How Short-Form Video Content Altered Social Media and Influencer Marketing
Video content has been around on social media for a long time, primarily on platforms like YouTube or even Facebook. Short-form video content has emerged more recently, with the launch of TikTok and Instagram Reels. This form of video content has transformed social media and influencer marketing in several ways, leading to significant shifts in how brands engage with their audiences and how influencers reach their followers. Here are four ways that short-form video content has altered social media and influencer marketing forever.
Increased Engagement
Video content is more effective at capturing the attention of the viewer. It allows for more context and storytelling than an image usually shares. This makes the content more engaging and more likely for the viewer to interact with the content. On most social media platforms each user is part of an algorithm that shows them video content they’re most likely to enjoy. This means that the videos you’re being shown are similar or related to other videos you’ve interacted with. This helps increase engagement on content by showing it to the target audience.
Authenticity and Relatability
Video content often feels more relatable than images on social media. Before Reels, most Instagram influencers had very edited images to make up a curated “aesthetic” profile. Every image was carefully selected to fit into the theme that made up their profile. This concept became a lot less common once Reels became more popular. When TikTok became popular we saw that the most famous TikTokers were funny, relatable, and unique. Viewers want to watch a content creator that feels like someone they could be friends with, rather than an unreachable “celebrity”. This became more attainable with video content since content creators can show off their genuine personalities more easily.
Expanded Reach
Social media platforms, like Instagram, heavily prioritize video content. This means you’re likely to see more videos than photos when scrolling through the apps. On TikTok the home page, also called the “For You Page” serves you unlimited videos that the algorithm thinks you’ll watch. Instagram Reels have a similar viewing avenue as TikTok. You can scroll through endless Reels that Instagram serves you. Due to this system viewers often consume far more videos on social media than images. As a brand or influencer, it is usually more beneficial to post video content over images because you will reach a much wider audience. Image posts are mainly shown to viewers who already follow you, whereas videos, like Reels or TikToks, are shown to people outside of your following. It is much more likely that a video will go viral, over an image.
Enhanced Brand Partnerships
Video content allows for more creative freedom and diversification of content. Brands and influencers have more creative options when marketing their product on social media. Videos can be used for storytelling in a more compelling and relatable way compared to images. Influencers can share their experience with a brand’s product or use the product in a video to make it more appealing to their audience. Videos can evoke more emotion from viewers and help influencers create a connection with their audience. In one of Foodie Tribe’s recent influencer campaigns, DoorDash partnered with Joshua Weissman to drive in-app conversions from curated chef collections from a notable food personality. In Joshuau’s video (linked here) you’ll see that he starts the video off by relating to his audience by saying that even he, as a professional chef, orders delivery food. Then he utilizes his credibility, as a professional chef, to recommend what delivery food you should order from DoorDash. If this content were posted as an image or even an image carousel, it would not be able to show as much emotion or relatability.
At Foodie Tribe we work with brands and influencers to curate the best partnerships and content for every campaign. We also create custom social media content for our clients to help get their brand’s message across. To learn more and connect with us, visit foodietribe.com!