If you’ve ever caught yourself mindlessly scrolling through social media and watching numerous short-form content in one sitting, for sure, you’re not the only one.
According to Hootsuite, 73% of consumers prefer watching short-form videos when seeking information about products or services. HubSpot’s 2025 Marketing Trends Report has also revealed that 21.02% of marketing professionals believe that short-form content provides the highest return on investment (ROI).
But what are short-form videos, and why are they so popular?
Short-Form Content Defined
Short-form videos are concise, bite-sized pieces of content designed to quickly deliver a message. They typically range from a few seconds to a couple of minutes in length, although most are under 60 seconds.
Short-form content can be commonly found on platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube Shorts.
Why Short-Form Content Thrives
Consumer attention spans are shrinking.
Short-form content has become increasingly effective due to the shrinking attention spans of consumers. In fact, a study by Microsoft has identified that the human attention span has decreased to eight seconds—dropping nearly 25% in just a few years. As digital platforms proliferate and information overload intensifies, people are less likely to engage with lengthy, detailed content. Instead, they prefer bite-sized pieces that deliver key messages quickly and efficiently.
Short-form videos are easily digestible.
Short-form videos provide easily digestible content that can be consumed on the go, making them ideal for busy lifestyles where time is limited. Unlike long-form content that requires a significant time commitment, short videos deliver key information or entertainment in a fraction of the time.
Spontaneity
Short-form content often captures spontaneous moments or reactions, making them feel more authentic compared to heavily scripted long-form content. This spontaneity relates with audiences who appreciate raw emotion or unfiltered experiences captured in real-time.
Shareability
Short clips are more likely to be shared because they require minimal time investment from viewers and can be easily passed along across various social media platforms. Viral challenges or funny ads spread rapidly due to their brevity and engaging nature, which encourages users to share them widely among friends and followers.
Why should brands create short-form content?
Short-form content can be easily produced.
The ease of producing short-form video content plays a major role in its popularity among creators. Unlike long-format productions requiring substantial resources (time, equipment), creating shorts typically involves minimal effort—often just using a smartphone—and less financial investment.
Bite-sized videos can increase engagement.
Short-form content encourages viewers to quickly grasp the key points or entertainment value offered by the brand. As a result, users are more inclined to interact with short-form content by liking, commenting, or sharing it across social media platforms.
Great for mobile devices.
Creating short-form content also caters well to mobile device users. With most internet browsing happening on smartphones today, brands benefit from producing mobile-friendly short-format pieces that deliver impactful messages efficiently.
There are many reasons why people enjoy short-form content and why brands should either begin or continue creating it. Regardless of the reason, one thing is clear: short-form content is here to stay, and its effectiveness in engaging audiences has stiffened its place in modern media and marketing.