A few tips for short-form video content

Engaging a new demographic in the life of the church: The rise of short-form video allows individuals to be informed, educated, and entertained all in literally a few seconds or minutes.

MEDIA BYTES

By Rev. Marty Levesque

Short-form video content is predicted to rule social media in 2022.

This is already evident in the rise of TikTok as the place to be and connect.  But many other places are perfect for short-form video content. These platforms include YouTube, Instagram Reels, and Snapchat.

If you want your church to reach a high volume of seekers, then creating short-form video content is the way to go. The rise of short-form video allows individuals to be informed, educated, and entertained all in literally a few seconds or minutes. This is especially true when it comes to church specific content.

As we look forward to 2022 here are a few tips for short-form video content.

1) Grab their attention. Do it either through the concept of a series or in the first few seconds of the short-form video. 65% of viewers who watch the first three seconds of a video will continue to at least the ten-second mark, and 45% will watch for thirty seconds.

2) Short means short. The maximum length of any video should not exceed 5 minutes. Ideally like TikTok or Reels, this will be no longer than 2 minutes.

3) Edit for social media. Be conscious of the various trends and don’t be afraid of sharp cuts. Just think of covering a tomato with your hand and then removing your hand to show the food all diced and ready for the recipe.

To help fill this space, All Saints’ Anglican Church in Waterloo has recently launched Soul Savours, a monthly short-form video. You can find the first couple of episodes of the parish’ YouTube channel.  

Each episode features the pastors of All Saints’ making a recipe from an old church cookbook. The idea is pretty simple. Have a little fun, celebrate our past and all the potlucks and bake sales that have helped sustain the church over the years (and the weird recipes we used to love) and engage a new demographic in the life of the church.

Rev. Marty Levesque is the diocesan social media officer and rector of All Saints’ in Waterloo. martylevesque@diohuron.org