Think Like A Goldfish When Creating Short Form Video Content — Less Is More

The average human attention span is much shorter now, which means your video content pieces should be just as short.

A Microsoft consumer study claims that the human attention span today is 8 seconds. This is less than a goldfish’s attention span. So, what does this mean? You’ll have to develop content that can grab the attention of your audience and send the brand message in a quicker fashion.

Now, I’m not saying that you should never develop long form video content. You still can. But, think like a goldfish, how long can you pay attention to something without losing focus? I bet it isn’t that long on average.

The Telegraph

This is info may seem bad but, it is such a benefit to small business that don’t have the bandwidth or money to develop long extravagant video pieces.

You don’t need to be like Beyonce or Nike to develop effective short form content. Companies like BarkBox and Beyond Yoga found creative ways to develop engaging and brand appropriate “snackable video content” to increase their brand awareness.

And what’s especially great is that most of the social media platforms have implemented various video functionalities to help you develop smaller content.

Whether you use livestreams, stories or embed videos into the platforms, all of them allow you to develop and distribute short form video content.

So, why should brands look to create short form video content as part of their marketing effort? Well, here are 4 reasons:

1. Easier to Distribute: You will be able to share your short form video content on the social media platforms very easily. Shorter file, quicker upload, easier to distribute.
2. Easier to Retain And Remember: We have an attention span of 8 seconds, a goldfish’s attention span is 9 seconds. So, you must develop smaller content that’s easier to take in. Don’t you want them to remember your brand and video?
3. Easier to Create And Edit: Not everyone has amazing video editing skills. Luckily for you, it is way easier to use Instastories or even iMovie to create and edit 10 second video clips. So you don’t have to be an amazing video editor to create, develop and document.
4. You Can Repurpose More Frequently: Since our attention span is shorter and our timelines are more stuffed, you must repurpose short form content. And it is easier to do so when the pieces are shorter. Just because you post it once doesn’t mean everyone will see it.

These are some great advantages for short form content, but there is more to it. You can’t create without direction and a storyline/message. With the attention span being shorter, you will have to develop shorter videos that are more hard-hitting, relatable and ones that get to the point quicker. I will talk about that much later, but for now, see how you can create short form video content for your brand!