The Ultimate Guide to Long-Form Video

For many years, short-form videos gained massive popularity. Why? To hold people's quick attention. However, this trend is now evolving. Today, consumers of all ages are inclined to watch long-form videos on their preferred social media platforms.

As a result, social media platforms such as Meta and Instagram are adjusting and experimenting with innovative offerings that will appeal to businesses.

In the last five years, there has been a 446% growth in long-form videos (60 minutes or longer) and a 288% increase in short-form videos (5 to 30 minutes). On the contrary, the number of brief movies between 0 and 1 minute long only rose by 100.3%. So how can you leverage this for your brand or business?

We will tell you how! In this blog, we'll discuss the importance of long-form videos, their advantages, and how they can help businesses like yours achieve your marketing goals.

What Exactly is a Long-Form Video?

A longer-than-average video (10—15 minutes) is commonly referred to as a long form. They are most recognized for their thorough coverage of a topic while offering the reader a ton of content lasting more than 30 minutes.

With 74% of all internet traffic made up of videos, your business cannot neglect video marketing as an excellent channel for promoting and sharing your brand value, product, and services. Therefore, in the business world, long-form video is becoming more popular as professionals recognize the wealth of benefits it offers.

The Role of Long-Form Video in Today's Digital Business Landscape

In the recent past, you have probably noticed that practically every social media platform is leaning toward long-form video.

New video capabilities have begun to appear on "older" platforms like Facebook and Instagram, and these platforms frequently prioritize their algorithms to enhance video capabilities.

The epitome of compelling long-form video content can be found on OTT (Over-the-top) platforms like YouTube and Vimeo, and among others.

But did you know that 92% of marketers believe that video will be crucial to marketing in the years to come? That's right!

According to Statista, brand videos were the most often used video formats in 2021's international marketing communications. Social video and product demonstrations were other popular choices for B2B video marketing efforts. 39% of respondents said they used client testimonials, while 45% of global marketers said they used training videos.

This is why long-form video content should be a part of your social media strategy.

Benefits of Using Long-Form Video

In the business world, long-form video content has a variety of applications. From SaaS-based B2B video marketing professionals to solopreneurs, small business owners, and established organizations, everyone uses long-form video content marketing to achieve their business and marketing objectives.

So let’s dive into some of the benefits of long-form video:

Builds connections

For building rapport with your customers and audiences, long-form video works incredibly well. Longer-form films enable you to build a personality and forge a link with your viewers.

Essential for SEO and better visibility

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a term you've undoubtedly heard a million times. Did you know, however, that including SEO video on your website can significantly boost your SEO efforts and attract more visitors to it?

More content equals more keyword chances; therefore, longer videos are better.

The length of your video will also lengthen the time visitors spend on your website, increasing the likelihood that search engines will view it as relevant and give you more prominence in search results.

Undoubtedly, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) stands as a crucial element for online visibility. However, alongside SEO strategies, businesses must integrate a policy using an AI policy template advocating the ethical and responsible deployment of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies in creating SEO content and other marketing activities.

Increase customer value

To add value, you don't necessarily have to add brand-new frills and whistles to your core products and services. Long-form videos can benefit your business by advancing customer success and knowledge. You'll be able to impart a plethora of information to your viewers if you can hold their interest during a long-form video, ensuring that they remember and regard your brand as a reliable and definitive source.

Promotes significant engagement

Animoto reports that 88% of video marketers are pleased with the return on their investment from their social media video marketing. In addition, longer videos are seen to be more effective when it comes to leaving an impact on viewers. You can even use social media QR codes to redirect followers and users to a long-form video on YouTube, your website, or any other platform.

Makes your brand stand out

Last but not least, since we often create a narrative with long-form videos, it is perfect for increasing brand recognition memorably and effectively. Your long-form content can aid in the creation of a distinctive brand identity that sets you apart from competing companies in your niche. In addition, it gives your brand a chance to convey the whole story, especially when speaking with industry experts.

Types of Long-Form Video Content for Business

There are different types of long-form video content, and we will look into some of them in addition to some tips and tricks on leveraging these videos to achieve your marketing goals.

Product demonstrations

A well-made product video is one of the most influential pieces of content for giving potential customers that last little push. 69% of consumers say they would rather watch a video to learn more about a brand's products or services.

How are product demonstration videos helpful?

They are excellent at demonstrating applications and benefits, eliminating doubt, and ensuring that potential buyers know exactly what to expect from your items.
Since everyone who watches a product video is at least somewhat interested in purchasing it, your content can use more direct selling techniques.

Customer testimonials

Videos with customer reviews are the best approach to establishing company trust. According to Boast, the effectiveness of content marketing is at 89%, with customer testimonials receiving the best score. The majority of customers will research one or more customer reviews before buying your product.

How do you begin filming these, then? It’s simple. Find a client who is willing to make a video testimonial, ask them a few questions, and record their answers. These are some topics that your inquiries have to touch on:

Enquire about their top concern regarding your product.
Find out how your product helped them achieve their goals.
Inquire about their preferred aspects of your product.
Verify if they experienced any unanticipated advantages from your product.

Training and educational videos

When creating an internal training platform, long-form video content comes in handy. Wondering how and why?

You can produce videos for training, orientation, and how-to guides for various administrative duties.
Having access to these in-depth videos lowers the expense of staff training. You can distribute QR codes containing video links to trainee posts or pre-sessions. Additionally, it is useful when administrators must take an unforeseen leave of absence, and someone else must take over their responsibilities.

Corporate videos

The odds of increased website traffic and employee engagement are higher for companies that adopt long-form video marketing. For instance, instead of reading about the CEO and leadership team on the company website, new hires in corporate firms would prefer to watch them on video during their inductions.

According to Wyzowl, 86% of marketers assert that video has increased the traffic to their website, and 83% claim that video has lengthened visitors' visits to their pages. Further, the consumer learns more about your brand and what you offer at each touchpoint.

4 Ways to Create Successful Long-Form Video Content for Business

Here are a few ways you can create a successful long-form video content for your business:

Define the video's objectives and purpose

Feed customers high-quality information with a specific purpose in mind if you want to maintain their interest. Consider hiring a qualified team or video marketing agencies to handle the video production's creative process if you're going to get the most out of your resources. This will guarantee that the final result is of the highest caliber and that it is designed with appropriate calls to action.

Here are a few objectives to keep in mind while defining your video's purpose.

Amplify brand awareness - This can include how-to videos demonstrating your field experience and industry analysis.
Promote online engagement - Several short promotional movies linking to longer-form content on your website, blog, or YouTube. These ought to be both educational and emotionally engaging.
Improve customer education - By creating how-to videos that answer frequently asked questions from clients.
Boost website traffic - These include videos on product demonstrations, business overviews, and customer testimonials.

Prepare a script and storyboard

Storytelling is a key component of what makes marketing videos successful and memorable because you want your message to be engaging and memorable.

Here’s how you can create a storyboard.

Jot down your thoughts.
Produce a rough draft.
Draw sketches.
Maintain a list.
Evaluate and seek input.

Think about episodes and the structure of the video

Long-form video content that uses an episodic structure will keep viewers interested and coming back for more. Long-term involvement and loyalty are beneficial for boosting sales. Your viewers will be more inclined to return and engage with your content if you can spread out an engaging, compelling story over several episodes.

Filming and editing techniques

The journey doesn't end when you become an expert at recording! Before it goes live, you'll also need to learn how to edit video content. This might entail changing visual components, like boosting contrast or brightness. It might also involve timing changes or the addition of special effects.

The most crucial elements of your video can be highlighted with the use of efficient video editing software, saving viewers' time from irrelevant content.

Here are a few of the most crucial suggestions and tactics to be aware of:

Organize! Eliminate the ineffective portions of your video so that you may concentrate on the areas that best demonstrate your abilities.
Choose an effective and easy-to-use software such as StoryXpress.
Choose a machine with fast storage, more RAM, and a GPU.
Add music wherever possible since great music transforms everything.

Best practices for using long-form video content in business

Discover relevant distribution channels for the video

Long-form video content can be distributed in several ways. You can host your video content on a professional video platform if you're planning to do it professionally. The video player can then be added to your website or application from there. Your objectives and target audience will determine how you share your video. You can send the login information to authorized users through email. You'll probably use a similar strategy if you employ video for sales-related goals.

Here are similar examples of how you can distribute your long-form video content:

Your distribution strategy will probably incorporate many elements for marketing and branding reasons. Utilizing video SEO, social media marketing, and email marketing will help you reach as many high-quality viewers as possible with your content. Consider including paid advertisements.
Sharing brief excerpts from your long-form video on social media sites like YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook with a link to watch the complete video on your website works well.

Protip - Keep in mind that you forfeit all exclusive copyrights to your video content when you share it on these free social media platforms.

Integrate videos into your overall content marketing strategy

According to Worldometers, more than 6 million blogs are published every day. The words on the internet are endless. Nobody has the time to read every online posting or even read them clearly. Your website or blog needs to stand out amid all this chaos, and using video to accomplish this is a great idea.

For your visitors to get your message, all they need to do is click and watch a clear, well-crafted video. Videos deliver precise, interesting information. You can reduce bounce rates by including a video on your landing page and, indirectly, on other pages.

Here are a few ways to integrate videos into your content marketing strategy .

Release product videos

Have you ever seen videos on YouTube with the tag ‘this will only take one minute’? Those are the types of videos that your prospects need. Product videos should be embedded on your landing page and shared across your social media networks for better conversion rates.

Customize your webinars on other social media platforms

Webinars take time to plan and then market across several channels. After the webinar, you must edit the video into individual YouTube or other social media channels that each address a distinct subject. Long after your webinar is over, these clips will help more people find your company and advance your expert status.

Leverage long-form video for your emails

How many of the hundreds of emails you receive each day do you open? Unfortunately, due to the overwhelming volume of emails, many people choose only to skim the subject lines or ignore them entirely.

Every meeting you've attended, every website to which you've subscribed, friends, clients, and so much more prove that it is prudent to avoid assuming that your prospects have the free time to read emails. Instead, include a video link, or use a QR code generator to create a personalized QR code for embedding your video that the viewers can see with a quick scan on their mobile phone.

Analyze and measure the success of the video

Analytics are essential to the success of any internet marketing effort. You should track your expenditures on video marketing campaigns if you produce many videos and consciously decide how to enhance them.

You can use Google Analytics and YouTube Analytics to monitor performance, locate your most popular videos, and learn more about views, traffic sources, total watch time, and more.

Additionally, you may gauge your overall brand awareness by looking at key metrics such as aggregate views, shares, and mentions.

Use video to engage and connect with your audience

Most of you now understand how effective video can be in promoting a brand or service. Unlike written text or print visuals, long-form videos can capture viewers' attention and communicate a brand's message effectively. But how do you engage your customers using long-format video content?

Managing customer feedback in videos

Gather some of your business's consumer feedback from social media postings and commercials, and answer it in your video.

Draw viewers' attention instantly

It is best to engage your audience by ensuring the opening 5 seconds of video content capture their attention. After all, our viewers consume content constantly, and we only have seconds to capture their interest. Spend less time promoting logos.

Leverage personalized videos

In 2023, personalized videos will prevail as the new norm. Wouldn't you pay attention if you heard and saw your name in an advertisement?

Collaborate with influencers

Video content is currently quite popular thanks to YouTube, providing a unique chance to engage people. An excellent approach to achieving this is through collaboration with influencers. Influencers offer brands the potential to have meaningful and engaging discussions with their target audiences by providing direct and easy access to communities.

Way forward

For content marketers, the long-form video presents a huge chance to engage consumers in new and exciting ways. The above video tips might help you learn how to start using long-form video content marketing. Don’t forget to track your video marketing metrics so you’ll know so you can know how successful your video is. With long-form videos, you can increase audience interaction, establish relationships with them, and have a better ROI. So, what are you waiting for? Get started today!

Bonus Tips

Here are additional resources and the best examples for those interested in using long-form video in business.

GE produced the "Into the Wild" video series to inform its audience on how GE powers everything from cities to jet engines. The show features former Mythbuster Adam Savage as he tries to comprehend the workings of the various GE goods and services. Adam (and the audience) discover how GE contributes to the world's energy supply through expert interviews, animations, and clear explanations:

Patagonia leverages the company's purpose or goal to inspire long-form video content and establish personal connections with viewers:

Platforms and tools for hosting and distributing business videos

YouTube for its existing viewership
StoryXpress for creating and marketing end-to-end videos
Vimeo for collaboration on videos
Spotlightr for quizzing your audience
Uscreen is a video monetization platform.