For content creators
TL;DR: The full report is here but is 34 pages.
This is just a focus on Video format trends if you are interested, hereby the highlights from Chatgpt
1. Short-form Videos: Dominating the Landscape
Short-form content (like YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, TikTok videos) has evolved from a novelty into a central component of online culture, shaping how we consume and engage with media. Here’s how it’s changing the game:
- Instant Engagement: Short-form videos cater to the decreasing attention span of audiences. The ability to convey content in under a minute increases accessibility, engagement, and shareability.
- Example: Charli XCX’s music, particularly her song Espresso, gained immense traction on Shorts as creators adopted the song’s aesthetic and turned it into dance trends, with the video being used over 900,000 times globally.
- User-Generated Content (UGC): The ease of creating and remixing content on platforms like YouTube Shorts and TikTok allows fans to engage deeply with media. The viral success of a song, meme, or trend is often driven by creators who remix or add their own personal touch.
- Example: The Amazing Digital Circus saw over 25 billion views of fan-generated content, from animations to music videos, which kept the community engaged between the release of official episodes.
- Interactivity: Shorts allow for a more interactive, community-driven approach where viewers contribute to the trend by creating their own versions. This participatory nature fuels viral content.
- Example: Dress to Impress in Roblox—a game featuring competitive fashion—saw videos related to the game gather over 4 billion views, with creators adding their personal spins, showing off fashion designs, or even participating in virtual fashion competitions.
- Cross-Genre Appeal: Unlike long-form video, which is typically confined to specific genres (e.g., gaming, beauty, or cooking), short-form video transcends these boundaries and blends various categories seamlessly.
- Example: Songs that become viral hits are often used in dance trends, beauty tutorials, or even memes, creating a broader cultural reach. Songs like Masha Ultrafunk and SLAY! were used across various verticals, from beauty routines to fitness challenges.
- Memes and Virality: Shorts are highly conducive to meme creation and viral trends. The short time length and ease of consumption mean that ideas can spread rapidly, often with minimal effort. This format allows for quick feedback loops where creators respond to viral trends with their own variations.
- Example: The Deadpool dance challenge on Shorts, related to the Deadpool movie, allowed fans to participate in a viral meme, thus generating additional buzz around the movie.
2. Long-form Video: The Evolution of YouTube as a Platform for Deeper Engagement
While short-form videos thrive on quick engagement, long-form content still holds a strong place, especially on YouTube. It’s evolved into a platform where creators are building entire ecosystems and narratives around their content. Here’s what’s happening in long-form video:
- Podcasts and Conversational Content: Video podcasts have surged in popularity. They offer a more relaxed and personal format, allowing public figures to connect with niche audiences on a deeper level. These podcasts often generate cultural moments that echo beyond the digital space into mainstream discussions.
- Example: The Club Shay Shay podcast received over 528 million views in 2024, with episodes featuring guests like comedian Katt Williams. The Katt Williams episode alone accounted for over 83 million views, becoming a cultural reference that went beyond just podcast listeners.
- Creator-Driven Content Ecosystems: Creators are now building narrative-driven video series that grow over time, drawing viewers into rich, evolving universes. These shows often feature in-depth storytelling, character development, and world-building, similar to TV series but in a more flexible, digital-first format.
- Example: Amazing Digital Circus—an animated series—was originally released in episodes, but the fan-driven ecosystem around it, including fan art, music videos, and narrative analyses, kept the story alive even during breaks between episodes. This type of creator-led content offers a much richer experience than one-off viral videos.
- Interactive Features and Livestreaming: Platforms are increasingly offering ways for viewers to interact with creators during live broadcasts. Livestreaming allows for real-time engagement and helps deepen the creator-fan relationship.
- Example: CazeTV, a Brazilian creator, streamed live content from the Olympics in 2024, engaging his audience through live commentary and reactions to the games. This created an immersive experience for fans who could engage with the content as it happened.
- In-Depth Coverage of Cultural Moments: Long-form videos allow for comprehensive coverage of global events, providing context, analysis, and personal takes that shorter videos can’t accommodate. These types of videos often generate meaningful conversations and have a longer shelf-life than short-form content.
- Example: The Olympic Games Paris 2024 had extensive coverage across YouTube, both from official broadcasters and independent creators, who created content ranging from live event streams to post-event analysis and personal reactions.
3. The Blurring of Short-form and Long-form Content
- Hybrid Formats: Creators are increasingly blending short and long-form formats. For example, longer interviews or episodes may be broken up into shorter clips to boost engagement, or creators may tease long-form content with bite-sized snippets to spark interest.
- Example: The Deadpool and Wolverine franchise leveraged both short-form memes and long-form videos, like interviews and behind-the-scenes content, to keep the audience engaged across formats.
- Shorts as a Marketing Tool for Long-form Content: Shorts are often used as promotional tools for long-form content, helping creators attract a larger audience before releasing the full-length version. The virality of short-form clips can generate anticipation for more substantial video releases.
- Example: Creators have used Shorts to build excitement for long-form content like Deadpool & Wolverine by creating hype around specific moments, viral dances, or memes, before showcasing the full videos or movie trailers.
Key Takeaways for Creators and Brands
- Short-form video is now a primary driver of cultural trends, making it an essential tool for creators looking to build a broad audience quickly. Engaging in viral challenges, memes, or leveraging trending sounds can expand visibility.
- Long-form content still holds significant value for building a loyal audience, offering deep dives into subjects, or creating narrative-driven ecosystems that can grow a creator’s brand and community over time.
- Interactivity and hybrid formats are where the future of video content is headed. Creators should embrace both short and long-form content, using them strategically to create engagement and promote their other work.
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