Review on article titled " The debate between short-form, long-form video"

The debate between short-form, long-form video

            The article titled “The debate between short-for, long- form video”, was published May 18, 2015 and I feel that this article will remain relevant for years to come. It describes short form videos as being anything ten minutes or under and of course long form video is anything above that. Whether short for or long form, the purpose remains the same. These videos are either used for advertising, training, or entertainment.

            The key to both forms, and using them in the most effective way it by knowing who your target audience is. That is what this article does a good job of explaining. If you want to advertise your business and promote your work. You must know your audience otherwise there will be a lot of wasted time and money that goes towards people who aren’t interested in what you are saying. This article as does not just focus on one specific type of business or one specific audience. The article takes everything into consideration and points out the most effective forms of advertising and entertainment along with pointing out the age range or generation that watches the most videos, whether short or long form and if it is on television or portable devices. The article clearly states “short form is the undisputed format of choice for millennials and represents the, hottest growth category in digital. The appetite for short- form video is off the charts, with penetration in the 12 to 44 year -old demographic ranging from 88% to 96%.”

            When it comes to my personal views, I understand the purpose advertisement and knowing your audience. On a psychological side of things, I am also aware that majority of each generation becomes less and less capable of maintaining focus for long periods of time. But this also goes back to the idea of know where your target audience is. If the demographic age range is 12 to 44 years old, then you must adapt to their preferences. It doesn’t mean that everyone in that age range prefers short form video. It just means that it is a “majority” preference. For me personally, I would prefer long form video for the things that I am interested in.

            I referred to entertainment/social media websites such as YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram, for additional information. The reason why is because the article does mention YouTube and Facebook. The other reason is because I use those websites daily along with the use of Instagram. Honestly, it is annoying when it comes to advertisement because is most cases, to view something that I am interested, I am basically forced to watch a commercial, advertisement, or promotion of some type.  I believe what is most annoying is that videos have nothing to do with what I am preparing to watch intentionally. What I also notice is that they all fall into the category of short from video. From a business perspective, I see the benefits because I know who the target audience is, the videos fall below ten minutes, and the videos get straight to the point. Overall, there is no obligation to produce long- form videos. This can also be viewed as an option that saves money when it comes to putting these advertisements and promotions together.

There are also a few things I have noticed about advertising through video on social media. From a viewer’s standpoint, random video advertisements continue to show up in between videos, timelines, and news feeds. Social media websites do give surveys and options on how to lower the number of advertisements but under free use, they never give the option to block them completely. The obvious reason behind this is money. If a business is paying YouTube, Facebook, or Instagram for advertisement space then those websites or apps are going to show the advertisements regardless of your user preferences. I also notice that with YouTube Red you won’t have to worry about commercial interruptions but for this option the user must pay a monthly subscription.

            From the business point of view each site has a term of service for advertising as well as a term of service for basic use. For business advertising, you do have options of choosing your target audience as long as it is not targeting an audience that is under age or an targeting an audience to be offensive. The greatest benefit is that these sites also give you daily and monthly statistics to keep you informed on who is viewing your advertisements and other helpful information in regards to your target audience.

Works Cited

·         "The Debate between Short-form, Long-form Video." International News Media Association (INMA). N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2017.

·         "Instagram Help Center." FAQs for Brands and Businesses | Instagram Help Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2017.

·         "Facebook." Advertising Policies. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2017.

·         YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2017.