations can leverage short-form videos to elevate their brand’s association, delivering bite-sized yet compelling content that leaves a lasting impression and encourage participants to join.
Here’s how to do it in five easy steps:
- Hook Your Audience Within the First Five Seconds
People spend less than five seconds deciding whether to stick around or scroll past your video.
So, make those five seconds count.
Skip the slow introduction and jump right into the purpose of your content. Start with a powerful one-liner, an intriguing opening scene, or a question directly relating to your audience’s pain points.
Pair it with high-quality audio and visuals; grainy footage and muffled sound will lose viewers faster than you can say “short-form video.”
It’s also wise to invest in decent lighting, a good microphone, and a solid editing app—it’s worth it in the long run.
- Follow Trends But Keep the Content Unique
I know what you’re thinking; ‘trend’ and ‘unique’ are about as contradictory as oil and water. But with a little creativity, it’s possible to strike a balance.
For example, you can use a trending song when promoting an event or participate in a trending challenge that provides a behind-the-scenes glimpse into your association’s culture.
In this way, you’re leveraging the pre-existing popularity of the trend while showcasing your brand.
- Stay Relevant to Your Business
When making short-form content, it’s not only important to keep it compelling and entertaining but also relevant.
While it might be tempting to capitalize on whatever’s trending at the moment, doing so can backfire if it doesn’t align with your brand or worse, sends the wrong message.
For example, a funny dance challenge might work for an association targeted toward young adults, but it’ll likely look inappropriate if your brand is geared toward working adults in a professional industry.
- Keep It Short
When we mean short, we mean under 30 seconds short.
Studies show that the average human attention span is 8.25 seconds. Once you capture a viewer’s attention within that time frame, you have a higher chance of keeping them engaged throughout the video—but just barely.
WIRED Magazine reports that the optimal video length of short-form videos is on average 10 to 17 seconds. The same report also states that videos over 60 seconds see a significant drop in engagement when posted on short-form video platforms.
Here’s a list of the ideal lengths of short-form videos across various platforms:
- Instagram: 7 to 15 seconds
- Instagram Reels: 5 to 10 seconds
- TikTok: 11 to 17 seconds
- YouTube Shorts: 15 to 60 seconds
- Snapchat Spotlight: 5 to 60 seconds
- Consistency Is Key
The algorithm thrives on consistency, especially with short-form videos. TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube Shorts prioritize accounts that post three to five times a week, while Twitter and Snapchat favor posting several times a day.
Posting regularly strengthens your association’s visibility and relevance, helping you reach more viewers and eventually build a committed audience.
That said, do keep in mind that consistency is just as important as quality. You don’t want to pump out poorly made videos just for the sake of posting three to five times a week; the videos actually need to be good to keep your audience coming back for more.