What is short-form content (SFC)?

Short-form content involves a 10-second - 5-minute clip that entices the viewer through a creative hook and provides key value points that benefit the audience.

Short-form content is used by businesses and creators to increase the exposure of their brand through short snippets that inform or entertain the viewer.

Podcasts repurpose clips that they post on short-form platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels.

Brands use engaging short-form content in their ad creatives to increase click-through rates.

Keynote speakers use short-form content to increase awareness of their personal brand to book more talks.

These 3 examples show just how versatile short-form content can be, and how it can be used in many different ways to benefit oneself or their brand. It may seem simple however there are 3 main components to a successful video that many miss. Without one, the structure of the video crumbles.

3 Components of a successful short-form video:

#1 The Hook:

For SFC to succeed, it must have a creative hook that keeps the viewer watching and entertained as the first 0.2 seconds are the most important part. These 0.2 seconds are when the viewer decides whether this video will be worth the time.

Such hooks can be:

• This is the secret to....
• I can't be the only one who didn't know [ fact, relevant to target customer ]
• People in [ relevant industry ] are making this mistake.....
• Ok, imagine this......
• Controversial statement

#2 How to structure the middle of your clip:

The hook is the first part, and the middle of the clip should involve easy-to-digest points of value relevant to your target customer.

For you to make the most out of your short-form content it MUST be valuable for your chosen audience. This value can come in the form of tips, facts, and strategies.

An example of this is a business podcast clip where the guest highlights 3 strategies they implemented to scale their business.

This type of middle structure allows the audience to gain pieces of useful information and leads to more interest in the podcast that it was clipped from.

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#3 Now the last part is the call to action (CTA):

With repurposing from other pieces of content it's harder to add a CTA in the clip itself as it's repurposed straight from such content and what's said cannot be changed. However, this can be overcome by having a clear CTA in the description of the clip or an added piece of text at the end highlighting the CTA.

A call to action provides the viewer with clear, deliberate instructions on what to do next. If the instruction(s) are too detailed or complicated you have lost the viewer already. The CTA must be so simple a 3rd grader could understand what to do.

For example:

• "Click this link for more strategies on becoming successful"
• "Struggling with [ relevant problem ] then click the link in the bio"
• "Want to learn more on how this [ notable figure in relevant content ] increased their sales, follow our Instagram"

These hooks highlight the action you want the viewer to take once they finish watching the clip. By doing this you can increase click-through rates and funnel the audience to your desired site or lead magnet.

Make sure you deliberately tell the viewer what to do in the least amount of words. The simpler it is the better the chance of them completing the action.

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