When Should Your Brand be Using Short And Long Form Content?
If you’ve ever thought about when is the best time to use short or long form content, you’re not alone.
It’s a question many business owners and marketing teams have.
There’s actually a very simple answer. And it goes back to two key variables: The sales cycle, and the customer journey.
What Is Short Form Content?
Short form content are videos typically produced in a vertical format, generally lasting up to 90s in duration. You’ll typically find these on social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram and YouTube Shorts.
What Is Long Form Content?
Long form content on the other hand, are videos typically produced in a horizontal format, normally longer than 90s in duration, and are published across your business’s website, and YouTube.
Variable 1: The Sales Cycle
The most simple way to decide on when and where your business should be using short and long form content is in relation to the sales cycle.
An average sales cycle is made up of 7 touch points. This number could be higher or lower for your business depending on what you sell.
Within each sales cycle and its touchpoints, there are minor and major touchpoints.
For a B2C Business, an example of a minor touch point could be when a potential customer’s friend buys your shoes, and shows them off to your potential customer, or when your potential customer sees a current customer walking down the street with your ice-cream.
On the flip, a major touchpoint for B2C could be a visit to your online store from a potential customer.
If we look at B2B, minor touchpoints could be a comment on your prospects LinkedIn account, or a friendly hello at an industry event. Whilst a major touchpoint could be a boardroom meeting with your prospect.
Minor touchpoints are designed to keep your brand front of mind. Keep the relationship between your brand and your potential customers hot.
On the other hand, major touchpoints bring a sale closer to completion. They are what build a deep connection between prospect and brand.
We can look at content as being touch points in the sales cycle.
Short form content, are like the minor touchpoints, which keep your brand front of mind to your current and potential customers. Whereas longform content is there to really enhance connection, and drive a sale closer.
Variable 2: The Customer Journey
All potential customers are at a different stage in their customer journey with your brand.
Think of it as a scale. On the left hand side, is a completely fresh prospect. They know very little about your brand. On the right hand side, however, is a customer who has just brought from you.
Just as the sales cycle is about building touchpoints towards the number required for the consideration of a purchase, the customer journey is about publishing content that walks a customer from the left of the scale, to the right.
When it comes to the customer journey, it’s important to find a good balance between short and long form content consumption.
The reason for this, is that in long form content, viewers can easily get overwhelmed by the information provided within.
Long form content has the benefit of time, and thus a lot more information can be loaded up within a 90s or longer film.
Mixing it up with easy to consume short form content is key, and will enable a potential customer to move along in their journey, without feeling overwhelmed and jumping ship.
What Content Should You Produce As A Business?
There are 5 pillars of content available to businesses:
- Education
- Raising awareness (for core values and beliefs)
- Social proof (from customers)
- Social proof (from your business)
- Promotion (best done sub-consciously)
We call these the 5 pillars of brand films. From each of these pillars, it is recommended a brand film (a type of long form content) is created for each.
These act as the foundation for an overall video marketing strategy and campaign.
When related back to the sales cycle, these are those major touch points that bring a prospect closer to purchase consideration. Likewise, it’s these pieces that are used sparingly along the customer journey.
Then, from each of these 5 pillars, short form content should be created. These act as the minor touch points, and allow a customer to progress through the customer journey.
As an example, early on in the customer journey, you need to create educational pieces for potential customers, helping them to understand what the impact of your business is. Then, as they build a bit more of a relationship with your brand, start introducing them to raising awareness content, and connect with them deeper by sharing your core values and beliefs. If they are your ideal client, they will share these values, and deepen their connection to you. Over time, slowly start to subtly promote your product or service to them, and back this up through client or business social proof to build credibility and enhance consumer trust.
Short Form Content Ideas
Here’s some short form content ideas under each brand film pillar:
Education
- DIY tips
- Paddock to plate
- How you do XYZ
Raising Awareness
- Core beliefs
- Core values
- Rants
- Unpopular industry opinion
Promotion
- BTS
- Highlights
- Day In The Life
Customer Social Proof
- Testimonials
Business Social Proof
- BTS
- Case Studies
- On The Job
Be Cautious
It’s important to note, not all customers will be at the same stage of the customer journey.
Therefore, posting a mixture of content under each pillar is required to keep everyone engaged throughout.
For example, just posting content under the education pillar will engage those at the start of the customer journey, but disengage those near the end.
This approach also traps those at the start of the journey, not allowing them to progress through the scale towards a purchasing consideration, as they have no content to further engage with.
Having a balanced approach to content, mixing things up between short and long form content is the ideal approach when it comes to touchpoints in the sales cycle.
To further enhance a video marketing strategy, pair this approach with the customer journey, and curate content to customers at varying stages of the journey.
Need A Hand Forging A Deep Connection With Your Clients?
It’s not always easy to forge a deep connection with your clients. Which is why we’re here to help.
Brand story films are your brand’s north star. They help you to make decisions internally, and act as the centrepiece of your marketing strategy.
If you’d like to learn more about how we can help you forge a deep, emotive connection with your consumer through a brand story film, contact us via:
didier@fixonmedia.com.au
+61 400 801 891
All the best,
Didier Le Miere
Director | Fixon Media Group