Video is everywhere today. From god to the ironing guy, everyone is watching. Say hello to SRK of youtube:

His name is BB (aka Bhuvan Bham) and he is a youtube millionaire i.e someone who rakes in a million views on an average video published on youtube.

According to EY report on ‘Future of Digital Content Consumption in India’, published in January 2016, the Indian digital media segment is set for disruption with growth expected to reach Rs 200 billion by 2020, with digital ad spend expected to grow at 23-28 per cent. The report further states that by 2017, India will have more than 350 million smartphones. Inexpensive smartphones and the rollout of 3G and 4G broadband infrastructure are rapidly coming together to leapfrog traditional distribution and democratise online access. Together, these factors are the foundations for accelerated digital media consumption.

This digital media consumption is led by viewing of video content online, which has opened a plethora of opportunities for both long format and short format content. While both co-exist in the digital ecosystem, short format can be seen to have a slight edge, given the price sensitivity of data consumption, as well as the ‘bite-sized’ sampling opportunity that short format content provides.

Content that’s universally funny or strikes an emotional chord with the audience or addresses an issue of public concern in a unique way along with edgy packaging, is going to be heavily consumed. They automatically have the potential to be shared on social media platforms. The best way to leverage short format content though, is by ensuring the core message brought out in said piece of content resonates with a majority of the online audience, is pushed out on appropriate platforms in a non-intrusive way, and is given the right kind of organic push.

There’s an unwritten rule in the short format content world that the first 10 seconds of your video are the most critical in terms of determining audience stickiness. And thereafter, for every 20 seconds of content, there’s got to be at least 5 seconds of pure entertainment. The idea is to present something so unique to the audience and in as little time as possible that they’re hooked to your content and keep coming back for more. Another aspect unique to short format videos is their shoestring nature. Most independent short format creators and even agencies know that virality is hardly ever a consequence of high budgets vis-a-vis genuinely good content. As a result, since investments are kept at a minimum, you start seeing returns over a shorter period of time compared to long format where the investments are high.

So if you’re a big brand with a lot of money to spend, you could make a short form Ranveer ching or create long form content such as Durex Sex chat with Pappu and Papa, Gillette Aisha or even a majestic shaadi boys.Your weapon of distribution will either be social (youtube/facebook) or OTT (Voot/Hotstar/other)

Short form content usually consists of the following types:

1. Hero film: A shoot or animation-style digital film based on a great story.

Examples include

or even an eye catching ad film based on great production value. This is usually backed by a promotion push as youtube pre-roll.

2. Branded content Integration: When a Brand integrates on a channel that serves its niche audience. e.g. TVF Teachers day on RD Sharma
The video weaves in Roposo’s discount offer as part of its plot – by converting it into a math problem from the chapter ‘Profit, Loss, Discounts’.

This type of video piggybacks on the reach, engagement and audience of the channel as indicated by analytics and data.

3. Hub programming: Hub content consists of quick videos spanning explainers, testimonials and 360-degree videos. These explain stuff and educate the audience without sounding preachy. A good example would be what urban clap does. See:https://www.facebook.com/UrbanClapHealth/. These videos are what define the product and ideally must be published on a regular basis to maintain a connect and relationship with the TG.

Lets take an example of a deodorant brand executing a video marketing campaign –

For Set Wet deos, one of the key tasks has been to maintain saliency in the consumers’ minds. Keeping its target audience in mind (young boys between the age of 18-25 years), Set Wet Deos came up with an innovative, cost-effective idea to connect with its audience in a more effective and interesting manner.

Leveraging YouTube’s six-second ad format called “Bumper Ads”, the brand identified high-affinity genres and frequently searched terms on YouTube for their TG. Basis this, Set Wet has launched multiple contextually relevant, fun, and quirky bumper ads towards driving incremental reach and frequency. The advertisements capturing the brand’s signature jingle “Sada Sexy Raho” were based on themes that are trending on YouTube.

Find out the topics that will resonate and ideally spur action. Successful content marketing does not require large volumes of material. Content needs to be valuable to audiences.
Value can be categorised into helping
or entertaining – and ideally both. If your content doesn’t do either of these, then it is not relevant.
Relevant content should help prospective customers make their purchase decisions by answering their questions. Instead of focusing on making a sale at every turn, you should focus on helping… the sales will follow.

Memorable content often involves:

• A Bigger Story – Goes beyond your company or products to engage your audience
• Braver Content – Ignores the status quo and uses a unique tone of voice
• A Bolder Voice – Uses a unique tone of voice that draws your audience in (think honest and empathetic)

The goal of content is to reach, and then nurture prospects, to ultimately drive them to become a customer.
Keep in mind that prospects are likely to consume quite a few of your pieces of content as they research their purchase options.

• The higher the price of the solution being considered, the more assets buyers consume on the path to purchase.

A winning content marketing strategy focuses on creating and sharing helpful relevant content that inspires, educates, solves problems and sometimes entertains.

When you distribute a big piece of content on social platforms, you’ll have to inspire audiences within a condensed, bite-sized post. To stand out in the news feed,it’s worth considering the types of content that cause audiences to act. The top five types of content that Indians share on social networks include themes such as inspiration, humour, personal updates, news, and instructions.2 So consider how your post can leverage these themes to drive clicks and shares.

On a completely incidental note, guys at pkonline do the whole video marketing jig. Be it a Hero film, a branded content integration or hub programming. The guy who heads brand collaboration is so passionate that he writes blog posts on a Friday at 10 pm before heading out to a party, wearing set wet (coz ‘Sada sexy raho’!)