What is it?
There was a time (not so long ago) that some at Good Futures HQ dismissed TikTok as just a load of random dances and pointless makeup videos. As TikTok reaches a billion daily users, it’s about time we started thinking a little more deeply about what it means, and what needs the platform is answering for younger content creators and consumers.
TikTok isn’t just relevant as a channel for communication (though with an audience that large, your social teams should certainly be exploring the best ways to use it). It a perfect example of a new form of communication. One that is redefining how people create, consume and respond to information: short-form content.
Short-form content is anything that can be consumed in a short period of time, typically on a mobile phone. It aims to get across a single message or idea quickly and clearly. It’s easily digestible and simple to create. Whereas long-form content is ‘evergreen’ - meaning that it should remain relevant to audiences long after it is published - short-form is not designed to stand the test of time. It’s spontaneous, takes little effort to understand, and isn’t designed to be pondered or returned to. (Don't try making sense of Baby Yoda GIFs. Trust us. We've tried).
But we’re not just talking about 15-second TikTok videos. Short-form also encompasses infographics, tweet threads, quizzes, Reels, Instagram posts, surveys, and even - shortest of all - GIFs.
62% of TikTok users are between the ages of 10-28. While YouTube reaches more 18-49 year-olds than any cable network in the US.
Why should I care?
Short-form content is how many people—especially younger audiences—stay informed, seek entertainment, share their experiences, and express their identities. What started as a peculiarity of social media has become a permanent fixture in how people engage with the world.
Short-form is valuable not only as a way to reach these audiences, but also a means to mobilise them. It’s not just passive distraction and trivial meme-sharing. It can be a powerful tool to galvanise communities and inspire them to action.
Short-form can deepen relationships with your existing supporters. Short-form is deliberately fast, fun and casual. It lends itself to more creative ways of communicating that can excite and inspire. Short-form’s spontaneous and throwaway nature is part of the potency. Shorter formats can make your brand feel more fresh, friendly and modern and your work feel more enjoyable and human.
Short-form can help build and grow communities. It can be consumed by a huge number of people, while creating condensed, personal engagements with each individual. Shorter formats lend themselves to generating focused, inclusive conversations around a single theme or creating simple participatory activities - like ALS’s ice bucket challenge - that quickly build communities around a shared cause and mission.
People share short-form videos at twice the rate of any other form of content.
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A Platform for New Voices
The inclusive and accessible nature of short-form content makes it well-suited to bringing together audiences who don’t typically engage with each other. The “Retirement House" TikTok group, made up of four retirees recording funny videos from their care home in Los Angeles, became a sensation amongst TikTok’s predominantly Gen Z user base. The retirees went from zero to 1 million followers in the space of 2 weeks and sparked a range of new groups among younger demographics being made to respond and interact with the retirees.
As a low labour and inclusive format, short-form content can also provide a powerful platform for new types of creators who are less prominent elsewhere. TikTok has a large community of disabled creators, who share their experiences and create conversations online.
Paige Hennekam, who posts about living with autism, has over 2 million followers. Wheelchair user Mya combines informal videos, such as chair-based dance routines, with more serious content, like her ‘how to interact with disabled people’ series. Danny White, who lives with Tourettes, has over 700k likes for videos such as this rap in which he urges his followers to tag someone they know with Tourettes - “Just want to let you guys know you’re not alone".
In 2020 Macmillan Cancer Support partnered with cancer survivor and amputee Bernadette Hagans to create funny but informative clips on what it’s like to live with a disability.
Creating Social Change
Short-form can be a potent and creative tool for raising awareness of specific social issues. Under Lucky Stars created an infographic that showed the impact of light pollution on the night-time skyline of major cities. The infographic placed real photos of the night sky side-by-side with mock-ups that “reimagined what cities across the globe could look like if they were free from light pollution”.
Alzheimer's Research UK created a virtual reality app which allows users to experience what it's like to live with dementia. A Walk Through Dementia is designed to be used by full-time carers, healthcare professionals and members of the public. Users can download the app on a smartphone and recreate the VR experience by placing the phone in a cardboard VR glasses holder.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has been using TikTok to get the word out about COVID-19. Their social media team partnered with TikTok to learn the ins and outs of the platform, before creating content tailored specifically for the platform and audience. The videos feature a mix of expert testimonials, graphics and IFRC team members dancing to popular songs.
Informal Moments
During lockdown, the Donkey Sanctuary gave their supporters the opportunity to get closer to the inner workings of the charity through their award-winning 'Sanctuary From Your Sofa’ campaign. The Sanctuary offered 30-minute live stream tours of their sites, allowing supporters to catch up with the donkeys and see how the charity was adapting to the pandemic. The videos were watched by hundreds of thousands of supporters.
During the COP conference, Greenpeace provided a model for how long-form and short-form content can complement each other. To raise awareness and engagement with their longer-form reports, conferences and coverage, Greenpeace pushed teasers, videos and infographics through their social channels and newsletters. One we particularly liked featured a “leaked text exchange” between Boris and Carrie Johnson, with Carrie giving feedback on the Prime Minister’s COP speech.
So What?
Sometimes, less is more. Done effectively, short-form content is accessible, digestible and inspiring. It can be a powerful tool to reach new audiences, deepen relationships, and build communities around a cause. So, what can you do to become a short-form champion?
1. CONSIDER - POLYMODAL MARKETING STRATEGY:
Do you need to adapt your marketing strategy? Are you currently implementing a one-size-fits-all model (i.e. create a campaign, roll-out programmatically across channels)? Could you adopt a hybrid approach in which long-form and short-form play separate, but complementary roles? One conversation, told across multiple platforms and formats, with a single consumer.
2. EXPERIMENT - NEW FORMATS FOR DIFFERENT AUDIENCES:
There are lots of different ways to leverage and deliver short-form content. Experiment with different formats, tones and content styles. Like IFRC mixing serious health messaging with the latest viral dance. Experiment with using formats like gifs and infographics to bring your work to life.
3. CHALLENGE - EMBRACE CREATIVITY:
Challenge your marketing, communications and product teams to embrace the creativity that short-form content allows. What radical and disruptive ideas could drive awareness and increase participation in your work? What could create cut-through? If you're looking for inspiration, follow Rise at Seven's founder Carrie Rose who constantly challenges brands to think differently about their marketing and PR.