What is the importance of short form content

Short-form content, specially in the video landscape, has now become by far the most effective means for e-commerce stores to engage with their audiences, while driving conversions and giving competitors a run for their money. With social commerce taking off, platforms such as Instagram and TikTok have become market leaders when it comes to boosting user engagement. This implies that, your e-commerce store must focus on ensuring that it is adapting its content towards leveraging these trends on short form content.

This article explores the reason why this type of content is not only crucial for your brand but rather its actual impact and how you can optimise your marketing efforts is a crucial educational point for brands.

The Rise of Short-Form Video Content

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1. Changing Consumer Behaviour

As it can be seen, consumers and audiences are now consuming content more than ever, with studies showing a significant reduction in the attention spans of audiences. These studies primarily highlight the fact that:

1. On an average, the attention span of a Gen Z viewers is around 8 seconds, with millennials being no less at a sole 12 seconds. This means that your content needs to be short in order for it to be effective!
2. According to Google, 55% of shoppers, globally prefer videos, to be present when they are shopping to enable them to have a more authentic and credible shopping experience.
3. This allows, for us to infer that if your video is under 60 seconds, you have the ability to not only captivate audiences, but also grow your engagement rates.

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2. Social Media Algorithms Favour Short Videos

Over the last few years, we have seen both TikTok and Instagram algorithms are being known to prioritize these types of content, and engage their users.

1. In order to maximise watch times, TikTok is being seen to promote content that is under the 60s mark.
2. Similarly, Instagram is being seen to boost the visibility of those brands that are focused on this short-form content.

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Why Short-Form Video is Crucial for E-Commerce Brands

But the question arises, how can this short form content be leveraged by online brands in realms other than their actual social media channels, and why is there an actual need. With the rise of shoppable videos being used to cross-sell these social media videos on brands, landing pages and product detail pages, e-commerce brands are able to boast:

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1. Increased Engagement & Brand Awareness

Short-form videos are instant attention grabbers, and this makes them ideal for:

• Product demonstrations
• Customer testimonials
• Behind-the-scenes content

Remember, that a well created video has the ability to generate even more likes, shares as well as comments which can effortlessly increase your brands' visibility without needing to invest in inorganic growth or paid advertisements.

2. Higher Conversion Rates

As mentioned above, 55% of individuals are more inclined to make a purchasing decision when the item is accompanied by a video. Which further leads to:

• Short form videos are being seen to have the ability to increase conversion rates by 80%, this means brands by leveraging these videos on their landing pages could effortlessly boost their conversions on their webpages.

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3. Cost-Effective & Easier to Produce

Gone are the days when you need high-budget TV or YouTube commercials, your short-form video s can be produced effortlessly, using just your smartphone and with AI now one click is all it takes.

• AI-driven editing tools (CapCut, InShot)
• Easy-to-use templates on Canva and Adobe Express
• Platform-native editing tools on TikTok and Instagram Make content creation more accessible than ever.

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Best Practices for Creating High-Impact Short-Form Videos on your PDP's

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1. Hook Viewers in the First 3 Seconds

The first few seconds of your content are the most crucial aspect, to capturing attention, if you don't have your viewers within the first 3 seconds, consider them to be lost.

• A bold statement or shocking fact
• A problem-solution format
• Eye-catching visuals

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2. Keep It Concise & Engaging

Short-form videos should be 15-60 seconds in order to be able to boost your retention rates, try to avoid beating around the bush and rather focus on delivering your key value propositions as seamlessly as possible.

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3. Leverage User-Generated Content (UGC)

Consumers trust peer recommendations more than brand ads. Encourage:

• Customer testimonials
• Unboxing videos
• Influencer collaborations

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4. Add Captions & Text Overlays

Most users watch videos without sound, so adding captions improves accessibility and engagement.

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The Future of Short-Form Video

As platforms continue to prioritize short-form videos, e-commerce brands to must try to leverage these videos and use them to cross-sell on their websites and pages in order to offer a unique experience for their customers. With up-and-coming trends in 2025 such as AI-powered video editing, shoppable videos with seamless localisations and integrations, brands need to prioritize a real-time engagement strategy.

It's no longer optional! Remember, it is now the need of the hour. Integrating this into your marketing strategy helps promote quicker sales cycles. Why? This is because they are able to see first hand who is using your product, how it looks, rather than ordering a product, only to be in for a disappointing surprise. So whether it is social media or for your website, leverage video content under 60 seconds and watch sales soar!

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