Millions of people have flocked to social media, so it’s no surprise that apps such as TikTok and Facebook have become mainstream today. People of all ages across different countries are well-familiar with the biggest social media brand names, like YouTube, Tiktok, and Facebook.
Images and text posts still work quite well on social media. However, their general performance falls short compared to short videos, also known as “shorts.”
Short videos
You have probably encountered these short videos at some point on various social media channels. They are labeled uniquely as Shorts, Spotlights, or Reels.
Given the outstanding performance of short videos, it is hard to refute how they have become a booming trend today. But how exactly did this trend start?
The trend of short videos and its emergence
Privacy concerns aside, TikTok has largely been contributing to the advancement of this trend today. However, the popularization of short videos can be traced way back.
In 2012, Snapchat added a feature that allowed its users to post 10-second videos. The year after, the same social media channel introduced stories that got shared for strictly 24 hours only.
While Snapchat left an incredible mark when it came to short-form videos, the rising popularity of these types of videos back then could largely be attributed to Vine. This platform operated on 6-second videos that constantly looped. It became an extremely fast-growing platform. Later on, content creators from the platform known as Viners started rising and earning from their content.
While Vine was a hit for some time, it had to face the reality that it could not cope with its rising competition. The app was officially discontinued in 2017.
Musical.ly also became a famous short video platform that allowed its users to make 60-second clips of them lip-synching to a song. In 2016, it was one of the fastest-growing social platforms. With Musical.ly, the world was introduced to a different way of content creation — making content based on particular sounds.
Bytedance Technology bought the Musical.ly franchise in 2017. Later on, the company fused Douyin and Miscal.ly and launched the popular platform TikTok. You may already be familiar with TikTok and its features, which allow you to make 60-second clips, use your own sound or certain sound bytes, add filters, and edit the clips with their built-in functions.
When the world experienced the toll of the global health crisis, TikTok’s traffic skyrocketed to a booming 800 million. However, TikTok’s competitive edge was its capacity to modify what would show up in each user’s FYP (For You Page). TikTok’s algorithm boasts great accuracy. This has allowed brands, businesses, and influencers to strategically reach their desired audiences.
In acknowledgment of TikTok’s growth, both Facebook and Instagram introduced “Reels” on their individual platforms. Like TikTok users, Instagram and Facebook users can make and edit short videos and share them on their feeds.
Why should other companies ride along with this trend?
Short videos have become mainstream both on a personal and commercial level. Several social media users post short-form videos to capture their daily activities, travels, or special moments. Brands and businesses, on the other hand, have used short-form videos to market a product, service, and information.
However, not all businesses have started using short video marketing. These businesses should highly consider releasing short videos to their audience.
Because short videos like reels and TikTok videos easily trend, companies should hop along with this. These videos tend to appear on the feeds of non-followers. This is the case as long as the algorithm thinks that the person would like to watch this particular video. This immediately lets companies and brands overcome some barriers. Short videos can be used to reach non-followers and gain more followers.
Other than that, short videos help boost a company’s search rankings, enhance connection with customers, improve overall engagement, and amplify brand awareness. Given these advantages, businesses should not waste this opportunity. Hopping on the trend would yield great benefits.
Short videos are ruling the digital space and while the trend may not last forever, it may stick around for quite some time. Thus, while it lasts, it’s better to make the most out of it.
