Why Quick, Short Videos are Better for your Business

Do you ever feel like your attention span is getting shorter? It makes sense when you think about it because let’s face it, the vast majority of the content we consume on platforms like Instagram or TikTok are short and quick videos of less than a minute. And the urge to swipe up after only a few seconds is strong, right?

Well, don’t worry about it because you’re certainly not alone. 

According to research, videos that are two minutes or less in length get the most engagement with hardly any difference in viewing rates from 90 seconds right up to the two-minute mark. 

This means that when it comes to video marketing, sometimes less really is more. 

That’s not to say that there’s no place for longer videos, it’s just that generally speaking short video tends to work better particularly when trying to locate and target the perfect consumer. 

Let’s take a look at why. 

Why Short Videos are More Effective

By the time your video hits the 10 second mark, a good 20% of viewers may have already lost interest. And as people, in general, become more obsessed with the speedy nature of social media videos these days, that threshold will likely drop in the future. 

Instant gratification or captivation is what the typical video consumer is after. This means shorter videos that pack an immediate punch and get to the point straight away will often enjoy greater engagement. 

So in short (pun intended), shorter video attention spans mean shorter videos. 

The upside here is that any short videos you create are instantly primed for social media platforms. Can you imagine trying to upload a 15-minute product presentation through a series of Instagram videos? No, neither can we. 

When did Short Videos become Mainstream?

This is an easy one and you can probably guess the answer without too much difficulty—the rise of TikTok. While it’s true that short videos were already growing in popularity on social media, TikTok taking the industry by storm in 2018 accelerated that growth. 

But we can go back even further than that to the days of Vine. For those of you who don’t remember, Vine was a short video platform that was incredibly popular in the 2010s. Vine was the predecessor to TikTok but didn’t quite capture the attention of marketers quite like TikTok has in recent years. 

With over 1 billion active users across the globe, TikTok has certainly taken the quick video format to a whole new level and brought short, bite-sized videos into the mainstream. So much so that Instagram has pivoted from being a predominantly photo-sharing app to now being a short video platform. 

Even YouTube, started testing short 60-second videos in 2020 and made the feature available to creators in 2021. 

Why User Attention Spans are Important for Video Marketing

As mentioned earlier, user attention spans are getting shorter and shorter. According to research, the average person has an attention span of about 8.25 seconds. Yep, that’s shorter than a goldfish. However, this doesn’t quite mean what you think it does. 

What it actually means is that a video creator has about 8.25 seconds to engage a viewer before they lose interest. This is an incredibly important metric as it allows a marketer to understand the necessity of delivering elements of the core message of a video or grabbing the viewer’s attention within those first few precious seconds. 

A marketer or video creator who doesn’t understand this may find themselves losing the majority of their audience because of a boring intro. 

However, it’s worth bearing in mind that you need to pay close attention to user attention spans throughout your video. Every second must be well-used so the viewer is constantly engaged with the subject matter. 

The best method for creating short video content

Stick to the rule of ones.

• One subject
• One example
• One benefit 
• One call to action 

Of course, you could add ‘one minute’ in there as well if you really want to set yourself a challenge. 

Following this basic template or your own version of it will ensure that you don’t drift from your core message and risk losing the attention of your audience. 

Want to find out how to make a Marketing Video for your Business? Contact us today!

If you’re not ready to create your own content or run a business that requires animated content to accurately deliver your marketing message, then we’d love to hear from you. Even if you’d like to shoot some live footage that can be edited into bite-sized videos for a series of uploads, we can help with that too. 

No matter where you are located in Australia, get in touch with us today, and let’s talk about leveling up your short video game. After all, short and punchy videos are what Punchy does best.