How to turn one piece of content into dozens of audience touchpoints

Organisations invest significant time and resources into creating content. Whether it’s a webinar, conference presentation, podcast, panel discussion or thought leadership interview, these activities are often designed to educate audiences, showcase expertise and build credibility.

Yet many of these valuable assets have a surprisingly short lifespan. Once the event is over or the webinar recording is uploaded, attention quickly moves elsewhere.

How to grab their attention

With social media leading the communication space, it is important to create content that will catch the attention of potential clients and is relevant to the algorithm. Hour-long webinars and YouTube videos discussing your insights, services and upcoming events are great for giving your audience information but it may not be the quickest way to grab your viewers’ attention.

Short-form content has increasingly become popular with marketing due to how effectively it can transfer people from scrolling on reels to any desired content such as webinars, YouTube videos, and workshops.

How to choose the right clip

It is crucial to be purposeful when choosing your clip. 

Choosing an attention-grabbing and interesting clip from your main media is very important for creating successful and engaging short-form content.  

Your clip should aim to:

• Focus on one clear topic
• Use engaging information about the topic
• Include an element to redirect the viewer to the full video such as a button or link

You should avoid

• Clips that cut off the speaker abruptly
• Clips with a lack of context 
• Clips with long and unwanted gaps and pauses 

Unengaging or poorly edited clips can quickly lose an audience’s attention. In contrast, content that captures interest in the first few seconds is more likely to generate views, encourage engagement and be surfaced to a broader audience through the platform’s recommendation systems.

Add a call to action

The goal of your reel is to lead them to engage with your main content, and this requires a call to action. This can be as simple as adding the link to the full video in the reel’s caption or adding an outro to your clip that encourages viewers to watch the full discussion.

Keep it consistent 

Consistency is key when it comes to short-form content. Rather than treating reels as a one-off activity, organisations should look for opportunities to create a regular stream of content. Consistent posting helps maintain audience engagement, reinforce key messages and increase the likelihood of reaching new audiences over time.

By incorporating short-form content into your broader communications strategy, you can extend the reach of existing content, connect with audiences in new ways and maximise the value of the insights and expertise you are already creating.