In an age where attention spans are fleeting and content is consumed in rapid bursts, short-form videos have become the go-to way to captivate audiences. With the right blend of creativity, authenticity, and precision, they are a powerful tool to drive engagement, build brand loyalty, and inspire action.
Zoetica Media founder Kami Huyse recently invited Britney Cossen to share her expert thoughts on mastering the art of short-form video to boost engagement.
Britney is the owner of Fun Love Media, a social media and podcasting agency which that helps mission-driven brands stand out through innovative content creation, social media strategy, and podcasting, She is also the host of the popular Social Sunshine Podcast and founder of Social Success, an annual in-person social media marketing conference that helps small business owners and creators level up their social media and online marketing.
“Short form video is what's working, it's what people are loving to consume,” says Britney, “so we want to meet them where they're at.” These can be as short as 8 and as long as 60, sometimes even 90 seconds.
Beyond a Smartphone, No Expensive Equipment Required
One of the great things about short-form videos is that no special equipment is required. In fact, as Britney shares, “currently at Fun Love Media, we create all client content with smartphones – we're not using a traditional camera at all.”
Using a smartphone makes sense for several reasons. “When you're creating content specifically for social media and that's the primary use of the content, it just makes sense. It’s build for it… you already have the right format, you have the ability to have it vertical – which right now short form video is best when it's vertically formatted – you already have all the features, you're connected to the apps, I mean it's all there, and it's really good quality, honestly,” she points out.
How to Organize Your Material
When it comes to organizing photos and videos, Britney suggests initially keeping track of everything by placing content into dedicated folders. “You could do something as simple as using the photo albums in your phone… that's a good first step,” she says.
After that, she recommends transferring material into client-specific Google drive folders. Even then, however, smartphones remain an integral part of the production process, since the editing often takes place directly there.
How to Create a Good Video
The first step in creating a good video is considering how best to catch viewers attention.
“There's a visual hook, there's verbal hooks, there's written hooks, there's all the hooks, which is you're grabbing the viewers’ attention,” she explains. “And that really, really matters with short form video because, unfortunately, I feel like we have…two seconds, probably, to get their attention, maybe one.”
Although that sounds daunting, Britney says it’s possible if you plan ahead. You can get their attention with “a quick movement, nice bright lighting, colors. There's ways to do it, and then hold on to them, so hopefully they'll keep watching.”
How to Create a Strong Hook
Whether or not you’re successful in grabbing viewer’s attention determines whether they'll stick around long enough to see the rest of your video, so creating the strongest hook possible is really important.”
“A visual hook could simply be movement,” she explains. One suggestion is “just coming into the frame, like right then, when you start talking, just a quick movement.” Something else to consider are your surroundings and lighting. “Natural lighting is always fantastic, just get by a window.”
If the video is for a business, make sure to shoot the content at your place of business, she recommends.
Meanwhile, when it comes to verbal hooks, Britney says that rather than waste words, “you need to dive right in.” Make sure to get right to the point. If you’re pre recording a video, you have the ability to move content around and open with the most interesting part rather than bury it further in the piece.
She also believes in maximizing people’s curiosity so they will stick around to watch more. Using the word “this,” for example, often works. She offers the example of “‘I can't believe this happened to me when I went to Disneyland!’ which makes everyone want to know what “this” is.
Don’t overlook captions either, she recommends. “When it comes to short form video, especially if someone is scrolling through the feed of, like, Reals or TikToks or whatever…those first few words should be juicy.”
Keywords and Hashtags
Britney says it’s important to consider all written content you put out there.
“If you really want to take it up a notch, you're really going to think about the words, like all the words, the words on the screen, the words in the caption, the words that the person is saying verbally,” she says. “I mean, all those words matter and contribute,” because all the words in a video help a social platform’s algorithm categorize and decide what category to place your video in when recommending it to others.
She also points out that hashtags, just like keywords, can be useful. “A hashtag is a way to search, and it does make it a clickable link on most social media platforms, and it does help people find – if they are searching by hashtag, not everybody does that anymore, but some people do – and [that’s why] it's not a wasted effort.” However, she recommends not overdoing it. “You don't have to do 20 or 30, but maybe do a few strong ones.”
Post to Multiple Platforms
If your social media presence is on more than one platform, it doesn’t mean you need to create unique content for each one.
“I am a big believer that with short form videos, the majority of the time, you can use the exact same video on all platforms,” Britney says. “I think some people might disagree, but they're wrong. For the most part – there's always exceptions of course – especially if you’re trying to support your business, your career, I would say you can use the same video on all platforms.”
Doing so makes production easier as well. “There's so many places you can put it. You can put it on Instagram Reels, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube Shorts.” Even LinkedIn is getting in on the action, she points. “LinkedIn does have currently a beta vertical video thing.”
That’s why she recommends “post it everywhere that you want to,” keeping in mind that “just because you don't have to make individual videos for every platform doesn't mean it doesn't take time to go and actually do the posting, because it does take time. So choose what makes sense for you.”
“I do advise choosing more than one [platform],” she adds, “just so you have one additional touch point at least with an audience, even if it's real easy, like it's Instagram and Facebook and you can connect the two.”
Every Business Owner You Should Appear on Video
Given the power of video, Britney recommends every business owner make an appearance. But not everyone loves speaking directly to an audience directly on camera, so for those who are more shy, she recommends at least appearing in B-roll footage.
“You could at least get B-roll… where you're not playing to the camera, you're just doing an activity or something,” she says. It could be as simple as “set[ting] up a camera in front of your desk and get[ting] some footage of you working, and then add[ing] the music and the words.”
Britney’s 3F Methodology
Britney uses the 3F methodology, which stands for Focus, Fine, and Force, as a way to help professionals identify “how aggressively it's actually necessary for you to share content on social media,” she explains.
People in the Focus category are those “who don't need a large audience,” such as a hyper local business. Posting just two times a week can be sufficient, if the goal is simply showcasing your work.
People in the Fine category are in the middle. “You want to look for some growth, but it's gradual growth…you're not trying to use all the growth tactics every single time.” Posting more frequently is a part of gaining greater visibility.
People in the Force category are “the smallest percentage of people, and it's if your brand would legitimately benefit from a large audience,” for example a performer or author who needs to fill up an arena or sell a number of books. Posting often is a part of a bigger growth strategy that involves not just social media but other parts of a business’ strategy as well.
Britney’s Favorite Tools
Here are Britney’s favorite short-form video tools that she uses in her own work:
• InShot: Video editor and maker
• CapCut: All-in-one video editor
• Meta Business Suite: For posting on Facebook and Instagram
• A decent tripod
• A decent wireless microphone
For more insights from Britney, watch the full livestream.