Influencer collaborations have become important for brands, now more than ever, to develop creative short-form video content. With TikTok’s potential ban in the USA and Canada, social media channels like Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and YouTube are doubling down on their efforts to promote short-form video features on their platform to boost their usage rates. 

According to experts, short-form videos will continue to be a popular trend on social media, as they enable the audience to consume valuable content in just a few minutes. For this reason, brands need to work on novel ways to increase their engagement from short-form video content on these social channels. 

Influencer-generated content can help you reach and build stronger relationships with your target audience, as snackable content remains their favorite source of content consumption. Social media content creators know the nitty-gritty of creating videos to engage their audience and positively promote your brand's products and services. Additionally, they help earn the audience’s trust and build long-term loyalty with only a few seconds of content. 

So to help you and your creative partners develop interesting, bite-sized videos, we have curated a list of 5 unique ways to include short-form content in your influencer campaigns. 

Let's check it out! 

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1. Reach New Audiences With Influencer-Hosted Vodcasts 

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Influencer-hosted video podcasts are an excellent way to use short-form videos in your influencer campaigns. 

Many prefer watching podcasts on their way to work or in their free time instead of just listening. Vodcasts are repurposed podcast content posted in video format on social media platforms like YouTube, TikTok, or Instagram to reach audiences who prefer visual content. The videos can include snippets from the podcast episodes combined with visuals like animated backgrounds, graphics, or the host talking on camera. 

Brands leverage vodcasts to engage the audience further and provide valuable content. Adding influencers to the mix enhances the reach and engagement of the vodcasts, as content creators can easily captivate their audience. Influencer-hosted vodcasts help capture the uncaptured audience. They also tend to form a deeper connection with the audience as they can trust you more with visuals than audio. 

"Looking at how long-form video will evolve, I would be shocked if by the end of 2023, pretty much every podcast out there doesn't have a video offering – especially creator-hosted podcasts. Personally, just listening to audio is enough for me, but I know that lots of people like that added entertainment factor," says Neve Fear-Smith, a UK-based journalist, in our global influencer marketing report for 2023. 

The famous Joe Rogan Experience Podcast is the best example of repurposing podcast content into short-form videos to reach a wide-listener base. Joe Rogan, an American podcaster, actor, and TV presenter hosts an engaging podcast with various guests. Rogan shares valuable snippets from the podcast content, focused on politics, comedy, and philosophy, on his Instagram channel in the form of Reels. 
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2. Soundless Videos To Capture Consumer Attention

The audience's approach to watching videos has transformed completely. Many people watch social media content on mute while going to work or waiting in line at a public place. These videos are optimized with subtitles, images, and highlighted text. A study published by Verizon media in 2019 says that more than 92% of mobile viewers watch content on mute, and the percentage will continue to increase. 

Brands and creators need to think thoroughly and optimize their video content on all fronts to appeal to the viewers, both with and without audio. 

Many influencers use graphics, subtitles, animations, and visuals to capture the viewers' attention, even without audio. Short-form videos significantly impact people watching muted content as they provide a quick way to consume information. For example, Now This and BuzzFeed food break longer videos into short silent videos to reach muted content viewers, bagging millions of views on the videos. 

For example, here's a soundless video from VanityFair, an American magazine for fashion, culture, politics, and more, that showcases Penn Badgley answering fan theories for 'YOU' season 4. 

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3. Leverage Employee-Generated Content For Added Authenticity 

Employee-generated content is a gold mine of authentic content many businesses need to focus on. Employees are the best brand advocates you can find whom people can relate to more than outside influencers. The employees are closely connected to your brand image, so using them as influencers in your campaigns is a great way to share your message with the target audience. 

If you need help with including short-form videos in your influencer campaigns, begin by sharing content created by your employees.  The videos can be 15 seconds to 2 minutes long and include exciting content like behind-the-scenes (BTS), a day in the life of, your brand's story, or more fun content that shows your business's work environment and ethics. The audiences love such content as they feel more connected with the business through the employees.  

Arcade Studios is doing a spectacular job leveraging employee-generated content for posting short-form video content on TikTok—the fastest-growing short-form video app. The employees at this digital marketing agency produce engaging content, including a day in the life of and BTS videos to showcase the fun working environment at their office. 

To establish a relationship with their audience, they post fun and entertaining content to which their followers can relate. The strategy earns the audience's trust and allows the agency to promote its services through TikTok creator marketing. 
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4. Animated Videos To Boost User Engagement

Animated videos are not just for kids; adults are equally hooked.  Animated short videos are a popular format to share brand stories, explainer or educational content, product tutorials, and more to increase brand awareness and user engagement. Such videos inspire the viewer to take action on your website, like clicking for a demo or viewing a product, helping you stand out from your competitors. 

Whether you're a B2B, B2C, or D2C brand, you can use animated videos influencers create to share on social media, eCommerce websites, emailers, or landing pages. 

For example, Squarespace launched a "Make It Real" campaign in 2020 featuring short animated videos. The brand aimed to help small businesses and entrepreneurs bring their creative ideas to life using the Squarespace platform.

The animated videos created by Squarespace's in-house creative team highlighted various business owners and influencers in the corporate world using the platform to build their online presence and grow their businesses.  Each video told a different story and showcased the unique features of Squarespace that helped the entrepreneurs succeed.

The videos featured influencers like Robin Grasby, the designer of Altrock, and Brittany Asch, founder of BRRCH, the floral studio, who shared their experience using Squarespace in just 30 seconds. The campaign was a creative and engaging way for Squarespace to showcase the power of its platform in a few seconds, allowing it to connect with small business owners and entrepreneurs.
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5. Engaging Time Lapse Videos To Highlight Moments 

Time-lapse footage makes for excellent scroll-stopping content that engages the audience. Brands in almost every niche can use influencer-created time-lapse videos to showcase brand stories, event recaps, scenic places, product features, and more. 

Apple used time-lapse videos to showcase its iPhone camera features. Apple's "Shot on iPhone" campaign is an ongoing short-form video influencer marketing strategy that showcases the capability of the iPhone camera to shoot stunning time-lapse videos. Shot by professional photographers, filmmakers, and content creators, the videos showcase footage of sunsets, cityscapes, nature scenes, animals, and more. 

The campaign also invited everyday iPhone users to submit their Apple shot photos and videos to be featured in Apple's advertising. The strategy allowed the brand to tap into the creativity of its user base and leverage quality user-generated content (UGC) as social proof for potential customers. Apple created a robust marketing campaign that resonated with its target audience and highlighted the capabilities of the iPhone camera.

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Amp Up Your Influencer Campaigns With Creative Short-Form Video Content 

Now, you're all set to develop your ideas for creating compelling short-form videos with the help of influencers. 

A great way to spark new ideas for your short-form video marketing is to include influencers in the campaign ideation process, as they know what your target audience likes and will enjoy watching. The strategy will also help you build better relationships with influencers and content creators. 

If you're looking for relevant influencers to help you jazz up your short-form video strategy, then affable.ai can help you. affable.ai is an end-to-end influencer marketing platform used by 100+ brands and agencies to find talented creators, manage entire campaigns, and track performance through automation tools. The platform eliminates human efforts and reduces the time spent running the campaigns. Its advanced features also enable you to identify fake followers and popular market trends. 

‍Connect with our experts by booking a free trial to learn how you can run compelling hassle-free campaigns! 

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