A lot can happen in 30 seconds.
You can blink six times, heat up your cold coffee in the microwave, and your car can be signal jammed.
If you’re online, you can listen to the 21st Century Fox theme played on a recorder, or watch a video of goats fainting and Jesus getting stuck on an escalator.
You’ve probably just watched all three, one after the other. Why? Studies show that most people will only watch a video from start to finish if it's less than 60 seconds long. It’s no coincidence that the recorder, goats, and Jesus are all under 30 seconds.
There’s a reason why YouTube ads are often only 30 seconds. We all hit that skip button as soon as it appears unless something catches our goldfish brain in the first few frames.
Thirty seconds is a lifetime online. It’s all it takes to grab attention, drive authenticity, and increase conversions. Here’s why your business needs to capitalise on it – and why short-form video is the best way to do it.
You need video in your marketing mix.
Like mpox (or the pox formerly known as monkey), video content is not going anywhere.
Instagram Reels generate twice as much reach on Instagram than other post types. YouTube Shorts reached 70 billion daily views in October 2023, and nearly 1 in 10 Gen Zers are more likely to use TikTok than Google as a search engine.
The truth is, we’re lazy. That’s us, Jared the intern, you, and your potential customers. People want content that’s snackable, sharable, and relatable.
Short-form video is a delivery mechanism with little friction.
Like Jared, any audience prefers to do as little as possible. If it’s entertaining, video captures the audience quickly; they just need to watch. If what they’re watching consistently resonates on a personal level, solves a problem, or demonstrates your brand is the authority on the subject matter, you turn a captive audience into loyal customers.
It's also no secret that algorithms favour video content, resulting in higher visibility and engagement rates. Landing pages with videos can significantly boost conversions and improve SEO rankings, leading to higher visibility and traffic.
But wait. Before you hit record…
As with any digital marketing, the best starting point is with a strategy. A big part of this is knowing who your audience is, what they will respond to, and how you’ll get to the core of your message as quickly as possible. In the first 30 seconds (ideally less).
Once you know who you’re talking to and what your end goal is, hook your viewer’s attention right off the bat. Have a compelling or entertaining opening, clear messaging, and a strong call to action at the end. Tell a story, like how your brand handled a particular situation, present a problem with a solution, or share your thoughts on something that’s happening in the industry.
Video is a great way to educate your audience or authentically share viewpoints. Getting your brand's personality across is also a lot easier, as well as connecting with your audience through relatability.
Don’t be paralysed by production – just start
Some of our clients feel the same about creating video content and having a root canal – it's expensive and painful. Our advice? Just start.
Video content is perceived as costly and complicated to produce but it's not.
We’re not talking Cannes or the Oscars here – these days, some of the best videos are filmed on a phone in a car. Platforms like TikTok and YouTube Shorts thrive on low-fi videos shot on the fly, and if you want something a little more polished, that’s easy to do, too.
We've made videos. We rented out a podcast studio (there are quite a few around town), and scripted a few talking points, highlighting areas in the digital marketing industry that we wanted to cover. We then voiced our opinions and thoughts, filmed it all in one go, and then sliced and diced it for various clips on different platforms. We didn't need to film a slightly offensive prank on an escalator or play a recorder badly, either.
Here is some of our video content, check it out:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKWCRIUfE2oXrc5UqX633lw
Don't agonise about creating a masterpiece; just get it out there. Be authentic, show your brand’s personality, and tell a story. Short-form video is the best way to do this – it also improves engagement, visibility, and conversion rates. Why wouldn’t your business use it?
Like we said, a lot can happen in 30 seconds – including turning a potential customer into a paying one.
Enjoyed this article? Share it with your peers so you look clever. Need help with getting started on your video journey? Contact us; we’ll show you how.
