Blending authenticity and creativity: The key to impactful short-video campaigns

The global content ecosystem is witnessing a watershed moment with the rise of short-video at the forefront of this transformational change. In this fast-paced digital era, short-videos have emerged as a game changer providing quick and highly engaging content to millions.  The appealing content format is making waves in India, as well. According to reports, the country’s short-video industry is expected to amass over 550 million monthly active users by 2025.

The growing popularity of this content format presents new and innovative means for brands to engage with their audiences. While the possibilities are numerous, it is important to blend content and brand messaging seamlessly to ensure that user experience remains uncompromised. This can be achieved through a mix of finding the right creators, enabling unique experiences and authentic storytelling.

Identifying the perfect brand-creator fit

Today, consumers as well as brands, are increasingly placing their trust in creators. As per reports, influencers reach one in four consumers who are active in the digital space. With the rise of regional creators, brands now have the option to engage with a range of diverse audiences spread across the country. This creates the perfect opportunity for brands to leverage the engaging nature of short-video and the credibility of creators to curate impactful campaigns.

An important aspect of creating compelling branded short-video content is to find the right content creators that resonate with the brand’s values and target audience. When a creator truly believes in the brand, the content reflects genuineness and increases the chances of creating the desired impact among audiences. Collaborating with creators who possess a deep understanding of the platform and creative storytelling skills will help capture audience attention. It is also important to work with creators who have invested in building a loyal community as it will yield better results in generating meaningful engagement.

Driving engagement with unique experiences

While all short-video content aims to quickly capture audience attention, the content that motivates them to engage leaves a lasting impression. Brands can create compelling content by designing campaigns that are visually appealing, emotionally engaging, and narrate a story.

Storytelling is an especially effective technique in short-video content because it allows brands to connect with their audience and communicate their values and messages in a memorable manner. Experimenting with various story formats such as humour, emotion and more is important from the point of view of measuring engagement levels and improving the effectiveness of the brand’s content over time.

Another way to create engaging content is to leverage the latest trends and formats on the platform to encourage user participation. Offering unique experiences such as customised challenges, interactive quizzes, themed contests, and games can make for a winning campaign. Like when a particular paint brand approached a short-video platform asking to increase its engagement, the short-video app created a jingle that married into the day-to-day decisions/situations around painting and this went on to garner a lot of views as well as converted to clicks and engagement, going on to receive an award as well.

Communicating with authenticity

The new-age consumer is conscious of brand values, and seeks transparency and authenticity from companies. Authenticity also helps to create a distinct identity for brands, making them stand out from competitors. A brand that communicates with purpose is better positioned to resonate with its consumers and leave a lasting impression. Therefore, it is crucial to invest in building consistent brand narrative and design campaigns that fully reflect the brand values.

While leveraging creators, it is vital for the content to remain true to both the brand and creator’s style. Audiences should perceive the collaboration as a natural fit and the content should come across as genuine.

The best way to explain this is by citing this dialogue from the movie ‘3 idiots’, where Aamir Khan tries to explain to his friend that how would it have been, had Lata Mangeskar become a cricketer and Sachin Tendulkar, a singer. Similarly, the choice of content and creators should be such that it does not seem force-fit or amiss. 

Collaborating with the right platforms and right creators to co-create content will ensure a cohesive and consistent output and will help build a stronger brand connect. Short-video content is proving to be a powerful tool for brands looking to engage with their audiences. By keeping their values at the core and creating content with authenticity, brands can enable unique experiences for the next generation of on-the-go customers.