Short-Form Video Trends 2024: What’s Hot Right Now?

Social media is everywhere these days, and it is home to new short-form video trends emerging every other day. Their reach is wide, and their appeal is amplified. 

In other words, short-form videos are taking over! (If they haven’t already.)

They grab attention quickly and have become a must-have tool for content creators and marketers alike. According to HubSpot, short-form videos have the highest engagement and ROI rates on social platforms. 

From TikTok to Instagram Reels, let’s dive into how these quick, bite-sized videos make waves and drive huge engagement.

What Is a Short-Form Video?

To have a solid foundation, we want to explain the very basics.

Short-form videos are typically less than one minute long and designed to be easily digestible, making them perfect for today’s shortened attention spans and low dopamine levels. 

Whether it’s a quick tutorial, a funny clip, or a brand announcement, short social media videos pack a punch in a short time.

The brevity of short-form videos makes them highly adaptable. They can be used for various purposes, from promoting products and services to sharing behind-the-scenes content. Given the rising trend of users consuming content on the go, short-form videos are the quick, snackable content everyone loves. This makes them a must-have tool for marketers and video production companies.

Go Viral in 2024 with These Short-Form Video Trends

Here are the hottest trends that are capturing audiences everywhere. 

Ready to see how these can transform your content strategy? Let’s get into what’s working right now.

1.Find Your Brand’s “Man in Finance”

A catchy video by a TikToker, @girl_on_couch, requesting a man with specific credentials in lyrics, went viral after her request: Can someone make this a real song?

@Tima Pages, another TikTok creator, made a remix, and it blew up. Nowadays, everyone’s replacing the finance guy with everything from dream vacations to specific food cravings.

This trend proves unexpected content can explode. Brands, take note! You can jump on the trend, like Duolingo, the language giant of the USA and the world. (We are curious about which social media content agency they work with!)

Or, just like Amazon Prime Germany:

2.Try No Speech Videos

To understand the power of this ongoing trend, you should check out the top no-speech video creator: Khabane Lame, aka @khaby.lame on TikTok and @khaby00 on Instagram.

Khabane has 81 million followers on Instagram and 162 million on TikTok. (Now, we are speechless, too!) 

You can set yourself up by showing how your product offers an easy solution to a common problem. Try making a fun and short social media video that demonstrates the overly complex way someone tackles a task, then show how effortlessly your product solves it.

3.Use #ThisorThat for Interactivity

Interactive storytelling has been a hit for a while now, but it has got a fresh twist with the #ThisorThat trend since 2023. In these challenges, creators present viewers with simple choices, like chocolate ice cream or vanilla. This easy-to-consume format gets viewers thinking and leads to high engagement, as most people love sharing these fun choices with their friends.

For example, this basic TikTok content has been watched 21 million times! Why not leverage such a powerful trend by adapting it to showcase your products or services?

Here’s another one using #ThisorThat for beauty products. 

Imagine how thrilled the marketing teams were with the success of this filter! It has been used over 6,000 times, racking up millions of views.

4.Be a Nasty Girl

Inspired by Tinashe’s hit song Nasty, this attitude-filled movement has taken over Instagram and TikTok in 2024. Creators are embracing their sassy side or having fun with irony:

Brands can utilize this trend by featuring user-generated content that embodies the Nasty Girl spirit. You can partner with creators who align with your brand’s image to create challenges or sponsored posts showcasing boldness.

5. Meet Cultures and Generations

This heartwarming trend brings different generations together in creative ways. Grandparents join grandkids in creating videos, parents get reintroduced to their own generation’s dance moves, and families collaborate on makeup tutorials. 

When you hop on this TikTok trend, your brand can contribute to a space where cultural diversity and inclusivity thrive, all while spreading your name. 

Maybe a beauty brand can adapt it by showing its 80s products in a video on this TikTok sound? It would be a perfect way to blend nostalgia with modern trends!

6.Blink

A single, one-second sound effect is taking Instagram by storm. Creators pair it with fleeting videos and surprising captions for a quick burst of intrigue and it has been used 1,100.000 times on Instagram. Wow!

You can get creative with this trend by using a series of one-second videos with cliffhanger captions to tell a short story that unfolds over multiple posts, keeping viewers hooked. Or, a beauty brand could showcase makeup steps and the required products with detailed captions—all in a blink!

7.Try “Snowfall” on Timelines

The famous sound, Snowfall, creates a sense of fascination and calm, making it perfect for inspirational videos. It is one of the top trends in short social media videos, beauty giants utilized it immediately.

For example, Maybelline uses the Snowfall sound to calmly demonstrate their new lip liners, and low-key state that buying one will give you the same fascinating feeling as the music: 

L’Oreal Paris USA also uses the same sound but adds a deeper layer with powerful storytelling:

Speaking of the USA brands, we suggest checking out the top content marketing companies specializing in this market. This way, you can be sure that you keep yourself abreast of the latest trends! 

8.Boost Energy in Seconds

Fueled by Kabin Crew’s high-energy song The Spark, this trend features creators looking drained until the music kicks in. Suddenly, they showcase their talents or a burst of activity, demonstrating the spark of energy they’ve received. 

You can join this trend by creating before-and-after videos with your products, fun and energetic dance videos with your team, or sharing a demo of how to use your products or services! 

3 Musts-Haves of Short-Form Video Content

Let’s dive into the essentials of short-form video content that really sticks.

From understanding what grabs attention to mastering quick, impactful storytelling, here’s everything you need to keep your audience coming back for more.

1.User-Generated Content (UGC)

User-generated content is more popular than ever. Brands are encouraging their followers to create and share their own short videos featuring their products. 

When a brand discovers how beneficial user-generated content is for increased brand awareness, there won’t be any way to quit leveraging it. User-generated content showcases real-life applications of its products or services, which is a great resource for reliable and trustworthy reviews.

When you encourage your followers to participate in creating content, you can create a stronger bond, resulting in a deeper connection and loyalty. It’s like having an army of brand ambassadors create genuine, authentic content for the sake of the brand, and of course, their accounts’ popularity.

2.Challenges and Hashtags

Challenges and hashtags are at the heart of short-form content. Platforms like TikTok have made viral challenges a mainstay, with users constantly creating and sharing their trending video versions.

Participating in challenges can significantly boost your brand’s visibility. When users engage with a challenge, they’re not just interacting with your brand—they’re also amplifying its reach to their own networks.

Hashtags, meanwhile, help categorize content, making it easier for users to discover videos related to specific trends or topics.

3.Educational Snippets

Short, educational videos are getting super popular. They give quick tips or insights, making them really shareable and engaging.

These snippets can be anything from how-to videos and quick tips to industry insights and product demos. They’re great because they offer immediate, useful info and help show off your brand as an expert. As TikTok points out, people often discover new interests on TikTok that they never even knew they had!

Key Takeaways

Short-form videos are definitely here to stay a they offer a quick and engaging way to connect with audiences, and their popularity is only growing. So, you should keep these in mind:

By incorporating these short-form video strategies into your marketing plan, you can stay ahead of the curve. So go ahead and start creating! Or should we say, start short-ing your content?