B2B marketing is increasingly video-first, and short-form or “snackable” videos are flourishing. 91% of businesses state they use video to attract and engage their customers, with the majority seeing video as an important part of their overall strategy.

The competition for eyeballs and attention is fierce. With so many options available to educate and entertain, your followers aren’t just looking to watch something. They want content that is both meaningful and easily digestible - and they can tell whether your video is worth their time faster than you can say ‘unsubscribe.’

These bite-sized clips are no longer just for teenage dance trends and slice-of-life commentary. They’ve become a potent, cost-effective format across different social media platforms. By showcasing expertise, demonstrating thought leadership, and humanising brands in a way that other content can't, short-form videos help B2B companies break free from the "stodgy" stereotype often associated with business marketing.

However, creating effective short-form video for professional services presents a unique challenge. The complex, often highly technical topics in this space may, at first glance, seem better suited to longer formats. To leverage the benefits of more snackable content, B2B marketers need to strike a delicate balance between simplicity, substance, and engagement.

Nobel Prize-winning American writer William Faulkner once said: “A novelist is a failed short story writer, and a short story writer is a failed poet.” Ironically, this shortened version of his original quote proves the point.

Like its literary counterparts, short form videos demand a finely-honed message that can be delivered in a few fleeting moments. To do it well requires skill, creativity, and a willingness to approach the subject matter in a new way. But by strategically crafting and deploying snackable video content, professional service firms can enhance their brand presence, foster meaningful connections with audiences, and drive growth.

What is a Short-Form Video?

Short-form videos are usually under two minutes long. But it's not just about length. These videos should be easy to understand, attention-grabbing, and engaging. They should have a clear message and make viewers want to take action.

Most creators aim for videos between 15 seconds to 1 minute to get the best engagement. However, the perfect length depends on your content strategy and where you're posting the video: 

• LinkedIn: Videos under 1 minute are best for audience engagement.

• Instagram Reels: Up to 60 seconds.

• TikTok: Content between 15 and 60 seconds typically sees the most engagement, but users can upload videos up to three minutes long. 

• X: You can post longer videos up to 2 minutes and 20 seconds, though shorter videos are encouraged for better engagement.

• Facebook: Keep your video length between 15 seconds and one minute to reach Stories and Feed content.

Remember, each social media platform has its own style and audience expectations. Make sure to adapt your videos to fit the platform you're using. 

For example, on LinkedIn, you might want to use more professional visuals and tone. Whereas on TikTok and Instagram Reels, you might lean more into trends and adopt a more conversational style. Understanding each platform's idiosyncrasies is key to creating tailored videos that feel native to each channel.

Short-Form Video Best Practices

Optimise for Mobile

Think about the times when your buyers are likely to be watching these types of videos. Perhaps they’re flipping through Instagram Reels or TikToks on the daily commute, while waiting in line at the supermarket, or when they’ve lost interest in a TV programme.

Whenever they’re watching, it’s safe to assume they’re doing so on mobile. To capture viewers during these micro-moments, you need to produce videos to cater for them. 

Short form video formats are most often in 9:16 portrait orientation, delivering an immersive, edge-to-edge experience. Shoot for the format, or edit repurposed videos carefully to suit. Optimise your video compression for cellular data connections to avoid buffering. And remember that many mobile users leave their devices muted by default, so incorporating a text overlay or captioned audio is critical for grabbing their attention.

Produce High-Quality Videos

The brief runtime of short form video content doesn’t reduce the importance of production values. 

Good lighting, crisp audio, and clear footage are table stakes; anything less risks undermining your brand’s credibility. Quality also extends to the content itself. Shooting without a script (or at least a plan) results in unfocused, hookless content that is an easy skip on platforms like TikTok.

Pay Attention to the Talent

Whether it’s a striking visual presence, presentation style, or catchy turn of phrase, your audience is just as influenced by your video’s stars as the content itself. Getting the right mix of charisma and clarity is crucial and can turn even the driest of topics into an engaging and informative experience.

Look for subject matter experts and industry influencers across your organisation who can break down complex information in a concise and engaging manner. They might be able to be one of the faces of your video content, or be a helpful talking head for your content team to bounce ideas off. Either way, make sure to leverage their expertise as well as their existing network.

Test and Iterate

Use analytics and viewer feedback to determine which topics drove the most engagement on which video platform, then tailor your content to address those audiences' specific needs, interests, and challenges. Iterating fosters a sense of connection to the community, significantly enhancing the effectiveness of your content and increasing the likelihood of conversion.

Following these guidelines can help you reliably create shareworthy content. However, the key to success remains your messaging itself. Fortunately, for B2B marketers struggling to balance accessibility, depth, and brevity, there are concrete strategies you can use to isolate your key message and adapt it to the short-form video format.

Balancing Simplicity and Substance: Strategies for B2B Marketers

The core of any snackable B2B video content development plan revolves around developing a singular focus for each video, quickly getting viewers tuned in with a strong hook, incorporating the right visual aids, and bringing it all home with an irresistible CTA.

Identify Your Core Message

The core message of your video should be the essential piece of information you want your audience to remember and act upon. 

Your channel may be speaking to multiple audiences with varying needs and perspectives. Taking a one-size-fits-all approach will dilute your message's effectiveness.

For example, in the recruitment space, your audiences could include:

• Companies looking to attract and hire top talent

• Job seekers researching potential routes to a new career

• Existing employees interested in professional development

Each of these groups has distinct pain points, motivations, and levels of industry knowledge.

Start by brainstorming challenges that keep a specific audience up at night, then talking points that talk to these issues. Then pick one to set as a clear objective for your video.

The challenge with short form content is to avoid cramming too many things in a single video. Keep it focused on just one audience, narrative, or value proposition. What is the single most important message, idea or story you want to convey? What one action do you want the viewer to take after watching your video?

Distil this into a concise, jargon-free statement that gets to the heart of how this information helps to solve your customers' problems. This becomes the anchoring message around which your content is built.

Prepare Your Content

Whether it's driving traffic to a website, encouraging sign-ups for a webinar, or increasing brand awareness, having a clear goal ensures that every element of your video directly supports and communicates this message.

Even for short videos under a minute, a simple narrative arc with a beginning, middle and end keeps you on track. The beginning should grab attention, the middle develops the core message, and the end provides a clear conclusion or call-to-action.

Write a tight, punchy script and trim away all non-essential details. Use clear, straightforward language that quickly communicates the core message in an engaging way within the time constraints.

Make sure you’re speaking your target audience’s language when addressing their needs, keeping in mind their customer journey stage and their level of expertise. Framing your content as educational frees you to communicate value in accessible, understandable terms while still respecting your audience's intelligence.

You can also leverage AI creatively here. By building AI versions of your key buyer personas, you can interview them, brainstorm how to position and deliver your content, and gauge whether you’re tracking toward persuading or patronising them.

Hook Your Audience Quickly

It’s true of all content that you have only a short amount of time in which to hook your audience. In the fast-paced world of short-form video, you have mere fractions of a seconds.

A strong hook is the difference between a video that captivates audiences and one that gets lost in the feed.

In many ways, hooking a viewer starts before the video even plays: scroll-stopping visual elements or strong teaser text on your video’s thumbnail can convince them to tap through on your channel or feed. 

Start your video in a way that grabs interest and compels viewers to keep watching.You might tease a story's start (or outcome!), posit a challenge, or leverage a seemingly outrageous stat that will be explained by the end of the video.

These techniques might sound a bit clickbaity - but in some ways that’s the entire point of the format. Just make sure your hook delivers. It must be both relevant to your target audience and align with the main message of your video.

Plan Your Visuals

Visuals can illustrate processes, outcomes, and benefits more efficiently than text or vocals, making them indispensable for conveying complex information quickly and effectively. 

When scripting your content, it also helps to map out the visuals by creating a storyboard or shot list. Determine what visuals, graphics, titles or b-roll footage will best reinforce and clarify the core message visually.

Consider elements like infographics, animations, and text overlays to emphasise key points and enhance audience understanding and retention. While engagement and conversion are often the focus in our data-driven world, these are essential outcomes to target when you’re trying to help buyers who are stuck in the messy middle of decision-making.

Include a Clear Call-to-Action

While short-form videos are excellent for increasing brand awareness and engagement, they should also drive specific actions. 

Include clear and compelling CTAs that encourage viewers to take the next step. Don’t leave the choice up to viewers - their next action will almost always be “watch something else,” and there’s no guarantee it’ll involve you.

Be clear on what you want audiences to do and why they should do it. Whether it’s exploring more in-depth information on your website, engaging with your brand on social media, or making a purchase, the CTA should feel both valuable and relevan to themt.

Place your CTA strategically, either within the video itself or in the caption or description, to maximise its impact. If you can’t include a clickable CTA in the video, clearly outline the next steps and offer links where possible for viewers in the content description, bio, or as a comment beneath the video.

Value-Driven Content Ideas for Short-Form B2B Marketing Videos

When brainstorming for your short-form B2B marketing videos, prioritise content that educates and assists the viewer. You don’t want to discard ideas that will help to humanise your brand or showcase your industry expertise, but ensure that the balance tips in favour of leading with value. 

Recruitment Consultancies

• "Insider Tips for Acing Your Next Interview": A series of short videos featuring recruiters sharing their expertise in navigating common interview challenges, such as addressing employment gaps, transitioning to a new industry, or answering commonly asked questions.

• "Decoding Industry Jargon": Quick, engaging explainers that leverage eye-catching text overlays to break down complex industry terms and concepts for job seekers. 

• "Navigating the Remote Work Landscape": Feature user generated content from both employer and employee perspectives that offers tips and strategies for remote interviews, productive home working, and maintaining company culture in a hybrid world.

Design Industry

• "Design Thinking in 60 Seconds": A series of concise Instagram and YouTube videos that explain the fundamental principles and stages of the design thinking process, using real-world examples and visuals.

• "UX Design Demystified": Short, animated explainers that break down complex UX design concepts, such as information architecture or user research.

• "Breaking Down the Brief": A snackable series of videos where your team guides potential clients through the process of setting clear project objectives, creating effective design briefs, and maximising client-designer collaboration from the outset. 

Accounting Industry

• "Tax Planning Essentials": Bite sized informational videos simplifying complex tax jargon, strategies, and best practices for businesses, emphasising actionable advice.

• "Financial Statement Insights": A series of short videos that explain how to interpret and analyse complex financial statements, highlighting key ratios and metrics.

• "Financial Wellness Hacks" - Quick tips for small businesses on budgeting, cash flow management, and building financial resilience.

Legal Services

• "Law Bytes" - Snappy videos that break down legalese and concepts into easy-to-understand snippets for non-legal professionals.

• "Legal Landmines" - Cautionary tales and lessons learned from high-profile legal cases, delivered in an engaging storytelling format.

• "The Gavel Drop" - A rundown of recent legal updates, court rulings, and how they may impact businesses and individuals in your target audience.

Management Consulting:

• "The Pivot Point" - Case study videos highlighting how businesses overcame challenges and pivoted their strategies for success.

• "Data Debunked" - Using data visualisation, create videos that clarify complex business metrics and KPIs in understandable ways.

• "The Consultant's Lens" - A day-in-the-life style series offering a behind-the-scenes look at how consultants approach problem-solving.

By tailoring your content to your target audience’s needs, knowledge gaps, and interests you can create short-form videos highlighting your brand and values, positioning yourself as a trusted resource and partner in your field.

Make Short-Form Video Part of Your B2B Marketing Strategy

Imagine this: A potential client is scrolling through their social media feed. They’re not looking for anything in particular. They’re just filling a spare moment in their day. And there, among the noise, your video appears. 

The opening gambit promises to address a problem they had at work just the other day. They pause and watch. Having learned something new, they go to your profile page to find the rest of the series mentioned by the video presenter. In a few minutes, you’ve helped them to understand their problem a little bit better. They appreciate your expertise, your help, and - most importantly - they want to remember you. They subscribe to your channel and sign up for your newsletter.

That's the power of short-form video. It's not just about jumping on the latest trend or churning out bite-sized content for the sake of it. It's about seizing the opportunity to connect with your audience wherever they are, to challenge their perceptions, and to leave a lasting impression.

But creating truly impactful short-form video requires a shift in mindset. It demands that we rethink how we approach storytelling, complex ideas, and our audience. It pushes us to be more creative, more authentic, and more bold in our messaging.

By mastering the art of simplification, B2B brands can harness the power of short-form video to make complex topics accessible, engaging, and actionable for their target audience - driving meaningful business results.

If you’re considering leveraging short-form video, we’d love to chat about how the 1827 Marketing team can make it happen with our creative talent and engaging content strategies.