Useful tips on integrating short-form video content into your marketing plan

If you’ve read the previous article ‘Where does video content sit within the marketing funnel?’ you’ll know that short form content mostly sits in the ‘awareness’ stage of the funnel.

Creating short-form content that is both entertaining and aligned with your objectives requires strategic planning and creativity.

Define Objectives

Awareness requires focus on short catchy visuals, humour, or storytelling that highlights brand identity but also communicates a message; combine entertainment with a commercial undertone. It may be that you have a new product/service, a tip, hack, testimonial or insight relevant to your audience’s interest.

Engagement: Use calls-to-action (CTAs), interactive elements like polls or challenges, and relatable content to boost likes, comments, shares and follows.

Think about what you want the viewer to do after they watch this piece of content.

Know your audience

Understand the audience’ preferences, pain points, and the type of content they already engage with. An easy way to conduct this task is by putting together audience personas or ICP’s (Ideal customer profiles).

Research trending formats or hashtags in your niche to ensure your content feels relevant.

Consider working with influencers or though leaders that resonate with your audience if budget allows.

Tailor content to platform specific trends

As short form content is predominantly used for social media, study popular formats and challenges on social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, or YouTube Shorts.

Understand the video length options for short form content that you have available to you (this frequently changes), for example, Instagram reels are currently 90 seconds long at the time of writing this article. Bear this in mind when creating content.

Plan the intro & outro

In the first instance, you have a few seconds to hook a viewer’s attention when they start watching your video, so make sure you catch their attention within this time. Plan this ‘hook’ based content prior to filming so it’s not an afterthought at the end of the shoot.  

Visual Appeal - Bright colours, dynamic shots, or unexpected actions.

Intriguing Text or Question - “Did you know…?” or “Here’s why you’re doing this wrong.”

Trending Sound/Music - Leverage popular audio clips to draw immediate interest. Voiceovers work well with eye catching imagery to communicate the message through audio as well as visually.

Plan the outro in line with the call to action, so the viewer knows what to do after watching the video.

Experiment with visual and narrative styles

Orientation: Portrait / Landscape

Dynamic Shots: Use creative camera angles or movement.

Pacing: Keep it fast-paced; long pauses or slow builds can lose attention.

Transitions: Smooth cuts or fun transitions can keep the viewer hooked. (Editing)

Incorporate clear branding, in line with brand guidelines

Subtly integrate your product, logo, or tagline into the video if it makes sense to do so. This could be in the form of branding on a product, branding on an outfit or signage.

Finally, use analytics to refine your approach

Review metrics to identify what resonates: Engagement rate, shares, watch time, and drop-off points. Double down on successful formats while iterating on less engaging ones.

By blending clear objectives with engaging and trend-aware content, you can entertain your audience while driving meaningful outcomes.