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Short-form videos, long reach: The new creator economy playground
Apaksh Gupta, Co-founder and CEO, One ImpressionOne Impression
The factors that have led to the growth of short-form videos
media

Short-form videos, long reach: The new creator economy playground

The factors that have led to the growth of short-form videos
  • A recent report by RedSeer has estimated that there are 240 million short-video users in India, a number that is predicted to grow even further to at least 575 million by 2025.
  • The last few years have democratised content creation and given rise to short-video influencers.
  • In an exclusive column, Apaksh Gupta, CEO & Co-founder, One Impression tells us a few factors that have led to the immense growth of these short-video platforms and what the future holds.
The world of social media and digital marketing is constantly evolving and finding new horizons to accommodate and monetise the massive growth in the creator economy. The data revolution in India brought along with it a new space for people to consume, create and monetise content.

With a population of over a billion, India has the second-largest number of internet users in the world at 526mn. With such strong figures, India has become the go-to-market for various social media apps. While Facebook and its owned platforms hold a major share of the pie, it is the new homegrown short-form video apps that are increasingly becoming popular with smartphone users. The phenomenal success that these apps have gathered in the country, forced other long term giant players to accommodate these changes within their apps.

According to a recent report by RedSeer, it is estimated that there are 240 million short-video users in India. This is around 40% of smartphone owners and it is predicted to grow even further to at least 575 million by 2025. While the short-form video app concept was introduced by Tiktok, it is the homegrown apps that are leading the way. Josh, Moj, Takatak have now become household names in India. So what has fuelled this growth?

It is often said that short-form video platforms are the most democratic way of creating content. This is because they have brought the content creator, residing within most of us, out in the open. Without having to spend on expensive setups and spending too much time, people started trying out these apps as an outlet to unleash their creative side to the world. Creators like Yashraj Mukhate, Saurabh Gadhge, Awez Darbar, Saloni Gaur started off their influencer journeys with short-form videos and are now popular names associated with India’s creator economy. The audiences also accepted fun snackable content that psychologically did not use much of their time in their busy lives.

While one can’t deny that the pandemic has accelerated video content consumption globally, it also locked people inside their houses. Before the pandemic, the Indian creator economy was majorly centred around YoutTube. However, creators quickly started to move to these short-form video apps, purely because they saved time, were easy to make, and had high engagement rates. The ease of usage is also another factor that has led to more and more people joining these platforms. Earlier, to make a quality content video for YouTube, creators used to either learn to edit or hire editors and cameramen for it. However, this was not the case with short-form videos, they offered a simple interface with all the editing options required and allowed the creator to make multiple videos in a day.

Though all these reasons contributed to this growth, one of the most important aspects of the success of short-form videos is the realisation by brands and marketers of the potential these platforms had. A majority of the short-form video app users don’t come from the Tier-1 cities, which have always been easier for brands to penetrate, compared to Tier-2 & 3 cities. Short-form video content has more acceptance in Tier-2 & 3 cities and this gives brands a chance to make their way into the regional markets. With social media marketing through these apps, creators found a way to monetize their content, and brands got different ways to directly reach their potential customers. This realisation by brands brought in the big bucks and appreciation for these content creators for whom making content was not a full-time job.

The impact that these short-form video platforms have created on the whole social media industry is so huge that even bigger players like YouTube and Google have built their own versions. With such a huge impact in the digital space, one can easily say that short-form video platforms are the future of the creator economy and will pave the way for newer ways for brands to reach their target audience.