Short-Form Video Insights

The biggest opportunity across social media right now is LinkedIn short-form video. LinkedIn hasn't been shy about wanting more people to share video on the platform, either. It's been investing heavily in video-first features: 🎥 A dedicated video tab that allows you to watch videos in an immersive experience. 📲 The "Videos For You" feature, which brings a carousel of recommended videos to your feed. Plus, it’s leveraging its marketing channels and data to encourage people to share video. These efforts are paying off, too: 🎥 Video is LinkedIn's fastest-growing format 🚀 A 34% year-over-year increase in video uploads 📊 Weekly immersive video views are up 6x quarter over quarter This means there's a big opportunity for you... creators, marketers, small businesses, brands, and anyone using LinkedIn to share their voice for economic opportunities. Here's why: 🔍 Low Supply, High Demand: As seen with the early days of Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, and TikTok, there’s often a gap between people using a new feature or format and those who are consuming it. This is the case with LinkedIn video today. There's a small pool of people sharing videos versus those not, giving those who do share video less competition for attention. 🚀 LinkedIn Is Prioritizing Video: Perhaps the biggest reason... LinkedIn is prioritizing it. In addition to adding more ways for videos to surface compared to other formats, users who share video content are being rewarded. There are a lot of people reporting that they're receiving hundreds of thousands—or even millions—of impressions on their videos. 📊 Broader Video Trends: Video has become one of the key ways we consume content, whether for entertainment, education, or inspiration. Short-form video, in particular, has become the go-to. And it’s not just younger generations—over 75% of U.S. adults spend up to two hours daily watching short-form videos. There are other reasons to invest in LinkedIn video—thinking about my own business, here’s what I see: 💼 Getting Clients: Video is a great way to showcase your insights and expertise. When people can see and hear you, they have a better idea of what it might be like to work with you. 📈 Sponsored Content: Influencer marketing on LinkedIn is growing. Video is one of the most popular formats for sponsored content in general, and with 80% of B2B buyers saying short-form video content from influencers is the most trusted, video is key if you want to attract more brand partners and drive the outcomes they want. 🎤 Speaking Opportunities: Posting “talking head” videos or repurposing past speaking engagements helps demonstrate the value you can bring to events. This makes it easier for event organizers to see how you can communicate your knowledge, experience, etc., and makes you top of mind when it comes to speaking opportunities. How's LinkedIn video been for you?

YouTube has confirmed that Shorts now earns the same ad revenue per watch hour as long-form videos in the US. In some countries, it's even higher. This marks a turning point in how both creators and brands should think about content strategy. Why does this matter? 🔹 Audience behavior has shifted Viewers are choosing short-form video in a big way. Shorts hit 70 billion daily views last year, and viewership grew another 20% in early 2025. People want fast, engaging content, and they want it now. 🔹 Creators are responding Nearly 70% of YouTube channels now publish Shorts. That means creators who don’t adapt are falling behind. This is not just a trend, it’s a platform shift. 🔹 Monetization is catching up For years, short-form was seen as good for visibility, but not for revenue. That’s changed. With improved ad technology and a massive surge in impressions, Shorts now offers a real income stream. For creators and artists alike, this opens the door to sustainable growth using short content. 🔹 For the music and entertainment world Music watch time on YouTube is up 10% year-over-year, and Shorts is a major driver. Artists now have an efficient way to build an audience, promote new tracks, and even earn directly from their short videos. What does this mean for your strategy? 🔸 Stop treating short-form as “extra” content Build a content system that makes Shorts a core part of your publishing schedule. 🔸 Focus on creative storytelling in 15 to 60 seconds Shorts should be clear, engaging, and direct, every second counts. 🔸 Measure impact beyond views Look at audience retention, shares, and conversion to your longer content or owned platforms. The platforms are telling us where attention is moving, and they are backing it up with revenue. Whether you're a brand, coach, musician, or educator, it’s time to take short-form seriously. Short-form video is no longer just a discovery tool. It is now a business tool. #youtubeshorts #youtube #contentcreation

I've generated 1B+ views from short-form videos.. And I've noticed a pattern: The videos that explode share two specific metrics that stand out from the rest. It's not likes, or comments, or follower count. The two numbers that actually predict virality are: The first metric that matters most for a viral video is Average View Duration (AVD). This measures how long the average person watches your video before swiping. So it's not about your total watch time. But it’s about holding viewers’ attention right from the first few seconds. When AVD is high, the algorithm recognizes your content is engaging viewers. And it rewards you with more distribution. I've seen this with podcast clips. When viewers stick around for the full clip, that video almost always outperforms others. The second crucial metric is the number of shares. When someone shares your video, they're essentially saying "this was so good, so interesting that I had to send it to someone else." That's valuable for the algorithms. Shares signal to platforms that your content is compelling enough to be recommended to others. This creates a powerful feedback loop: More shares → more views → more algorithm favor → even more distribution. When analyzing video performance, I look closely at where viewers drop off. And I can pinpoint exact moments when people lose interest. For example… If viewers abandon a video at a specific point, I'll check what happened there, often it's something confusing or unclear. This data gives me a chance to learn and improve. I've literally re-edited videos, fixed the problem spots, reposted them, and seen dramatically better results. It's an iterative process that gets better with each attempt. The key takeaway for any creator… Your hook (first 3 seconds) must clearly frame what viewers will get from spending time with your content. If they're confused about the premise, you've already lost them, and your AVD will suffer accordingly. If you're creating short-form content, focus on these two metrics: - Average View Duration (AVD) - Number of shares These are the real indicators that your content is resonating and that the algorithm will reward you. Likes are nice, but retention and sharing drive real growth.

Everyone's rushing to create B2B TikToks and Reels. 95% are getting views but zero revenue. The problem isn't the format. It's that they're creating entertainment, not conversion engines. Last week, a SaaS client came to me frustrated. They'd spent 3 months creating "fun" short-form videos. Great engagement. Zero leads. We scrapped their comedy approach. Instead, I filmed their actual customer explaining a specific problem in 27 seconds. No script. No fancy editing. Just raw frustration that their target audience feels daily. Then I built the B2B Short-Form Conversion System: 1. The Problem-First Hook (Not Entertainment) Your first 3 seconds must hit a painful nerve. Not "Check out this cool feature!" But "This spreadsheet error cost me $50K last quarter." B2B buyers don't have time for entertainment. They have problems that need solving. Your hook must make them think: "That's exactly my issue." 2. The Micro-Transformation (Not a Product Demo) In 30 seconds, you can't explain your product. But you CAN show the moment of relief when the problem disappears. I film the exact second our client's customer realizes their problem is solved. The exhale. The smile. The "finally!" This micro-transformation is what sells, not your feature list. 3. The Conversion Bridge (Not "Link in Bio") Here's where 95% fail: They create great videos but dump viewers on their homepage. That's a conversion killer. Every short-form video needs its own micro-landing page that continues the story. Same problem. Same language. Same emotional state. But now with deeper proof and a Grand Slam Offer. 4. The Strategic Distribution (Not Spray and Pray) B2B short-form isn't about going viral. It's about reaching the right 500 people, not the random 50,000. I use laser-targeted distribution: - LinkedIn native video for decision makers - YouTube Shorts for research mode buyers - Embedded in email sequences for warm leads Results after 30 days: - 73% lower CPL than traditional video ads - 4.2x higher email click-through rates - 31 qualified leads from 5 videos The math is undeniable: Entertainment videos: 100K views, 0 customers Problem-solving videos: 5K views, 12 customers Stop trying to be the next viral B2B TikTok star. Start being the only solution to your customer's specific problem. What's the biggest misconception about B2B video that's holding you back?

I spent the weekend analyzing ad accounts that collectively spent $5M in the last 30 days. Here's the #1 pattern I discovered: Short form videos up to 30 seconds are crushing it. Why? They tell much more in short amount of time so your average video view is way stronger than on a longer video. They’re easier to produce. If your average video ad length is 50s right now you can double the volume of your ad creative overnight. They leave room for curiosity but it’s enough to get the whole context on a solution. The structure that crushes it for us:  0-5s - strong hook  5-10s - tell and show the outcome  10-25s - present the solution (mechanism)  25-30s - CTA Extra tip: Test this structure without any voice over. Use some relatable, engaging b-roll and present the message with copy. Let me know how it goes! 

🎬 Short-form ads aren’t just scroll-stoppers — they can build your brand and drive action. This week at Cannes, System1 and TikTok unveiled new global research on what makes short-form ads actually work. They analyzed 887 TikTok ads — which were tested with 92,000+ users and linked to 350+ brand and conversion lift studies. Here’s what they found 👇 🧠 Entertainment builds brands – +39% memory lift – 2x brand awareness – 2.8x brand image – Storytelling, surprise, characters, humor — they grab attention and leave a lasting impression – These ads also wore out slower, staying effective even at high frequency 💸 Directness drives action – Product close-ups, fast cuts, and people talking straight to camera led to +88% conversion lift – But they did little for memory or long-term brand growth – And dull ads underperformed by 27% — indifference is the real enemy 🎯 The best ads did both They entertained and made the brand clear in the first 2 seconds. ✅ Ads with early branding delivered: +88% memory lift +92% brand awareness +85% brand image And good news — early branding didn’t hurt attention. It helped. 📈 For challenger brands Entertainment is your edge. When you entertain and brand early, you punch above your weight — on both brand and performance. 🛠️ What to do with this: – Use 4 brand cues in the first 2 seconds (color, character, sound, product, etc.) – Build for creators, but integrate your brand naturally – Keep the creative idea consistent — refresh the execution to fight fatigue 📌 TL;DR: Short-form isn’t just lower-funnel. It’s full-funnel — when it entertains and brands early. Full report here: https://lnkd.in/gePCNXgp

I keep having bizarre conversions with marketers who seem totally unaware that the industry at its core has totally changed I'm not claiming the marketing process has changed, it hasn't. We still need to understand our customers and build strategies to change their behaviour. However, the way we do that is different from five years ago. This isn't me obsessing over tactics. This is me accepting that, as this Marketing Week article points out, creator content is set to overtake agency-produced advertising. And digital video spend dominates in most markets. Yes, TV is still alive and well despite what anyone tells you. And yes, you can still run big campaigns on traditional media to grow like crazy. But there are brands growing using 100% social, skippable media. And some largely rely on creator content. Tom Roach & Dr Grace Kite refer to this as the move from "big" to "lots of littles". The best marketers now need to understand how these work together, and how to do both well. It weirdly makes creativity more important. If you slow the skip, and earn more attentive reach, you'll see dramatic gains vs piles of dull assets. As Karen Nelson-Field PhD field has shown already. If you earn more attention with well-branded assets, you'll actually grow mental availability. Josh Fruttiger and I have worked over the past year with TikTok and System1 to bring some creative insight to this. As there's a lack of creative evidence to help here. Next week at Cannes we'll launch "The Long and Short (Form) of It". A reference to the brilliant work by Les Binet and Peter Field. We've taken nearly 1000 short-form ads. A mixture of adapted TV ads, social-first assets and creator content. We've tested these with System1's Test Your Ad Social to understand what associations they build, the sentiment they create, how well-branded they are, and how much attention they hold. And matched all this to brand lift and conversion studies on TikTok. The outcome is a 50-page book sharing: - How brands can convert and grow more effectively with short-form video. - How challenger brands vs category leaders must act differently - The huge opportunity with creators when they actually manage to brand and leave people feeling something - The dramatic cost of dull in short-form, more evidence supporting Adam Morgan's global work. - How to reduce creative fatigue, and what that even means (hint: it's not view through dropping a little) Jon Evans will be sharing these insights main stage Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity next week with Alix Earle (Tue 5pm) and running an exclusive session for The Marketing Academy with Isobel Sita-Lumsden. We've decided to also make the entire book free, sign up to get that in your inbox next week: https://lnkd.in/exijWN8a This is a big step in creative understanding for short-form that will bridge some gaps, but it's just a start. I hope you love it. I share #advertising and #marketing insights daily, follow for more.

On August 5th 2020, Instagram launched Reels. Here’s what 5 years as a content creator and strategist taught me: → If it grows fast, it breaks fast. In just a few years, short-form video became: - The default way to consume content - The fastest path for new creators to grow - The way to stay culturally relevant But we’ve also lost something. Trends move faster than original ideas. Algorithms reward imitation over invention. Content creation became a spectator sport, played by professional creators and dominated by mega accounts. It’s harder than ever to stand out. Even worse? It’s harder to be strategic. We’ve reached a point of algorithmic optimisation where every scroll feels the same. → If you follow the formula, you get engagement → If you don’t, you disappear I’ve made over 500 short-form videos in F1. But today, I ask brands a different question: ↳ Is this actually sustainable? Because in many cases, it’s not. Short-form is a volume game. Create more, post more, hope something sticks. And when your only strategy is “more”, you burn out your team, your creators and your audience. Not everything should be a Reel. Not every moment needs to be cut to 15 seconds. Not every brand wins by playing the same game as everyone else. Here’s what I believe now: 1. Short-form still works, but it’s not a strategy. 2. Originality needs space, not just speed. 3. Sustainable content systems > short-term spikes. 4. You don’t have to keep up. You have to stand out. 5. The best strategy today: know when not to play. Short-form got us here. But it won’t take us all the way. Let’s create better, not just more.

Short-form video platforms like TikTok have transformed how we spend time on our phones. But do they actually increase overall mobile use, or just reshuffle what we do on our devices? https://lnkd.in/dcgdzjeJ In a new paper, we show that adopting a short-form video app meaningfully amplifies mobile use: - After adoption, total mobile duration increases by ≈17%, about +28 minutes per day for the average user. - The average time away from the phone (TAP) shrinks by ≈20%, or about −29 minutes between sessions. --- Short-form video especially affects people who previously used their phones less: - “Low-intensity” users: ≈31% increase in total mobile duration - “High-intensity” users: ≈14% increase We also look at when this extra usage happens. The effects are concentrated during the day. We find no consistent evidence that short-form video increases nighttime mobile use beyond what other social media already does. --- A natural question: is this about TikTok specifically, or about the short-form video format? To probe this, we repeat the analysis in a later period when Instagram and Facebook also offered short-form video. In that setting, differences between TikTok adopters and other social media adopters largely vanish—suggesting the effect is about the format, not the specific app. --- Putting it together: short-form video platforms act as a structural driver of mobile usage. They don’t just change what people watch; they change how much and how often people use their phones—longer total use, shorter breaks, and more entrenched “just checking” routines. This project was led by Abdurahman Maarouf, with Kevin Greene (whom I annoyingly couldn't tag), Stefan Feuerriegel, and Jake Shapiro. I’m very grateful to work with such an outstanding team. --- Also, this work was only possible thanks to the Research Accelerator initiative: https://lnkd.in/dRFtjJ8S

Not all content is created or consumed the same. I’ve been breaking down the psychology and behavioral context behind how people engage with content and this one framework keeps proving useful. Let’s unpack it: 1. Time Investment - Long-form content (15+ min): People plan for it. It’s a commitment. Think: newsletters, deep-dive podcasts, YouTube explainers, blog posts. These often get saved for later: commutes, lunch breaks, or wind-down time. - Short-form content (seconds to a few minutes): This is the snackable stuff→ Reels, TikToks, Tweets, Shorts, consumed in those little gaps between tasks or while waiting for a coffee. It’s spontaneous. 2. Context of Consumption - Long-form happens during intentional downtime or dedicated learning blocks. It’s more likely to be consumed with a focused mindset. - Short-form slips into micro-moments: elevator rides, bathroom scrolls, between meetings. You’ve got seconds to hook someone. 3. Primary Motivations - Long-form satisfies depth: People want immersive entertainment, deep learning, or to build a relationship with the creator. They're looking for more than surface-level value. - Short-form delivers quick hits: Think dopamine boosts, trend awareness, or light distraction. It’s about rapid information gathering or fleeting fun. 4. Cognitive Mode - Long-form engages the brain: Focused attention, emotional connection, and analytical thinking all come into play. This is where trust is built.     - Short-form is reactive: Scrolling is passive, attention spans are short, and responses are quick. Great for visibility—not always for depth.    5. Discovery Patterns - Long-form is sought out: People search for it, subscribe to it, or rely on trusted recommendations.     - Short-form finds you: Discovery is driven by algorithms, virality, and endless scrolls. You *stumble* across it, not search for it.    What this means for content creators and marketers: You can’t just repackage one piece of content across all formats and expect it to perform equally well. Long-form content is your foundation for trust, authority, and deep engagement. Short-form is your distribution engine for reach, awareness, and top-of-funnel exposure. The best content strategies don’t pick one over the other, they design 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 for each. Curious, where are you seeing the most traction lately? Are your deep dives getting the love they deserve, or is short-form dominating the landscape?