Do you often find yourself scrolling through TikTok videos or Instagram reels?

Let’s face it. Short-form videos are incredibly popular right now, outperforming most other content on social media.

Thanks to its popularity, there are many short-form video trends making the rounds on various social media platforms. With so many video formats and trends, it can be sometimes difficult for marketers to keep up. 

In this article, I’ve rounded up seven short-form video trends that marketers must know about in 2023. 

So, are you ready to push your video marketing to the next level? Let’s go!

7 Short-Form Video Trends to Up Your Marketing Game

Trends keep changing all the time. Keeping track of trends is important to remain up to date. Only then will you be able to create relevant and engaging content.

Here are 7 short-form video trends to watch out for in 2023.

1. Increasing Use of User-Generated Content

UGC is created by real customers and posted on various social media platforms. It shows the genuine appreciation of an individual for a brand, which means any claims about the product are generally credible. 

That’s why people trust user-generated content more than any other form of marketing content. 

80% of people say that they are more likely to purchase from a website if it has photos and videos from real customers. 79% say that UGC influences their purchase decisions.

That’s why you will see user-generated Instagram reels, YouTube Shorts, and Tik Tok videos are routinely shared by many brands to build consumer trust.

People use the best available online video maker tools to create interesting videos and then post them to different social media platforms.

Brands like Maybelline and Elf Cosmetics routinely feature videos from users on their Instagram feed.

So, what are you waiting for? Start featuring user-generated content on your social media pages to build trust and credibility. It will help take your video marketing game to the next level.

2. More and More Brands Creating Product Teasers

Are you planning to launch a new product? If you are, leverage human curiosity by creating a product teaser video.

Be careful not to reveal too much information. This will intrigue your audience and create excitement.

Here are two examples of product teaser videos, one from Apple and the other from Siemens.

3. Rise of Sponsored Influencer Videos

Influencer marketing has been around for some time now. Of course, it is not as cost-efficient as user-generated content. But, it definitely is an excellent way to promote your brand.

Partnering with influencers can help your brand widen its reach. Influencers have built a relationship of trust with their followers. Some of their subscribers have been following them for years. If they recommend a product or service, their followers are very likely to give it a try.

Having influencers create videos about your products is a fantastic strategy you must include in your sales process.

You can ask them to create product tutorials, host live video shopping events, share video reviews of your products, and more.

Here’s an example of popular YouTuber Hallee Smith doing a short sponsored video for Target.

Affiliate marketing is another way in which you can partner with influencers. The only difference is that you’ll need to pay a commission for every sale they help make, instead of a one-time payment.

4. Growing Popularity of Branded Hashtag Challenges

Challenge videos are not uncommon on social media platforms. Brands these days are creating branded hashtag challenges to build brand awareness and drive engagement.

A couple of years back Colgate launched the #MakeMomSmile challenge to celebrate Mother’s Day. The idea was to make your mother or mother-figure smile. You could cook something for your mother or do a dance challenge.

Viewers were encouraged to upload the videos with the hashtag #MakeMomSmile on Tik Tok.

This year the Pink Venom challenge is quite popular. The challenge was started by the popular Korean girl group Blackpink to promote their song “Pink Venom.”

Even Taylor Swift could not stop herself from participating in this challenge.

Creating a branded challenge could be an incredible way to promote your brand and build awareness in 2022.

5. Brands Sharing Behind-the-Scenes Videos

You must have seen behind the scene videos for popular movies. Have you ever considered creating a behind-the-scenes video for your brand?

This is one of those short-form video trends that could work wonders to humanize your brand and build trust and credibility.

Your customers may know you as a brand, but they are also curious to know the people behind the brand. Why not give your customers a sneak peek into a day in the life of your employees?

There are several ideas you can explore. You could give a quick tour of your facility. Perhaps, you would like to show your customers how a product is made. 

There are endless possibilities.

Want to add some humor? Why not publish a blooper reel?

Here are a couple of examples of this short-form video trend in action:

6. Educational Videos

Another short-form video trend you must leverage is the use of educational videos. Explainer videos could be an excellent way to explain complicated concepts to your customers.

By making content that educates or solves problems, you can enhance the trust your customers have in you. The more your customers trust you, the more loyal they will be to your brand.

Making informational videos available on your social media pages could spark curiosity among your customers. It will make them want to know more about your brand.

For instance, let’s say your product is a lead generation software solution. You can educate your customers on concepts of lead scoring or nurturing.

Check out how Salesforce has created a short informational video on CRM.

7. Soundless Optimization

Scrolling through social media posts has become a common pastime. It has become quite common for people to turn down the volume or watch videos on mute.

So, how do you attract users’ attention then? Through soundless optimization.

Soundless optimization integrates subtitles or on-screen instructions into your short-form videos, making them more accessible to a larger audience.

Here is an example of one such video:

Conclusion

Are you a marketer looking to reach more customers? If so, short-form videos are a worthy investment.

Short-form videos are very easy to make. They are shareable and create many engagement opportunities for your brand. Following the latest short-form video trends can help you promote your brand and products even more effectively. 

Have you used any of the short-form video trends mentioned above? Let me know in the comments section.