Long vs Short Form in Content - Who gets the big prize?

I have been a bookworm ever since childhood. Literature opens me the doors to a world where I can lose myself easily - especially novels considering that they are more captivating as every single detail is explained, and characters are brought to life with a deeper understanding - where they come from, why they do what they do, and so on. I don’t know about you but as a full-time working mom with a toddler tangled to my legs most of the time, despite my love for them, (and the day is only 24 hours, not 36!) I don’t always have the time for a good novel. So, I have learned to feed my literary hunger by reaching out to short stories, shorter books, and shorter content. I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one doing this.?

TL,DR

In a world where we do not even bother spelling out TLDR (abbreviation for “Too long, didn’t read” ICYMI - oh the irony), so many people prefer short-form content over long ones. A data that has inspired us at Storyly : 64% of people prefer the story format over its scrolling article equivalent, according to a study by Forrester

Just look at TikTok. The pace of their growth cannot go unnoticed. TikTok is the first social platform to perfect short-form video content format, whether it is entertainment or information. And the figures, in my opinion, is living proof of it: According to John Koetsier conversation with Theodore Krantz Jr. from data.ai (by Sensor Tower) , TikTok bagged $840 million in the first quarter of 2022.

No wonder why it drew the ire of big players. Instagram followed TikTok with Reels, YouTube with Shorts. And it’s going very well for them too: YouTube reported that the service has more than 1.5 billion monthly video views. This is tiny compared to their overall viewership on YouTube, but it is impressive for a service that is just getting off the ground.

This graph below was recently shared by Jimmy Slagle and it is suggesting YouTube’s revenue has skyrocketed since TikTok’s launch because now there are more creators and more brand investment. I couldn't agree more.?

Instagram is also heavily investing in Reels, which actually received a backlash from its users during the “Make Instagram Instagram Again” campaign (By the way, it was crazy to see such a thing on Change.org, to be honest).

This is all about grabbing the attention of the people in this noisy, crowded world.?

But the competition for attention is not limited to social media when you think about it; streaming and gaming are fighting in this great battle too! In fact, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings went too far in 2017 and said their number 1 competition is sleep (How creepier could it get?)

So in a battle between long and short forms, which one will prevail, and which platforms are likely to benefit from it?

Short-form gets my vote.

Obviously, social media platforms have the advantage here as the users and creators are the producers of the content while streaming platforms rely on large productions created with massive investments. Also, the short form provides easy-to-digest content that is able to reach users/viewers in their micro-moments. I, myself, as a B2B marketer, spend all my spare time on LinkedIn going through the short yet nurturing content of LinkedIn influencers from my field, for instance, and feed that back into my own work.?

On top of that, I think even streaming platforms are aware of the value they can get out of short-form. Netflix even introduced a feature called Fast Laughs , which shows funny clips from the shows in a TikTok-like short video format.?

There is also the financial advantage of social media platforms. Having subscription models keeps streaming companies going financially. However, increasing production costs and volatility around the world are forcing them to consider advertising models for profitability, as is the case for Disney+ and Netflix . Social media does not have such a cost. In fact, they have strong advertising models on top of users who are constantly creating content at zero cost (except the ones that are a part of the creator programs).?

The greatest advantage, however, comes from the data. Social media is way ahead of the data collection game. They sure have a better understanding of their audience. Take TikTok for instance: Users spend approximately 45 minutes per person and watch 1 million videos per day on TikTok.?

Imagine all the data and signals (I like the word “signals” here, as every data point is actually a “signal” from the users, giving the platform an idea in terms of what they enjoy and what they don’t) TikTok is able to collect in every single session! How long would it take Netflix to get the same amount of data from its users and learn more about their preferences? Yes, people spend around 3 hours on Netflix every day (in the US). But they are watching long-form content that only tells a very small share of their personal story, likes, and dislikes. If they are binge-watching, that means even fewer data.

And as I said, the battle goes beyond just the video content. Every player that connects with people in one way or another is part of it. Users, even in a shopping app, are looking for short-form content that will instantly inspire them or help them discover products.?

To wrap up…

Life is getting busier and busier thanks to the pace of technological advances. More and more distractions are coming into our lives. We are approaching a point where even just short-form will not be enough to win this battle. Relevancy will be the decision-maker in this never-ending game. That’s why signals and how you interpret and act on these signals will become vital.?

Besides relevancy, all the actors will have to find a way to alleviate the “creation burden” on themselves and to get users on board. Yes, any app can make its users create content on its platform, app, and website and benefit from the user-generated content both to produce content and to ensure the “relevancy” aspect I mentioned.?

And time will tell us who will be the victor of this battle.?

N.B I would not be able to sleep well tonight if I did not mention our latest product, Moments by Storyly , right here - an in-app community engagement platform that can turn your app into a social platform where users can share their own moments as stories and hence become creators:) Just a sip of inspiration for all.. Cheers!?