How Micro Video Can Supercharge Your Social Strategy

How long can you sit to watch a video on social media?

Can you stay 30 minutes?

Or do you scroll past long videos to the next post?

At the Traffic and Conversion Summit 2022, Ryan Deiss said that short-form video, also called micro video, is the future. He didn't make that up.

If you scroll past long videos on social media, your actions, and that of many other people like you, confirm what Ryan said.

This makes you want to ask, "What's the big deal about short-form videos that they are considered the future of marketing?"

According to HubSpot, short-form videos will experience the most growth in 2023. Currently, 73% of consumers prefer to watch short-form videos to learn about a product/service.

This means your audience wants to watch short-form videos about your business on social media before they make a buying decision. 

So, what is a micro video, and how does it supercharge your social strategy?

What Are Micro Videos?

Micro videos are short videos, usually less than 30 seconds. They are bite-sized content with a specific purpose - to create awareness, educate the audience, make a call to action to buy a product, etc.

As mentioned earlier, videos drive more engagement because of the increasing number of people who watch them. You find micro videos on every social media platform - Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and video-sharing platforms like YouTube, such as YouTube shorts.

Why Are Micro Videos Important?

Why did Ryan Deiss say that short-form videos are the future?

Why are more businesses investing in micro videos for their brand? 

You’ll see why in the scenarios I’m about to share with you. 

Russell runs a local brick-and-mortar physiotherapy business in Adelaide, Australia. He had been creating long-form videos that anyone barely watched for years and struggled with local searches.

He came to us for help. So, what did we do? We took 10 of Russell’s videos and splintered them into 48 YouTube shorts. Russell then posted 1 short per day.

With micro videos, Russell’s business dominated page one of Google. 

Here’s another example.

Cletus had the same issue as Russell. A former pro-athlete-turned-businessman, he devoted his life to helping high-performing athletes transition to a fulfilling life in business after sports. He has no problems with public speaking and creating content, yet, he couldn’t get the results he wanted from his YouTube channel. 

Using three of Cletus’ videos with 88 combined views, we made 18 splintered videos.

Without further ado, you see why businesses, creators, and even consumers invest in short-form videos for their social… It has a high ROI (return on investment).

Can you imagine how much exposure and deals Cletus and Russell got from their short-form videos? 

Besides, short-form videos are easier to make. You can create over a dozen short-form videos in the same amount of time it takes to shoot/produce longer videos. Cletus and Russell didn’t have to create new videos. We splintered what they had already created into YouTube Shorts more strategically. 

Yes, more strategically.

You can’t create poor-quality micro videos and expect to get similar results like Cletus or dominate SEO. 

In short, short-form videos don’t equate to low-quality content!

The content should be what your audience needs to hear in less than 30 seconds; it should hook the audience. Attention is one of the rarest resources online, so if anyone is willing to give you their ears and ears for a couple of seconds, you should make it worth their time.

For Russell and Cletus, we ensured each YouTube short answered one of the audience’s specific questions. It’s not surprising that we got such results.

So, straight to the point; Short in form + high in quality = short-form videos with high ROI.

If you have long videos, break them down into micro-videos you can easily post on social media to engage your audience. For instance, if you have a video about 10 ways restaurant owners can make extra cash, consider breaking it into 10 YouTube shorts, one short per point.

What if you don’t have videos you can convert to short forms?

There’s no need to worry if you don’t have a bunch of videos you’ve made already, like Cletus and Russell. Simply create one but ensure it addresses a need of your audience. 

But Atiba, I have a lot to say; I think a short-form video will limit my creativity.

No, it doesn’t. In fact, it helps strip your content to the core, such that the message sticks when you say it. 

Like proverbs that we grew up hearing all our lives. 

One good turn deserves another.

Or, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. 

These proverbs are short, but everyone who hears them gets the message. 

Also, they stick - they are easily understood and remembered. 

High-quality short-form videos make your message stick-worthy!

And when your audience easily understands and remembers your message, that’s some goldmine you’ve got. 

Additionally, consider how you can break your videos into micro videos when developing your content.

That said, what are the types of micro videos you can create?

YouTube Shorts

YouTube launched YouTube shorts in 2021. But before then, short-form videos existed on YouTube. For example, the first YouTube video was 18 seconds long. 

YouTube shorts are short-form videos, like Instagram reels, usually in less than 60 seconds. However, they don’t expire like Instagram reels. Your audience can watch them time and again. 

Also, compared to socials like TikTok that face censorship threats, YouTube shorts are more stable as YouTube is one of the oldest and most trustworthy online video-sharing platforms. 

There’s a section for creating shorts on the YouTube app with different tools to help you.

Product Teasers

You can use short-form videos to create anticipation for your new products before they are released. 

It’s more like creating a TV commercial, but this time, it’s for social media platforms like Instagram, Tik Tok, or even YouTube.

Example: Here’s a product teaser video from Avon, a global beauty company, for one of its products: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/5oT03hIjces

Influencer Ads

Influencer marketing can yield great ROI if well utilized. It’s not new for businesses to use influencers to promote their products, but now, they are combining it with short-form videos.

Using short-form videos for influencer ads is a great, two-pronged approach to marketing because

• People trust influencers 

• And they also love micro videos!

Example: Check out this influencer video ad by Alexis, promoting the BRITA water bottle on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@juhcobo/video/7136262360330702123

User-Generated Content (UGC)

A report by Stackla shows that consumers find UGC 9.8x more impactful than influencer content, and 79% say UGC highly impacts their purchasing decisions.

Since consumers trust UGC more than other forms of marketing, you can leverage it to create short-form videos for social media. However, ensure the UGC is what your audience can relate to. Remember that the purpose of UGC is to evoke emotion that will put your brand above others in the consumer’s mind. 

Example: Check out this UGC short-form video campaign from Dove, tagged “No Digital Distortion.” -https://www.tiktok.com/@michellembear/video/6961813040769682694

Educational/Explainer Videos

Consumers want to learn new things and understand complex concepts, and one of the places they look to is social media.

As such, businesses prioritizing education as part of their social media marketing plan will enjoy strong brand loyalty. 

However, not many people want to sit with a video for hours because they want to learn. They want to microlearn, that is, watch short-form videos that teach them new things.

You can make short explainer videos that address your audience’s questions and piques their curiosity about your business. These videos can then direct people to your website or email list. 

Additionally,  you can have a library of explainer videos on your website for consumers who need more information. 

Example: Check out this Tik Tok video from Kat Norton, also known as Miss Excel, who uses microlearning to teach people how to use Excel : https://www.tiktok.com/@miss.excel/video/7181561928651771179?lang=en.

GIFs

GIFs, also known as Graphics Interchange Format, are versatile short-form videos you can use to supercharge your social marketing strategy. They are good for providing context and clues to messages nonverbally. Asides social media, you can use GIFs in emails, blog posts, etc. 

Example: Here’s a GIF adding context to a situation where someone is doing the same thing over and over with no results: https://giphy.com/explore/definition-of-insanity

Social Media Video Ads

Video ads create more curiosity than text or static images on social media. They also drive more traffic and brand awareness.

To make your social media video ads easily understood and remembered, ensure they are creative.

Hundreds of video ads are uploaded daily, targeting the same social media users.

Your video ads must be compelling if you don't want yours to get lost in the crowd.

Behind-the-scenes Videos

Asides UGC, behind-the-scenes videos are another marketing tool that demonstrates authenticity. 

Showing your audience how you do what you do is a great way to build an emotional bond with them. They see your passion at work and, more importantly, the quality of the process that produces what they buy from you. 

Example: Here’s a behind-the-scenes video from Chanel, a luxury fashion brand:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CgEwSfGFt9W/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=embed_video_watch_again

Brand Challenges

Through brand challenges, you can make your content, hashtags, sounds, etc., go viral.

Brand challenges are an effective social media marketing strategy bound to increase this year.

Example: Here's Coca-Cola's" Share A Coke" campaign: https://youtu.be/sGjQnGio5mw.

FAQ Videos

Consumers will have questions before buying from you at one point or the other.

Instead of answering these questions yourself every time they are asked, you can save time and energy by making a micro video of all the frequently asked questions and their answers. 

Then, publish it on your marketing channels for anyone interested. 

Example: Here’s a short FAQ video by Jetson showing how to operate their Beam Scooter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1up-f_TIoI

Conclusion

Not all your videos have to be short-form videos, but where necessary, incorporate short-form videos into your social strategy. You can also use one short-form video to achieve multiple goals. For example, you can create a brand challenge micro video and use the same to gather user-generated content for your brand.