When was the last time you sat down and watched a 3-hour-long feature film without pausing it? Okay, besides Dune. Now, think about the last time you watched a 15-second video. The chances are it was way more recent than the 3-hour-long feature. That’s because snackable content fits perfectly into our busy lives and short attention spans, making it an essential part of modern marketing.
But how exactly do you create content that everyone wants to snack on, and what are the advantages of snackable content? We’ll tell you all about it.
What is short-form content?
Short-form, bite-sized, and even micro-content are all pieces of content that are brief and easily digestible. They're designed to capture the audience's attention quickly and convey a message within a short time frame. Something that can be consumed in just a few minutes, or even seconds.
Snackable content can take many forms, such as social media posts, memes, short-form video content, audio snippets or short podcasts, quotes, and infographics. But why is it so popular? It's because the key to snackable content is that it’s quick to produce, easy to share, and perfect for busy audiences who may not have the time to dive into long articles or watch lengthy videos.
These types of short-form content are especially popular on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), and Facebook, where users are scrolling through their feeds looking for quick hits of information or entertainment. It's all about making a big impact in a small amount of time.
Snackable Content Examples: Learn from the Pros
1) Make them laugh with memes (be funny like Duolingo)
Let’s admit it: the green owl has been rocking it on social media. Not a single post on Duolingo’s Instagram goes without a comment that "the marketing team should get a raise”. And to be honest, it's well-deserved praise!
One of the ways Duolingo creates short, easily engageable snackable content is by creating memes. Here is, for instance, what Duolingo posted when Barbie was pretty much the only topic being discussed online:
Soy suficienKen! Now tell us this isn’t brilliant.
Notice also that Duolingo is not just making a meme about being “Kenough.” The joke is as much about Duolingo as it is about Barbie, which helps Duolingo keep its brand shining through.
Another similar meme was when Dua Lipa showed everyone her Spanish skills by asking the driver to turn on the radio. The trending joke was that Dua Lipa learned Spanish from Duolingo, and of course, Duolingo couldn’t let this go unnoticed. So here’s what they did:
Now these two memes aren’t just funny: they also have very similar structure, design, and format. Keep that in mind when designing your own memes, to make sure that you’re keeping some type of consistency. Aim to entertain, but don’t forget your branding goals either.
2) Engage your audience (keep them guessing like Mubi)
If you haven’t heard of Mubi, it’s a streaming service, production company, and film distributor mainly focused on auteur and independent cinema. It follows the “hand-pick” approach, streaming a highly curated library of films. This means, that unlike platforms like Netflix, Mubi isn’t aiming to be for everyone.
In other words, Mubi’s target audience and main followers are people with a strong interest in auteur cinema. There’s always someone to bring up a film title that was probably streamed just once in an experimental film festival, and that no one has heard about, just to slightly and very benignly show off.
And that’s what Mubi picks up on with their “Guess the film” series of Instagram posts.
Every once in a while, Mubi posts a carousel on Instagram with scenes from a movie which is streaming on their platform and asks its followers to guess which film it is. And here is where your knowledge of auteur cinema can shine through! Most of the followers will engage with the post by writing the title of the film in the comments, or simply sharing the beautiful aesthetics Mubi picked up of their favorite filmmaker.
The best part is that it’s not easy to guess the film. These posts aren’t in any way unveiling the actors, the plot, or key locations. They are playing on the audience’s ability to guess the film from the aesthetic perspective, and that’s why it’s so fun!
So try to figure out what type of content your audience would interact with the most and prepare a series of snackable yet engageable posts!
3) Inspire with quotes (stay concise like Paris Review)
Writers know that writing shorter can be much more challenging. And the famous literary magazine knows that too. So instead of overwhelming your followers with paragraphs of long text, try to find the most captivating part of your blog post, interview, or other written content and turn it into quick, visual bite-sized content for your social media platforms.
Otherwise, you’ll be out of time to engage your audience before your post even begins.
For instance, in the example above Paris Review picked only one quote out of their “Art of Fiction” interview which is one of the most captivating thoughts and makes the reader want to explore more.
These quotes are beautiful in their conciseness. It is easy to engage with them, share them, and even remember them on a random jog and want to open the Paris Review to read the entire piece.
4) Tell a story in minutes through audio snippets (hook them like Serial)
Finally, don’t underestimate the power of audio when creating your micro-content, especially if your content is highly audio-focused. For instance, if you have a branded podcast, or conduct interviews and post them on your website or YouTube, it’s a good idea to share short content in the form of audio snippets from the longer version on your social media from time to time.
Here is what the famous podcast Serial does:
Serial is one of the most popular prime podcasts out there and they know how to keep their audiences tuned in and hooked for the newly released episodes.
They find the most thrilling part of their podcast, turn it into a short audio snippet, add a visual on top of it and post it on their Instagram.Here’s another example of the post promoting the final episode of their second season.
Make sure you take advantage of the audio format, but for a better result mix it with visuals to get more engagement, especially if you’re going to post it on platforms focused more on the visual content like Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube.
Long Form vs Short Form Content
When it comes to content creation, both long-form and short-form content have their unique strengths. Let’s take a look at what each of them has to offer:
Long Form Content
When it comes to content creation, long-form content has its unique strengths. But generally speaking, audiences will turn to long-form content when they need comprehensive information and in-depth knowledge. Common examples of long-form content include in-depth articles, whitepapers, and comprehensive guides.
Why is that? It's because:
- They're thorough, detailed, and informational. Ideal for exploring complex topics in depth.
- They establish authority, show expertise, and build trust with your audience.
- They maximize the value of any given topic. Long-form helps readers learn extensively about a subject or solve specific problems.
Short Form Content
Short-form content, snackable content, and micro-content are all designed for quick consumption. This includes everything we covered above and more:
– Social media posts: Quick updates and engaging visuals.
– Memes: Funny content that’s easily shareable.
– Short videos: Captivating clips perfect for platforms like TikTok, YouTube shorts, and Instagram.
– Infographics: Visual summaries that convey information quickly.
Snackable content is perfect for social media users’ short-span attention. It’s easy to digest, shareable, and can quickly engage your audience. People love snackable content because it fits neatly into their busy schedules, offering bite-sized pieces of information or entertainment.
Is short-form content bad for you?
Not at all. Creating various forms of snackable content can help you publish consistently. And according to Semrush’s report, marketing specialists reported that publishing more content was the key to their content marketing success.
That's not to say you should wave goodbye to long-form content altogether. But if you're only focusing on long-form content, it might be a struggle to increase your publishing frequency. That's where short-form content swoops in to save the day! It's perfect for grabbing attention, sparking interest, and is much easier to create.
The best part is that snackable content is exactly what the modern audience is looking for: it fits into our busy schedules and short attention spans. As long as it’s well-crafted and valuable, snackable content can be a powerful part of your overall content strategy.
So, why not give your audience a tasty content snack they can't resist?
Create Snackable Content with Podcastle
Snackable content should not only be easy to consume but also easy to produce. And that’s what we aim for at Podcastle. With our audio and video studios and easy-to-use editing features, creating snackable content is easy and fun.
Our AI-powered tools allow you to effortlessly edit, trim, and customize your content to fit any platform. Whether you’re making quick video clips or engaging audio snippets, Podcastle’s intuitive tools help you produce high-quality, snackable content that captures your audience’s attention in seconds.
