By Morelia Cadenas
One can learn from Costco’s iconic sampling programs… It is a key component of its customer engagement strategy. Those miniature bites not only give members a chance to try new products and discover their favorites, but customers also keep coming back for more. Similarly, video content functions for marketers just like product sampling, since they offer viewers a window into unexplored realms, aiming to intensify the desire for the complete experience.
In today’s fast-paced world, consumers need to be enticed to even pay attention. With over 60% of the world’s population on social media, it’s hardly surprising that individuals prefer visual content than online brands. The quick and effortless solace that short-form video communications offer, makes it the perfect avenue for establishing connections between businesses and consumers. In 2023, TikToks, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts achieved the highest watch rates. Undoubtedly, these social media platforms can surpass all customer engagements, so it is essential to understand the unique qualities that contribute to each platform’s success in creating and sharing short content.
A short-form social video strategy requires brands to boost their creativity and attract users without becoming another meaningless swipe. Still, it’s not easy to thread the needle. The demand for short videos that encapsulate complex messages in seconds, has grown. The key is to figure out how bite-sized videos can attract and engage users without sacrificing a company’s primary goal of raising brand awareness.
Video marketing offers creative, engaging, relevant features that appeal to viewers’ interests. It establishes realism and builds trust with viewers in seconds. That’s why 95% of marketers say videos have helped them increase brand awareness and drive website traffic. Still, what defining traits shape the essence of these platforms and influence the design of video content? Here are a few ways.
How Netflix is Leveraging TikTok to Promote Its Content
TikTok has the highest video engagement rate per follower (5.7%), making it ideal for entertainment-based content. Consider how Netflix leverages TikTok to promote its TV shows and movies. Rather than summarizing the entire storyline, Netflix uses an emotion-driven approach to captivate viewers. Whether it’s a hilarious clip of an upcoming series or a “behind-the-scenes” look into a classic, the clips are geared to resonate with viewers’ personal identification, creating an enduring emotion that lingers.
The Aesthetic Elements of Instagram Reels
Instagram Reels create aesthetically pleasing content with music add-on features, iconic transition techniques, and quality visual takes. Reels are a great way to optimize product or campaign marketing and have also been shown to improve engagement. Sephora, for example, saw an 80% increase in campaign engagement after switching from automatic ad placements on Feeds and Stories to Reels as a standalone form of ads. This shift effectively reached Gen Z audiences and helped decrease investment costs previously allocated to traditional Instagram ads, by more than 38%.
Connecting Viewers To Their Heroes through YouTube Shorts
YouTube Shorts offer a more intimate way for fans to connect with their favorite public figures. Brands like Apple utilize these clips to support brand identity. Nike’s hashtag “Nike x NBA” is another great example of how brands can use social media to connect fans with their favorite athletes. Fans can use the hashtag to share videos of themselves wearing Nike’s NBA-inspired gear, while players use it to share how their personality traits and values are reflected in the products. Additionally, the hashtag also creates a sense of community among fans, who can use it to connect through their shared love of basketball.
The Bottom Line
While each platform is specialized in its own way, each one plays on the importance of visual, emotional, and interconnectional appeals – all in fewer than 60 seconds. The key is not what the video itself can achieve, but rather how each aspect facilitates the individual customer’s touchpoint journey. By incorporating landing pages and purchase links into your captions, you can make it easy for users to follow the message of your video and learn more about your brand. As these platforms continue to grow, the possibilities and upside of leveraging short-form video to boost a campaign, item, or relationship, will continue to grow.
