Short Form vs Long Form Videos

It’s hard to watch any video on YouTube these days that doesn’t have an advertisement of some sort attached to it. It could be for an upcoming movie, a website creation platform, or an insurance company. What is clear is video marketing is a legitimate and essential part of an effective strategy.

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Short Form vs. Long Form

One consideration is whether or not to use short-form or long-form videos. Short form videos may last anywhere from one to ten minutes in length. This length is especially effective in reaching millennials as it is their primary source of news and information. As online video services attach short form advertisements to the beginning of videos, viewers are becoming accustomed to watching them to maintain access to free content. Generally, long-form videos are going to be anything longer than ten minutes.

Each format has its benefits so it’s important to understand the metrics used to determine a video’s effectiveness: clickthroughs and completions.

Clickthroughs indicate people who move from the video to an organization’s website or other online content where they may engage with additional information. As the name implies, completions represent those who appear to watch an entire video. This second metric is considered the more popular of the two as a measure of engagement. There are other issues to consider, such as whether or not a video can be skipped, which occurs on many YouTube ads.

The Goal’s the Thing

If your primary goal is to have your video be a teaser for your other content, such as a Facebook page or Instagram feed, then a short-form video may be the best option. Online video services indicate shorter videos perform better especially in the arena of completions. YouTube is now running videos as short as six seconds at the beginning of their content. But if your goals lie beyond completion and clickthroughs, a long-form video offers benefits the short form doesn’t.

When you have a story to tell your audience and are looking for deeper engagement, a long-form video offers a better experience for the viewer. It can be especially effective for communicating your organization’s mission, highlighting members of your team, or sharing client testimonials.

WMV can help you decide the right format for your brand’s marketing strategy. Our experienced and skilled team of video professionals are the best in the industry and will work hard to give you the highest quality product that fits into your budget. We’ll also be sure to communicate with you throughout the entire process so that you know what’s happening every step of the way.

When it’s time to start working on your video, give us a call. We will work with any scale of production, long or short-form, from concept to final product. To learn more about how we can serve you, reach out to us at 615.852.5869 or info@wemakevideos.com.