Scroll through Instagram, TikTok or YouTube for a few minutes and you’ll quickly notice how much of your feed is made up of video.
A recipe here. A funny clip there. Someone explaining a product, showing you how to do something or simply sharing a moment from their day.
You might not even think of it as watching video. You’re just scrolling.
And that is probably one of the biggest reasons short-form video has become such a powerful part of social media. It fits naturally into the way we already use these platforms: quickly, casually and one piece of content at a time.
Short-Form Video is no Longer a Trend
Short-form video has been around for years, but it has moved well beyond being a TikTok phenomenon.
Instagram has Reels. YouTube has Shorts. Facebook has embraced short videos, too. Even platforms that were traditionally more focused on written content are putting more emphasis on video.
And marketers are following the audience.
According to HubSpot’s 2026 State of Marketing research, 60% of marketers use short-form video in their content strategy, making it the most-used content format. More importantly, 49% of marketers say it delivers the highest ROI of any content format, while 30% plan to increase their investment in it during 2026.
So, this isn’t just about everyone jumping on the latest social media trend. There is a reason brands keep coming back to short-form video: it is getting results.
It Fits the Way We Scroll
Think about how you use social media when you have five minutes to spare.
You probably aren’t looking for a 20-minute brand video. You might not even have a specific thing in mind that you want to watch.
You simply open the app and start scrolling.
Short-form video fits perfectly into that behaviour. A 20- or 30-second video doesn’t ask much from you. If it catches your attention, you keep watching. If it doesn’t, you move on.
That constant stream of content also gives brands an opportunity they didn’t always have with traditional social media posts: getting in front of people who weren’t necessarily looking for them.
Someone might never search for a particular business, but a useful, funny or interesting video can still land in their feed.
And suddenly, they know the brand exists.
You Don’t Have Long to Grab Someone’s Attention
Getting someone to stop scrolling is probably the hardest part.
With short-form video, you have very little time to convince someone that your video is worth watching. If the first few seconds don’t catch their attention, there’s always another video waiting just a swipe away.
That’s why many short videos get straight to the point. They might start with a question, show the end result, make a bold statement or simply jump straight into whatever the video is about.
But there’s no need to overthink it, either. Not every video needs flashy edits, dramatic music or a perfectly rehearsed script.
Sometimes, someone sitting in front of a camera and talking honestly about something is enough.
And that’s part of the appeal. Short-form video can feel like someone is talking to you rather than advertising to you.
It Can Feel More Human
Short-form video has also made it much easier for brands to show the people behind the business.
An employee can explain how something works. A chef can show you how to make something. A business owner can answer a question. A team can give you a peek at what goes on behind the scenes.
You don’t necessarily need a studio, professional camera crew or massive production budget to make it happen.
In some cases, being a little less polished can actually work in your favour. Social media is already full of carefully produced advertising, so something that feels genuine can stand out.
This is becoming even more relevant as AI makes it easier to produce content quickly. There is nothing wrong with using AI to help create content, but making something quickly doesn’t automatically make it worth watching.
There still needs to be a reason for someone to stop scrolling.
It Isn’t Just About TikTok
TikTok might have put short-form video firmly on the map, but the format has spread well beyond the platform.
Instagram has Reels, YouTube has Shorts and Facebook has embraced short videos too. At this point, short-form video is simply part of how people use social media.
For brands, that’s good news. A strong video idea doesn’t necessarily have to be created from scratch for every platform. It can often be adapted for Instagram, TikTok, YouTube or Facebook, depending on where the audience is.
And there is a sizeable audience to reach in South Africa. DataReportal recorded 26.7 million social media user identities in South Africa in January 2025, while TikTok’s advertising tools indicated a potential audience of 23.4 million adults, aged 18 and above, in the country.
That’s a lot of people scrolling — and a lot of opportunities for a good video to get in front of them.
Short Doesn’t Mean Easy
There is one thing worth remembering, though: short-form video may be short to watch, but it isn’t necessarily short to make.
A 20-second video can take hours to plan, film, edit, caption and publish.
And simply producing more videos isn’t necessarily the answer. Social media is already crowded with brands trying to keep up with the latest trend, sound or meme.
The better question is: does the video give someone a reason to stop scrolling?
Maybe it teaches them something useful. Maybe it makes them laugh. Maybe it solves a problem. Maybe it shows them a product in a way that a photograph simply couldn’t.
The format might be short, but the idea still has to do the heavy lifting.
So, Why Does Short-Form Video Keep Winning?
There isn’t one single reason.
Short-form video is easy to consume, built into the platforms people already use and flexible enough to entertain, educate, demonstrate and sell. It can be made with a smartphone, adapted across platforms and put in front of people who may never have actively searched for a particular brand.
And, perhaps most importantly, it fits how we use social media today.
We scroll when we have a spare minute. We share things that make us laugh. We save things we want to come back to. We send useful videos to friends.
Short-form video sits neatly in the middle of all of that.
It may have started as a social media trend, but at this point, short-form video is simply part of how social media works.
