The Three Non-Negotiables of Short-Form Video for Education Marketers

Kristina DeMichele, Assistant Director of Digital Marketing, MIT Sloan

Short-form video strategy for social media has become more important than ever within the higher education industry. In 60-90 seconds, institutions can visualize campus life, display noteworthy research, and further establish credibility with their audiences.

According to Statista, data from October 2023 shows that YouTube and Instagram each have over 2 billion active users every month; TikTok isn’t far behind at 1.28 billion monthly active users. On average, active users residing in the U.S. devoted 46 minutes daily to using TikTok and YouTube.

What makes these active users spend all that time on these platforms? People want to be entertained, of course, but many have a near-constant yearning to learn something new. Educational institutions can shine and fulfil this desire in viewers by providing a “microlearning” experience—a highly engaging 60-90-second video that teaches a simple concept.

When creating these micro-learning videos, education marketers should always consider these three non-negotiables.

1. Captions

Displaying accurate, easy-to-read captions within a shortform video for social media is an absolute must.

First and foremost, including captions shows your institution’s respect for and adherence to accessibility standards. Including captions is also pivotal because it allows people to view a video without sound and still understand what is happening. Many times, people scroll through social media without their sound on. Reading the captions allows the viewer to gauge interest and either turn the sound on or save the video to watch with sound later.

2. Clarity

The central point of the video needs to be crystal clear. The second a viewer becomes confused, they will continue to scroll. There lies the challenge: a short video concept that must be simple and compelling.

According to HubSpot, 59% of short-form videos are watched by 41-80%, while 30% of short-form videos are watched by over 81%. So, if your video is 60 seconds long, around 59% of views last an average of 24.6 to 48 seconds, and 30% of views last an average of 48.6 seconds or more.

With this data in mind, the first 20 seconds of a shortform video are incredibly important. Be sure to explain the crux of the concept within that time frame, and then use the rest of your video to elaborate and provide context.

3. Value

Most importantly, any short-form video you produce needs to be valuable to your audience in some way. What should viewers get out of your video? Will viewers want to save your video so that they can reference it again and again? The higher the number of saves, the more you know that you’ve successfully provided value.

“Establishing a short-form video strategy for Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and even LinkedIn takes time. The more videos you create, the more you will be able to establish your own analytics benchmarks against industry averages and the more you will be able to streamline your production process”

Establishing a short-form video strategy for Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and even LinkedIn takes time. The more videos you create, the more you will be able to establish your own analytics benchmarks against industry averages and the more you will be able to streamline your production process.