Remember the time when TikTok was the best thing on the internet? The world witnessed a growing demand for short-form content, and creators scrambled to make them in dozens and schedule them on their accounts. Platforms like Pinterest and YouTube quickly brought out short-form video features, and Facebook introduced reels. Everything was about hooking the audience within the first three seconds. Social media was all about scrolling and consuming content of fifteen seconds, and everyone believed that long-form content would soon be dead.
Except it didn’t. Pinterest quietly removed the Idea Pin feature from their panel, and according to recent reports, short-form videos are failing to perform as expected.
So what happens now? If you enjoy creating short-form videos and have managed to grow your business significantly with this tool, your growth might take a hit because of these outcomes.
But worry not. There are plenty of ways for damage control. Below we have listed five steps to adopt to make the best use of short-form content until they last. Let’s take a look.
Hire a professional management service
As a content creator, a large portion of your time goes after researching your competitor and editing your content. But what if you didn’t have to do either of these? Hiring a professional short video management agency like LYFE Marketing social media can ensure that you get the best results out of your content without putting in effort that goes to waste.
One important reason your content might not be performing well could be relevance. You must always stay alert to what your competitors are posting. Your content should provide more value in the same area. It’s only then you can capture more audience.
A professional short-form video management agency does this on your behalf. They also ensure content reach and help with ad management. Some of them also have attractive packages for editing your videos. They provide you with tools to shoot and send them the content. They take care of editing, quality control, and posting. You can sit back and watch your content fetch growth and profit for your business.
Choose quality over quantity
Every content creator has a calendar put together after much research and consideration. We all want to post a certain number of times every week. But have we ever thought that sometimes it’s not about the number but the quality of the content?
Based on your business, you might not have enough content to post too many times per week. You must be creative in these situations and create content that provides actual value to your followers. Focusing on the number might exhaust all available ideas for your brand, leaving you in a content drought. Also, breaking down content to increase the number might turn your audience away. Audiences don’t like content that drags on forever. Give enough value to every piece of content so that the audience feels compelled to return for more. Also, using a storytelling approach enhances their experience and helps them connect better to your content.
Segment and target properly
If you’re doing your research without the help of an agency, make sure you conduct proper segmentation and targeting for your content and not only for your product or service. Proper segmentation and targeting can make a huge difference. Suppose you own a bakery. You can segment your market into business-to-business and business-to-consumer. If you’re targeting businesses, perhaps show how big your facility is and how you can create a large batch of products in a short time. If you want to target consumers, show them your variety and collection. If you just want to teach baking, post more tips and tricks. This is how you segment and target one particular lucrative market, and create content based on it.
If you want to target a new market, you can always collaborate with existing influencers and notable complementary brands. It will expose your brand to the new target market quickly.
Diversify your content
Like they say, don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Try to bring in diversity in your content. If 15-second videos are doing well for your brand, don’t post sixty 15-second videos in the next two months. Experiment with other types of content. Post a 5-minute video. Post a few static posts and carousels. Maybe post some reels. You never know what resonates with the customers and what makes them hit that ‘Follow’ button on your page.
Don’t stitch pictures and force them into a video. Post pictures as pictures. Don’t squeeze a 3-minute video into a 30-second reel if the content loses its value. Keep them as it is, and post away.
Give at least 3-4 months to see which post does the best. Make more of those, but also post other formats.
Pay attention to the analytics
It’s natural for us content creators to gloss over the analytics because they almost always seem overly complex. Working with a short video management agency makes it easier for you. But in case you’re working solo, you should learn the basics of these numbers and it’s a huge part of content planning.
Your analytics summarizes which content is doing well for your brand. It can also tell you how your content is performing against that of your competitors. Many online videos demonstrate the data extraction and interpretation process and can be a good learning source for you.
Creating good content is only half of the game. The other half relies on proper content management and research. Working with an agency makes it a piece of cake for content creators, especially those with a busy schedule. Even though short-form content seems to be failing, proper strategizing and implementation can ensure that you squeeze the best out of this format for as long as it lasts.
Interesting Related Article: “How to Translate YouTube Videos into Other Languages in 2023“