The Potential of Short-Form Video Marketing for Web3

TLDR | Key Takeaways

• The rapid shrinkage in attention spans in recent years foster the rise of short-form video platforms such as TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts.
  
  
• The demographic overlap between short-form video platform users and crypto/Web3 users indicates that Web3 marketers can consider leveraging  short-form video platforms to promote brand and  boost business growth.
  
  
• Short-form video marketing leads to the highest return on investment (ROI) compared to other marketing approaches.
  
  
• To conduct short-form video marketing, Web3 marketers need to:
  
  
  1. Understand the audience’s pain points by using buyer personas, asking open-ended questions, analysing competitors and identifying industry trends, and applying the JTBD framework and PAS formula.
     
     
  2. Develop content strategies by planning a content calendar, Make a compelling short-form video, Leverage multiple channels with certain utilisation of Gen AI tools.

The emergence and rise of short-form video platforms

According to psychologist Gloria Mark, the average attention span in 2023 was around 47 seconds while back in 2004, the average attention span was two and a half minutes. Millennials and Gen Z typically have a drastically shorter attention span of merely 8 to 12 seconds, according to some research. This indicates a rapid shrinkage in the average attention span, resulting in the emergence of a new form of social media content: short-form video. 

Short-form video refers to the videos that are less than 60 seconds in duration. During recent years, short-form video has become a snappy way of creating and sharing. Platforms such as TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts become increasingly popular starting from 2018. This popularity not only impacts individual creators but also brands. The power of short-form video and the popularity of these online platforms have been employed as the key marketing strategies for brands to build consumer advocacy and to expand their influence. Video marketing is one of the core trends of 2025 regarding Web3 marketing strategies, as many studies have pointed out. 

Demographic correlation between short-form video platform users and crypto/web3 users

Gen Z and millennials, in particular, exhibit a preference of direct purchase on the short-form video platforms. On the other hand, born in the era of information and technology, Gen Z and millennials are also known as the Web3 digital native generation. Recent research shows that Gen Z represents around 60% of the user base in Web3 Ecosystems. This indicates a demographic overlap between short-form video platform users and crypto/web3 users. 

Gen Z and millennials interact with various group affiliations and find identities and a sense of belonging within multiple communities. This distinguished feature echoes the shared goals of Web3 communities. Gen Z and millennials are also considered as quest-inclined generations who enthusiastically pursue interactive experiences. This characteristic also fits the mechanism of Web3 online platforms that offer quests or rewarded tasks to online communities. These linkages enhance the correlation between short-form video platform users and crypto/web3 users, most of which consist of Gen Z and millennials.

The power of short-form video marketing

Search Engine Journal defines video marketing as the approach that leverages videos to “educate, entertain, and engage the audience to achieve your business or personal goals.” Recent studies found audiences spend 17 hours per week on average to watch online videos and 94% of them watch videos to learn about products or services, which means a great opportunity for brands to conduct marketing on the short-form video platforms. 

According to a Hubspot’s survey in 2024, short-form video results in the highest return on investment (ROI), outperforming other marketing approaches. A report from Statista reveals the Top 4 social media channels that resulted in the largest ROI as of September 2023: Facebook (29%), Instagram (29%), YouTube (26%), and TikTok (24%). Leveraging these platforms plays a decisive role in enhancing brand awareness and boosting business growth. 

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How to leverage short-form video to grow your business

Understand your audience’s pain points

To deliver effective marketing strategies, the very first step is to understand your audience’s pain points. To do so, brands can use buyer personas to find out their specific needs and behaviours so as to help tailor the marketing strategies. Brands can ask open-ended questions towards the audiences such as: what are the biggest challenges in your industry and how do you currently address them? By doing so, brands encourage the audience to provide their valuable insights. Brands can analyse competitors to figure out what solutions they provide to address the audience’s pain points and what are the industry trends, helping in differentiating themselves from competitors. 

Tip 1: Use Jobs-To-Be-Done (JTBD) framework

Some frameworks and formulas can be employed during the process. The Jobs-To-Be-Done (JTBD) framework helps analyse the motivations and expected outcomes that drive the audience’s behaviour. This framework consists of four major questions: What job does the audience want to get done? What are the contexts that trigger them to look for a solution? What are the outcomes they expect from the solution? And what are the constraints that prevent them from achieving those outcomes?  To simplify the framework, brands can fill this template: Audiences want to  (desire/motivation)  when  (situation/context)  so that they can  (outcome/result)  without  (pain point/constraint) .

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Tip 2: Apply Problem-Agitate-Solve (PAS) formula

Another useful formula to apply is called Problem-Agitate-Solve (PAS) which is designed to craft persuasive messages. It involves identifying and showcasing the problem, agitating that problem that makes it obvious and clear why this problem is painful, and presenting a solution to this problem. This formula helps capture the audience’s attention and interest, motivating them to take action.

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Develop content strategies

Plan a content calendar

After understanding the audience’s pain points based on research and analysis, brands can start developing their content strategies. First of all, brands can plan a content calendar with the right topics. Recall the audience’s pain points and think about how your ideas provide values to them while promoting your brand. By the meantime, plan the frequency of posting and resources needed including time, budget, and personnel.

Make a compelling short-form video

Make sure you develop a well-told story which can result in a lasting impact. Whether it's funny, curious, or inspiring, a compelling narrative will keep your viewers engaged from start to the end. Keep the video short and get your message across quickly. Try out different formats such as animations, stop-motion, or even live-action skits and to make it creative and unique so as to increase the possibility of your content to go viral. Ensure that your spokesperson is comfortable on camera and can speak naturally.

Leverage multiple channels

Brands can consider posting your piece on multiple platforms such as Instagram and Facebook Reels, Youtube Shorts, TikTok, etc. Optimise the contents for different platforms as each platform has their unique user habits. Promote your video by sharing User-Generated Content (UGC) and building a community around your brand. Cross-promotion, brand challenges, and influencer ads are the great ways you can consider to promote your brand.

Tip: Leverage Gen AI tools to create social media contents

According to research data, 51% of marketers consider Generative AI most helpful in creating social media posts. Brands can leverage AI tools to create blog posts, articles, social media posts and even emails. Some social media platforms provide AI tools  to help creators generate their content such as Creative Assistant provided by TikTok. These Gen AI tools, on the one hand, benefit in increasing efficiency and reducing costs, however on the other hand, it may result in quality issues or lack of  personal touch. How to find the sweet spot to balance the positive and negative impact by leveraging Gen AI tools becomes a further topic to discuss.

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