Too Long, Didn't Watch? Not So Fast.

Short form video has reigned supreme over the past two years. In 2022, TikTok was the most downloaded app, with users engaging with the platform an average of 95 minutes per day while YouTube Shorts’ 1.5B global monthly users drove more than 30B views per day. Even alternative platforms from Instagram to LinkedIn have all also embraced short form video as key pillars to their growing platform experience.??

With so much attention on short form video, the value of long form video in 2023 seems to be getting left to the wayside as brands, executives, and content creators alike look to “TikTokify” their products, messaging, and value proposition.???

However, the “TikTokification” of content doesn’t make long form video irrelevant – in fact it makes it much more important for brands and executives to master as a part of their larger social strategy. As long form video’s purpose in the social ecosystem shifts from being a lean back content medium towards a deeper in the funnel consideration tool – brands can use long form video to shepherd audiences who are deep in their search journey to explore the subjects and topics they care about most.???

In fact, a user’s short form and long form video experience is more interconnected than most realize, as 59% of Gen Z social media users today watch longer versions of videos that they discover on short-form video apps.??

So, whether you are a brand looking to build broader awareness or an executive working to establish themselves as a thought leader – a great short form video strategy thinks about building a content ecosystem that supports the search journey between long form and short form video.??

For brand marketers, that interconnection has never been easier to achieve thanks to new features like TikTok expanding its video length to 10-minutes and YouTube introducing its “edit into a short” feature which gives users the ability to repurpose catalog videos in their profile into completely new Shorts content. The best short form video brands, executives, and content creators will master this balance between short form and longform in 2023 and beyond.??

If you have any thoughts, questions, or feedback on this relationship reach out to our team of experts at [email protected].??

Cheers,??

MikeWorldWide Digital??

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Quick Hits: Data??

• Data.ai has published its annual overview of app performance trends, which highlights all the key shifts and developments of 2022. The most downloaded app is still Meta, though BeReal made waves this year with 5.3M new users in August ‘22.?? TikTok generated the most in-app revenue of any social app in 2022.??

• Pinterest released its “Pinterest Predicts” 2023 report curated by analyzing search behavior on the platform. In a recent study with Black Swan, Pinterest found that their trends took off 20% faster than trends across other platforms in their first six months. The platform provides guidance on how to leverage the report to help boost advertisers’ businesses. ?

• Triton Digital recently released their first annual year-end podcast report in the U.S. which found that the number of podcast downloads increased by 20% in 2022, Over the last year listeners downloaded an average of 3.8 hours of content each week, an increase from 2.7 hours in 2021.?

• A Capterra survey of 164 retail and restaurant businesses found that most small businesses now use TikTok for marketing, and 78% of those who use it have realized a positive return on investment from the platform.?

• Accenture’s new metaverse report found that 55% of consumers want to be active users of the metaverse and nearly all of them (90%) want to do so in the next year. The top features consumers want are easy-to-use interfaces (cited by 70%) and access to a wide variety of applications (68%), which outperformed more “form” features, such as flashy headsets (55%) and the ability to personalize avatars (55%).?

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Quick Hits: Platforms?

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• LinkedIn has released an update on its user data and platform profile which unveiled that it has officially crossed over 900M+ users with over 18% YoY growth in total user sessions. The report noted that users conducted 25% more public conversations and Newsletter creation was up 10X YoY.??

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• LinkedIn is introducing a new feature on February 11th that will allow users to see the newsletters that other users are subscribed to. The new feature aims to help users discover new content and stay up to date with industry trends.?

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• TikTok is testing new sleep reminders that include the option to set up alerts when it’s your bedtime and to mute notifications during the recommended seven hours of sleep.??

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• TikTok is expanding its audience controls feature, giving creators the ability to restrict their videos to adult viewers.??

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• TikTok added video-scrubbing thumbnails to its platform which makes it easier for users to find a specific part of a longer video.?

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• TikTok has partnered with Vevo to produce a weekly show, "Trending on TikTok.” Trending on TikTok will run up to an hour-long 15 times throughout a given week, and play multiple times on Vevo Pop, one of the main FAST channels from the music video company. The show will highlight the top TikTok videos around the most popular songs.?

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• Instagram is expanding its selection of time management tools with the launch of a new feature called “Quiet Mode.” The feature aims to reduce users’ anxiety about taking time off from the app by silencing incoming notifications, auto-replying to DMs, and setting your status to ‘In Quiet Mode’ to inform friends that you’re not active on the app at present.?

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• Facebook is offering new privacy protections for kids and teens using the app. Beginning in February, advertisers will no longer be able to target minors using gender data or data on what pages they like or follow.?

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• Twitter has renamed “Home” and “Latest” timeline to “For You” and “Following”. The “For You” timeline mimics many of the attributes that have made TikTok so successful.??

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• Discord has purchased the app Gas which allows users to anonymously share compliments with one another via polls. The app has more than 1M active users and is one of the most popular apps among teenagers.??

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• Pinterest announced a new partnership with LiveRamp to pilot clean rooms for select advertising partners. Grocery retailer Albertsons will be the platform’s first advertiser using this new solution. Pinterest's integration with LiveRamp provides a protected, third-party space where brands can join their first-party data and Pinterest platform data in a secure environment. The clean room keeps data private and provides aggregated insight into ad performance.?

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Quick Hits: Podcasts??

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• Google has removed the ability for users to listen to individual podcast episodes directly from the search results page in an effort to improve user experience.??

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• Donald Trump Jr. inked a multiyear podcast deal with Rumble Inc., the user-generated video platform that serves as a conservative alternative to YouTube. The podcast, called "Triggered with Don Jr." will air twice per week beginning the week of January 23rd.??

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Quick Hits: Metaverse & Web3?

• MikeWorldWide client KB Home has launched a virtual new-home community in the Decentraland metaverse which showcases a three-dimensional welcome pavilion and three architecturally distinct model homes with interactive features to encourage exploration and engagement in a new and innovative way.??