There’s a lot of noise about the power of short-form video content on social media. The main sell: you can quickly grow your following with only a tiny amount of effort. So how do you make it happen?

Creating short videos is the easy part. The hard part is developing a plan and sticking with it. The average person makes a few attempts and then scraps their plan when they don’t see immediate results. But if you commit to your plan and stick it out, you will get the results you want with only a few tweaks along the way.

Here are some tips to get you started on the right path.

Choose Your Platform Based on Your Target Audience

The first step of any solid social media strategy is to pick the right platform. Go to the platform where your target audience is. While the dimensions for the videos on each social media platform run the same, it doesn’t make sense to make a video and place it on a platform that your audience does not frequent. Start with one platform, build your skill with it, and then look into broadening your reach by adding another platform.

If you are a newbie then you can go to your competitor’s social media to find out where they get the most engagement. For example, if it’s Instagram, take a look at what makes an engaging reel. Again, look at your competitors. See what’s going on in their content that reaches the people you want to reach. 

Grab and Keep Attention

In short videos, you don’t have time to tiptoe toward the point you want to make. Focusing too much on razzle dazzle to show off your brand personality is a mistake. People will scroll past if you don’t immediately tell them A) what’s in it for them and B) why they should care.

You do this with a strong hook. Tell people the mistake they’re making that keeps them from the result they want. Point out a misbelief or misunderstanding holding them back. Take a strong stance from the get-go.

Again, making videos is easy. Making the most effective video to achieve your goals is harder. But you don’t have to do this on your own. There are various coaches who can help you tap into your strengths in video-making. Or you can hire someone, such as Cameron Digital, to help make videos for you.

Take Advantage of Trends That Work For You

You don’t have to jump on every trend. That’s probably not the advice you’re used to hearing, so it bears repeating. You don’t have to jump on every trend.

Trending content, whether it’s music or video styles, is always in flux. You can make a video with some trending audio that barely seems to make a splash. You can also make a video with audio you happened to like that does okay, and then BOOM! A week after posting it, your stats skyrocketed because that seemingly random audio started trending.

Trends are powerful, but they are not the make-it-or-break-it secret sauce to long-term success. It’s valuable to set aside time to keep aware of what’s trending so you know what’s working. But constantly chasing trends is not a sustainable strategy and it will not deliver consistent results.

Final Thoughts on Short-Form Video Content

Short-form videos have a lot of appeal. They’re quick and easy to make, especially in batches (if that’s an effective strategy for you). When you keep it short, people are more likely to replay it over and over to make sure they got every bit of value from each second. They’re fun to consume because they don’t come with a huge time commitment. And when you make one that doesn’t perform well, it’s easier to pick yourself up and move on to making the next one.

How do you feel about making short videos for social media? What’s been your experience?