Denzil Duke

Should I Start Doing Shorts Vs Long-Form Videos?

Denzil Duke -

A question for any content creator starting out.

I started out doing long form videos. And, I refused to make shorts.

Which was a mistake.

If you don't know me, my name is Denzil Duke. I'm a freelancer helping small businesses get more customers through digital marketing.

For this article, I'm going to cover the lessons and mistakes I went through making content.

If you're reading this as a:

  • Small business
  • Digital marketer
  • Someone looking at building their personal brand

Stick around.

I'm going to break down:

  • Why we have smaller attentions spans
  • Which one format should I start with first
  • How to start creating content

Small Attention Spans?

For a very long time, I stuck with long form YouTube videos. My ego didn't want to contribute to the 'attention span crisis'.

I wanted to prove my ego right. I didn't start learning how to do short-form content two years after I uploaded my first YouTube video.

(My real first video was poorly animated videos on cringe topics called 'DukeBox' in 2018. After that, it was making Minecraft videos on an SMP server in 2019-2020)

So, have our attention spans become smaller?

Maybe...

Think of that person who's addicted to watching Instagram reels. This same person can also binge watch a 6 hour Netflix series.

Comparing 60 seconds to 6 hours, it's a massive time jump.

So in the words of Alex Hormozi,

"There's nothing too long. Just too boring."

If I could get that in my big skull, I could have made better content sooner. Rather than blaming everyone else's attention span,

I'm Just Starting Out

Contrary to how I started making content:

Start making short-form content. And do it on a platform you get the most value out.

Do you know who I want to blame for people going to long-form?

School Academics...

More background about myself:

  • I was School Captain in Grade 6
  • Junior Creative Arts Captain in Grade 9
  • Senior Creative Arts Captain in Grade 12
  • Read out the school notices in front of house parade.

So, I've done school public speaking for a long time. And what does this have to do with short-form content?

You get the false perception from school that your audience will listen to all of your content. If students had the choice to leave mid-way through a speech, they would.

The only reason they listen is when you're on that stage is YOU have the monopoly on attention.

Unlike social media, it's a marketplace for attention. You are competing with other content creators to grab people's attention.

If you start with long-form, your chances of disengaging the audience are much higher. Short-form is much lower as you have 30-90 second time frame to hook, retain and reward the audience.

It takes real practise to get the audience to watch the first minute, then the second minute and so on.

Start Small And Go Big

You might be saying,

"I don't know how to make content."

If you have lived on this earth:

  • You have stories and lessons to tell
  • You probably have a phone to record yourself
  • The ability to learn basic video editing

That's all you really need to get started.

I wouldn't worry as much about quality in the beginning.

Focus more on quantity.

I didn't know what was good content until I made tonnes of videos.

Those wanting more info on how to structure content, I'm going to link Alex Hormozi's $100M Leads with the section on content.