2021 Marketing Trends to Watch Out For: Short Form Video

Who doesn’t love a good video? You know, the black hole you get sucked into on social media or the web where you start watching one video and by the time you known it you have been watching videos for the past hour!

You name it, there’s likely an engaging video out there for you to enjoy. The same is true when it comes to marketing. Video continues to be one of the most important aspects of marketing out there. Whether you are using it on organic social media, in your social advertising or on You Tube - video is here to stay.

A recent study showed that people share videos 2x more than any other form of content. Our advice to our clients is always to find a way to incorporate video into their marketing strategies. There are three forms of short form video that have become more popular and finding ways to incorporate these will amplify your brand awareness and engagement.

If you aren’t familiar with short form video, it is basically any type of video that is under 2 1/2 minutes. It can be :30, :60 or 2 minutes - it doesn’t matter. Any longer than 2 and a half minutes is consider longer form video content.

So, how does short form video fit into your 2021 marketing strategy? Here are some 2021 Marketing Trends your have to watch out for and ways to incorporate them into this year’s marketing plan.

A Look Inside the Brand Video

Why not put a “behind the brand” video in your “about us” section. Tell the story of who you are and how you got there. Let your audience learn a little more about your company, your personality and what your vision is. Not only is this great for your audience and possible client to understand you, but it can also be a good tool to let potential employees have a look inside the culture of your company.

You can even showcase what your office space looks like, who’s on your team, and the visionary behind all of your products! Consumers want to understand and get to know the people that make their products. There has been such a huge movement towards shopping small, even a bigger company can deliver this type of content.

User-Generated Content

You probably see user-generated content all of the time and might not realize that’s what you are seeing. This type of short form content has blown up over the past few years. Consumers and brands alike like user-generated content. The beauty of this type of content is that it’s an easy and engaging way for brands to grow their database of content. It’s also a great way to give back to users by sharing the creative content that all of these consumers produce. There are so many amazing and creative minds in the world - why not showcase what makes our consumers and our audience so great? Brands can publish these videos that create a connection between the consumer and the brand. Best of all? It’s typically very low budget.

If you haven’t seen the Tik Tok video of @420doggyface208 skateboarding and drinking cranberry juice, you’ve likely been living in a bubble and have missed pure bliss. This piece of user-generated content delivered such a buzz for all of the brands involved taking the TikTok community by storm. It was equal parts unlikely, lovely and heartwarming.

Educational Videos

You will likely see more educational content being pushed out in the form of video in 2021. DIY’s, explainer videos and how-to’s have seen a big jump in traffic over the past year. It creates great, quality content that helps consumers relate products to their day-to-day lives. It’s a great way to bring in quality leads and bring strong brand advocates. Educational videos play a big part in the consumer journey - something that Connecticut Coast Media listens to very carefully with all of its clients. This type of educational content hits consumers during the crucial decision-making stage of the buyer’s journey. Here’s where you want to build understanding and a relationship with consumers.

So, what is it about short form video that makes it so important to brands? It gives companies an authentic, easily relatable platform that has a low budget and low commitment. What better way to connect to your audience? It’s fun for you, fun for the consumer and delivers an unexpected return.