by Daniel Iles, founder of Viral Coach
When marketing first began its shift from traditional to digital channels, content marketing was one of many options companies could use. Today, however, it has become one of the options companies can’t ignore.
Statistics show that nearly 80 percent of shoppers use social media as a research tool before making a purchase. With certain demographics, the percentage of those influenced by digital content is even higher.
Companies that have shifted their strategies to respond to that particular trend in consumer behavior have not been disappointed. According to the HubSpot State of Marketing Report for 2025, website, blog, and SEO efforts are the top producers of marketing ROI for B2B brands. For B2C brands, content marketing is in the top three.
For small businesses, leaning into content marketing can be challenging. Producing the type of content that attracts consumers, provides leads, and builds loyalty can require more time, money, and expertise than most small businesses have at their disposal.
However, there is a type of impactful content marketing that is attainable for small businesses: short-form video. With short-form video, small businesses can tap into the organic marketing opportunities social media provides by delivering content that empowers better, smarter, and faster growth.
How short-form video content drives small business marketing success
Today’s digital landscape has opened the door for small businesses to connect with potential customers anywhere at any time. But it has also opened the floodgates when it comes to marketing via social media content. As a result, consumers are inundated with ads, and companies are now dealing with a skeptical consumer in a post-trust environment.
To gain consumers’ business, you first need to gain their trust. Short-form video is the fastest way for companies to build trust with social media content because it shows the company’s face, voice, and values.
Consumers who are allowed to connect with the personality behind the business through consistent content tend to feel like they are buying from someone they know, rather than just giving their money to another corporation.
Once companies develop short-form content that builds trust, social platforms allow the value of those videos to compound. Unlike paid ads that die the second the company stops paying for them, social media content posted organically has a far longer shelf life. A single 60-second video can drive sales for months if it resonates.
Short-form video also maximizes social media content marketing potential for small businesses due to its massive organic reach. The algorithms for TikTok, Reels, and Shorts are interest-based, not follower-based, which means even accounts with zero followers can rack up thousands of views — and leads — with the correct format and message.
How to optimize short-form video content
Companies get the best return on their content efforts when they commit to building a system. One video, no matter how great, won’t build trust. Consumers need to see quality each time, which requires creating a system that allows business owners to produce content at scale.
Consistency is the first pillar of a great social media content system. Companies that want the algorithms on social media platforms to amplify their reach need to post on a regular schedule.
Establish a cadence, perhaps starting with one video per day, and stick with it. If that sounds overwhelming, don’t forget that we live in the era of artificial intelligence. There are plenty of AI-powered video production tools available to help you capture, edit, and post social media content effectively and efficiently.
Strategy is the second pillar. When establishing a social media content strategy, ensure that you define what you want it to accomplish, produce content that pursues that goal, and assess how well you are achieving it.
Just like with other marketing tools, video content should be designed to meet a consumer in a particular place and move them to the next step in the sales funnel. A solid strategy will utilize hook-heavy videos at the top of the funnel, personal stories and case studies in the mid-funnel, and soft CTAs and social proof at the bottom to seal the deal.
A solid strategy will also prioritize impact over aesthetics. A pretty AI-generated image from Canva will not deliver if your goal is increasing revenue. Focus on the message you want to convey before obsessing over looks or production value. Growth will happen when you consistently communicate with clarity, convey emotion, and deliver a message that resonates with the market.
Small businesses can start to build unbreakable trust when they embrace video content as more than just a supplement to marketing efforts. When done correctly, video content can stand on its own, replacing disjointed marketing plans and driving far better results than any other marketing channel.
Daniel Iles is the Founder of Viral Coach, a leading short-form content agency helping businesses scale visibility, leads, and revenue through social media. With a combined following of over 2 million and an average reach of 100 million monthly views across platforms, Iles has spent the last several years reverse-engineering what makes content go viral — and turning that knowledge into a scalable system for business growth. In 2023, he launched Viral Coach as a performance-based content agency designed to help companies doing $1M to $50M in annual revenue replace bloated marketing funnels with lean, effective short-form video strategies. The company reached $1M/month in revenue in under a year.