One of my first posts on this blog explored where video truly adds value—particularly for B2B businesses trying to reach expert audiences.

For those audiences, familiarity and credibility matter. Do they recognize the person you’re featuring? Is the content a testimonial from a well-known peer or competitor, offering concrete detail about how you helped grow their business? Maybe it’s a video tied to coverage in a respected trade publication. Whatever the format, B2B brands are usually speaking to a narrower, more targeted audience. Video can be an effective way to reach them, but it’s far from the only tool, or the best one at your disposal.

On the other hand, brands that are trying to reach consumers, often benefit more directly from social video platforms, where the goal is broader reach and engagement. When virality works, it really works. I’ve written extensively about how financial institutions are increasingly partnering with influencers to reach younger audiences, and for the right brands, influencer marketing can be highly effective.

I’ve always been fascinated by influencer culture. Influencers often feel like friends. That sense of closeness is far more accessible than traditional celebrity culture, and it’s reinforced by the way many influencers regularly engage with their audiences. The relationship feels conversational rather than distant, creating a two-way dynamic that stands in contrast to the largely one-directional nature of Hollywood celebrity.

That closeness also makes influencers powerful spokespeople for products and services. No matter your industry, there’s likely an influencer already creating content in your space—someone who understands the audience and knows how to speak to them authentically.

The world of short-form video is constantly evolving. Every day brings a new trend, a new breakout creator, and a new conversation—and trying to keep up with it all can feel exhausting.

Lately, I’ve been spending more time thinking about the role short-form video—TikToks, Reels, and similar formats—can play for brands. Based on my own experience using these platforms and driving engagement, here are a few lessons that have stood out.

Demonstrate Value to the Viewer with a Strong Hook

“Get Ready With Me” (GRWM) videos—popularized by creators like Alix Earle—follow influencers and celebrities through their daily routines. The appeal is familiar: watching someone get ready feels intimate and turns ordinary moments into something engaging.

But GRWM is no longer a novel format. There are hundreds of thousands of these videos on TikTok, which means simply labeling a video “#GRWM” isn’t enough to earn attention anymore. To stand out, the value to the viewer has to be clear immediately.

This is where the hook matters. Short-form video is won or lost in the first few seconds. A generic framing like “GRWM as the CEO of a fintech company” may get some interest, but it doesn’t give viewers a compelling reason to keep watching.

A stronger hook highlights the most interesting or unexpected detail upfront. For example: “GRWM as a CEO who wakes up at 3 a.m. and spends four hours getting ready for work.” The specificity creates curiosity and signals why this video is worth the viewer’s time, and may be different from other videos within the genre.

This principle applies to any type of content you create. The more specific, compelling, or unexpected your hook, the more clearly you signal the value of the video—and the more likely viewers are to stop scrolling and stick around.

Aesthetics Matter—But Don’t Overproduce

Visual quality plays a real role in how short-form video performs. Well-shot content tends to earn more engagement, not just on TikTok and Reels, but across social platforms more broadly. The good news is that short-form video doesn’t need to look highly produced to work—but it does need to look intentional.

Take a moment to set up your shot. Simple framing techniques, like the rule of thirds, can make a noticeable difference. If you’re filming on an iPhone, turning on the camera grid can help you position yourself and key elements more effectively. Keeping the grid on at all times makes it easier to set up strong shots quickly.

Lighting is just as important. Whenever possible, use natural light and position yourself facing a window—not shooting directly into one. Even small adjustments in lighting can dramatically improve how polished your video looks on screen.

If you plan to create video regularly, a few basic tools are worth the investment: a tripod, a phone stand, and a ring light can go a long way. A Bluetooth microphone can also improve audio quality, especially for voiceovers. For a more lightweight setup, tools like an OctoBuddy are great for filming on the go and sticking your phone to almost any smooth surface.

That said, there’s a balance to strike. The best-performing short-form videos are well made but not overproduced. Content should feel natural, approachable, and native to the platform—even when there’s a thoughtful setup behind the scenes.

Stay on Top of Popular Trends

As the owner of three cats, I follow a handful of cat creators like Merv and Jackson Galaxy. As a result, my For You Page is heavily cat-coded.

Because I’m a regular consumer of that content, I have a good sense of what’s trending—the sounds, formats, and jokes that are starting to take off. That awareness paid off when I happened to capture a genuinely cute moment of my cats, paired it with a trend that was just gaining traction, and ended up with more than 200,000 views and 35,000 likes on the post.

Even if your niche isn’t something as straightforward as “cats” or “beauty,” there are almost certainly creators already making content in your space. The key is to identify who the major voices are, what topics they consistently focus on, and which trends matter most to them and their audiences.

Notice which posts generate strong engagement and which fall flat. Those signals can tell you a lot about what resonates—and what doesn’t. Use those insights to inform your own approach, then adapt and test those strategies in a way that makes sense for your brand.

The takeaway is simple: whatever your niche the first step to earning attention on video is understanding the trends within your ecosystem. That means tracking emerging sounds, recurring formats, and conversations that are starting to accelerate. If you can time your content while a trend is on the upswing, the payoff can be significant—both in reach and engagement.

Not Every Video is Going to be a Winner 

There’s a running joke on TikTok that posting with no followers feels like climbing “cringe mountain,” and for small brands, that feeling can be very real. You’re consistently creating and posting, jumping on trends, and still watching your videos stall out in 200-view jail.

That kind of plateau can be discouraging—for brands and creators alike—but the only way past it is through it. Giving up on short-form video too early often means quitting just before something clicks. You may not have found your niche yet, or you may need to experiment more before landing on a format that resonates.

Those low-performing posts aren’t wasted effort. In many cases, they’re just as valuable as the hits. They show you what doesn’t resonate with your audience, which gives you the information you need to refine your approach.

The best path forward is experimentation. Test different ideas, tones, and formats within your niche, pay attention to what gains traction, and adjust accordingly. Over time, patterns emerge—and that’s where momentum starts to build.

It Doesn’t Have to Be That Serious

Even if your business is not all that exciting on its own, that doesn’t mean you don’t have fun creative stories to tell on social media. 

Shoppers True Value Hardware is a great example of this approach in action. The family-owned hardware store in South Portland, Maine has built a following of more than 79,000 people on TikTok—largely by posting about their shop cats, Daniel and Bigfoot.

What began as a few funny, low-stakes videos of the cats evolved into a loyal and highly engaged audience. The content is light and entertaining, which makes the brand feel approachable and memorable—especially for a business that might not traditionally be seen as “fun.”

Shoppers Hardware isn’t an outlier. Many businesses have grown substantial followings by leaning into unexpected, human (or animal) elements of their brand. 

If you don’t have something as obvious as a shop cat to anchor your social presence, look to your employees for inspiration. An example is “Sara from Pareto,” also known as SellingSara, who went viral for recording her cold calls while working at Pareto, a sales recruitment and training provider. Or consider someone like Corporate Natalie, who has built a loyal following by poking fun at the absurdities of corporate life. Their content resonates because it’s self-aware, relatable, and unafraid to laugh at itself.

The takeaway is that not every piece of content needs to be serious—or profound. Often, it isn’t that deep. For audiences, it can be genuinely refreshing to see even the most buttoned-up businesses loosen up, show some personality, and have a little fun.