Storytelling Through Short-Form Content

Is your organization embracing the power of short-form content to connect with your audience? Short-form content refers to concise, easy-to-consume media. Examples include social media posts, short videos, memes and GIFs, and online polls. Bite-size content provides an entertaining and engaging way to share information about your organization.

How does creating and sharing short-form content benefit your organization?

1.  Economical:

Creating short-form content is an economical alternative to creating longer-form content. It requires fewer resources, time, and planning to produce, allowing your organization to connect more consistently with target audiences and stay top of mind.

Pro tip: Do not be afraid to leverage technology such as Chatbots to support content creation. These tools can be used as creative collaborators to help your organization with tasks such as copywriting. Make sure to understand the limitations of AI and have an organizational policy to guide its use.

2. Accessible:

Short-form content is more accessible and appealing due to its quick consumption, ease of access on mobile devices, and low commitment to engage with it. Another benefit is its suitability to communicating complex ideas in a digestible and visually appealing way, making it easier for broader audiences to understand your message. Features such as captions are easy to incorporate and essential to ensure content is accessible to all individuals.

Pro tip: Short-form content’s accessibility also lends itself to being easily shareable by viewers. The more shares that content gets, the more people your organization reaches. Get ready to go viral!

3. Timely:

The ability to quickly produce content allows timely content delivery that leverages trends to expand your audience. Trends tend to come and go quickly on social media, so short-form content such as memes are the perfect medium to participate in trending topics. Consistent and frequent sharing of timely content also keeps your audience interested and engaged.

Pro tip: Savvy organizations understand that agile and timely content production should not sacrifice quality. Not every trend or topic is going to be relevant to your organization.

4. Relevant:

Have you ever wanted to learn more about supporting a nonprofit organization, but its communication channels were outdated? Sharing micro-content provides a way to stay relevant and provide the most up-to-date information about your organization. It also helps to deliver information to your audiences that aligns with how they consume content, making your communication activities more likely to be effective. As attention spans decrease, it is even more essential for organizations to meet audience preferences.

Pro tip: Take the guessing out of what is relevant to your audience by analyzing metrics to understand what content is most successful. Take it a step further and use micro-content, such as quick polls and surveys on social media, to involve your audience with content creation choices.

5. Creative:

With lower production costs and faster turnaround times, organizations can afford to creatively experiment with various content ideas without significant resource investment. Exploring different content formats, styles, and messages allows content strategy development based on what resonates most with your audience.

Pro tip: Support the creative production of micro-content in your organization with a platform like Canva for nonprofits. It is cost-effective, user-friendly, and allows for team collaboration. It also has AI features that can help your team try new formats without overextending resources.

Short-form content allows organizations to communicate economically and effectively to engage a broader audience. In the dynamic, fast-paced digital landscape in which we all operate, staying connected is essential to staying relevant. Producing creative and accessible content helps expand impact, foster community, and drive action.