Short-form content is all the rage. Platforms like YouTube and Instagram have already adopted TikTok’s content format and made it their own. Instagram is even employing a new video-first approach due to the fact that video receives more engagement than other content formats. However, short-form content success isn’t limited to video. Most top-performing content such as infographics, IG Stories, memes\, etc. on Instagram is short-form content. When you post something that gets right to the point, you can expect major engagement and reach. 

The amount of social media content available to your audience is mind-blowing. To compete, marketers have to create content that is quick, to the point, entertaining, and engaging right off the bat. No more softball intros. Getting to the point right away rules in 2022 more than ever before. In fact, all your audience wants in 2022 is the point. Whether you’re speaking to a camera or crafting your next meme, it’s time to kick the fluff.

Tips and Tricks for Creating Short-Form Content 

Pick the Right Topic

Short-form isn’t right for all content topics. When creating short-form content from scratch, you need to think about snackable ideas. These are your quick tips, how-tos, and memes. Once you’ve chosen your idea, make sure it can be properly conveyed in a short-form post. The last thing you want is to post content that doesn’t hit home because half of it is missing, just for the sake of putting up something short. 

Steal from Long-Form Content

Repurposing long-form content to be short-form is a fantastic way to maximize your efforts. However, you still have to make sure the idea meshes well with a short format. The difference here is that you can chop up your single piece of long-form content into multiple short-form pieces, each with its own main idea. Maybe you have a how-to, a story, and a few quick tips all in the same video or blog post. You can make each segment its own piece of short-form content. Bonus Tip: Try using Canva and the Reels planner for a quick and easy editing process. 

Write Strong Headlines

Headlines are always important but they are crucial with short-form content. In fact, they even take on a new role. Instead of summarizing the content in one enticing line, short-form content headlines should entice viewers while also being part of the story. Many Reels and TikTok creators accomplish this by making the first line of their video the last line so that the content loops. 

Practice Micro Storytelling 

Short-form content is all about saying and doing more in less time. You can tell stories in under a minute— you just have to tell them in a different way. For example, if you’re taking a storytime video and making it into a Reel, you can’t just cut and paste together a shorter version of the video. Actually telling a coherent story that way is practically impossible. Instead, watch your video and tell the story in a different way. Summarize each section of the story into one sentence then string them together to get the same point across in less than a minute. 

Edit Again

With short-form content, one last round of editing is always a good idea. Cut out empty space, unnecessary filler words and anything that drops the viewers' attention (even if it’s just for a couple of seconds). 

Food blogger Tiffy Cooks does a great job of this, all the way around. Here, you can see how she used the same idea for a blog post, YouTube video, and TikTok. Each one accomplishes the same goal, just in a different way. 

Blog post

YouTube 

TikTok

Content creation looks different these days; we have to rethink the way we create and consume social media content. This is a fast-paced world and if you don’t get your message across in seconds, chances are it will be lost. To sell is to entertain! Successful brands are reimagining what they have to do to accomplish long-standing marketing goals and they are accomplishing a lot with shorter content pieces. 

Ready to join them? Conquer the short-form video game with our Reels Planner at your side.