TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels - over the last few years, short-form videos have taken the world by storm and transformed how we consume social media content. 73% of consumers rely on short-form videos to search for products or services, and short-form video delivers the highest ROI in comparison to other marketing strategies. Ranging between 5–90 seconds, short-form video content dominates online entertainment in 2025 by matching our shorter attention spans. These bite-sized videos uniquely capture attention, engage audiences, and generate leads globally through dynamic storytelling techniques.
Short videos redefine trends, shape culture, and drive sales; therefore, they are ideal for brands to showcase their personality and products. Cross-posting across platforms is an easy and powerful way to increase brand visibility, and running paid video ads drives even more leads and conversions.
But how useful are short-form videos for digital marketing, and which social media platforms should you use for this content format in 2025? This article covers the major platforms that support short-form video and why leveraging them helps attract audiences and drive conversions.
What Platforms Use Short-Form Video Content?
TikToks
As the platform that began the global boom of short vertical video consumption, TikTok is a powerful way to promote your brand. With its endless scrollable features, TikTok can surface fresh content from both major and minor creators in its feed and increase the chance of your content going viral. The average time spent on TikTok globally is about 95 minutes per day, and approximately 1 in 4 people have stated that short-form TikToks influenced them to purchase within three minutes after seeing a product. Additionally, 55% of weekly active users in the US are between 18–34 years old, therefore, TikTok is best suited for brands geared towards that age group, such as influencers, beauty, lifestyle, fashion and education.
Following trending audio and visual formats is a highly effective way for creators to go viral. TikTok shows videos to users based on their behaviours and interests. Content ideas that perform well include:
- Dance or audio trends with brand-specific twists.
- Authentic product demos and before-and-after clips.
- “How to” and “3 tips for” style explainers.
- Quick reactions to industry news.
Videos also loop automatically, and the algorithm favours videos with high rewatchability rates. SEO optimised captions and hashtags improve visibility, and creators can use their TikToks to drive traffic to external pages, long-form content or sponsored/affiliate links.
Instagram Reels
Similar to TikTok, Reels on Instagram have the potential to go viral, and a consistent digital marketing strategy can bring your platform more outreach and attention. Designed for visual storytelling formats, Reels also provide a powerful opportunity to create a loyal and engaged community. Reels make up 35% of total Instagram usage, and 200 billion of them are viewed on a daily basis. This platform is ideal for businesses that want to focus on visual-first brands such as fashion, beauty, food, artists and travel.
Boasting 2 billion monthly active users globally, Instagram mainly attracts Gen Z and millennial audiences and is a popular platform for small businesses, lifestyle brands, and influencers. Ranging between 15 and 90 seconds, users can access Reels in their feed, the Explore Tab or the scrollable Reels tab.
Factors that affect your Reel outreach include:
- Relationships: Appears to those who follow you and engage with your content
- Relevance: Those who engage with similar content are the most likely to see it
- Popularity: Popular creators tend to get more engagement as they rank higher
- Timeliness: The first 24 hours after publication are the most crucial in terms of outreach
Like TikToks, Reels also loop automatically, significantly increasing viewership and helping the algorithm recommend your content. Additionally, you can repurpose TikToks and YouTube Shorts as Reels to increase visibility and brand awareness.
Facebook Reels
Though not as prominent as other platforms, Facebook remains the most popular social media platform with an average of 3.07 billion users. This makes Facebook Reels a powerful gateway for discoverability and community growth - with an estimated reach of 616.8 million people as of 2023. This platform is perfect for small businesses that need a strong local presence and online communities, such as shops, restaurants, event-based enterprises, and much more.
The main benefits of using Facebook for short video content include:
- Audience skew: User demographics are older than TikTok and Instagram (25–34 year olds make up 31.1% as of 2025). Facebook is also an opportunity to find hyper-targeted audiences, ideally sharing in niche groups.
- Distribution: Reels can be recommended across both Facebook and Instagram - they are reshared an average of 3.5 billion times each day.
- Tactics: Meta allows you to cross-post with adjusted captions; use analytics to track watch time, shares, and comments.
Craft captivating, highly optimised content to ensnare the viewer’s attention, and leverage analytics to measure metrics such as views, likes, comments and shares across Meta. Since Facebook is the home for many businesses, it is important not to miss out on Facebook Reels.
YouTube Shorts
YouTube has one of the broadest audiences online, with a diverse range of creators, brands, and content. The Shorts tool allows creators to build a new presence quickly or strengthen an existing one. In 2024, YouTube Shorts reached a daily average of 70 billion views, and a recent Adobe study reports strong search demand for Shorts in Ireland. One in three marketers using Shorts saw a 15–25% boost in web traffic, and 50% gained more subscribers. Brands that focus on educational and entertaining video content should consider trying to build a presence on YouTube.
YouTube’s robust search engine makes Shorts highly discoverable through keyword searches, so ensure your titles, descriptions, and tags are properly optimised for searches. You can create original Shorts or repurpose clips from long-form videos to drive viewers to the full content. Repurposing content from other platforms is also highly effective.
Shorts loop by default and appear across multiple surfaces: the Shorts feed, home page, subscriptions, and search results. To boost engagement, group your videos into playlists to keep viewers watching. YouTube Shorts can also be monetized if your channel meets certain criteria, creating new revenue opportunities.
Pinterest Video Pins
With 578 million monthly active users, Pinterest is a visual search engine designed for long-term, discovery-driven content - and it’s become a valuable player in short-form video. A well-optimized Video Pin can resurface weeks, months, or even years later, and is best for visual brands that focus on lifestyle, beauty, crafts, home decor and food. Pinterest acts as a visual bookmark that can combine multiple images and videos or feature a single video.
Like other platforms, Video Pins play automatically in your home feed and are an ideal way to increase brand awareness, drive engagement, and achieve conversions. The recommended video length should be 45–90 seconds long, and should be visually-focused due to the no-audio feature in the feed. Pinterest also has a flexible sizing tool, but fully vertical videos get the most engagement.
Utilise Pinterest shorts to showcase your niche content and inspire - you can make original content, or you could repurpose Instagram and TikTok videos. The content types that perform well as Video Pins are:
- Step-by-step tutorials
- Lists
- Inspirational content
- Motivational videos
- Aesthetic montages
Titles should be clear and concise, and include actionable formats such as ‘How to…’, ‘5 ways to…’ and ‘Top Tips for…’. Adding links to your Video Pin is optional, but very important in terms of reach and boosting website traffic. You can also include a call-to-action in your video to encourage users to follow the link to your web page.
Engage audiences through the use of Stickers: add category tags like Style, DIY, Nature, or use @mention stickers to credit collaborators or to give a shoutout to a fellow creator. Once posted, always add Video Pins to optimized Boards with relevant descriptive keywords.
LinkedIn Video Shorts
Although less well-known, short-form videos offer a unique way to engage your LinkedIn audience in compelling formats. With 1.2 billion members, LinkedIn is built for professional networking, knowledge sharing and industry-related content; therefore, its video feed can be used to deliver bite-sized content with instant appeal. It is the number one platform for B2B marketing, and it was reported that LinkedIn users are more likely to engage with 15–30 second long videos.
The tone on this platform varies from other social media, as the primary audience consists of professionals; therefore, coaches, agencies, consultants, thought leaders, companies, small businesses, and B2B businesses/creators would be suited for LinkedIn. Videos can serve as reputation builders; therefore, keyword-enriched short videos present an opportunity to create industry-related content geared towards professionals.
Some topics you can focus on include:
- Expert tips and frameworks.
- Stat-based insights and mini-lessons.
- Career stories and micro case studies.
FAQs
What length works best for short-form videos?
Best practices are 7–15 seconds for quick hooks and 15–30 seconds for most content. You should make longer videos when demonstrating a process or telling a story.
How often should I post?
This depends on you and the social media you use, but aim for 3–5 posts per week per core platform. Consistency matters more than volume spikes, so ideally, you should select particular days and times to post content, depending on when your audience is most active.
Should I repurpose the same video across platforms?
Yes, but you must adapt captions, audio, and CTAs to suit each platform’s norms and audience.
How do I measure ROI from short-form video?
Track engagement rate and average watch time first. Then regularly monitor profile visits, link clicks, email sign-ups, and assisted conversions in analytics.
Final Thoughts
Short-form video has proven itself as the dominant force in digital marketing. TikTok’s algorithm rewards authentic, hook-driven content that can reach millions organically. Instagram and Facebook Reels offer unmatched cross-platform distribution, while YouTube Shorts taps into the world’s largest search engine for long-term discoverability. Pinterest Video Pins provide evergreen visibility for brands in visual niches, and LinkedIn video builds professional authority in the B2B space.
The numbers speak for themselves: 70 billion daily views on YouTube Shorts, 3.5 billion Reels reshares per day across Meta, and measurable ROI through increased web traffic, subscriber growth, and conversions. Whether you’re creating tutorials, sharing insights, or building brand awareness, short-form video isn’t just a trend - it’s the essential foundation of modern content strategy and the future of how audiences discover, engage with, and remember your brand.
Ready to scale your content engine in 2025? Book a strategy session with Black Pug Studio and turn short‑form into steady growth. Start a project with us today!
Short-Form Videos: Leveraging them for Social Media Success in 2025 was originally published in Creative by Black Pug Studio on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
