“Check out our latest Shorts.” That friendly invitation might sound like a fashion brand’s summer promo, but it’s increasingly a refrain in corporate boardrooms. In an era when short-form video has exploded in popularity, even Fortune 500 companies are urging investors and customers alike to watch their bite-sized clips on YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels. Once confined to dance challenges and teen influencers, these 60-second videos are now a serious strategic tool for publicly traded businesses across industries. The reason is simple: attention is the currency of the digital age, and short videos are minting it by the billions. In fact, Meta recently revealed that Reels now account for over half of all time spent on Instagram – a leap from just 20% two years ago. YouTube Shorts, for its part, is averaging a staggering 200 billion views per day. The audience has flocked to short-form content, and public companies are learning that if they don’t join in, they risk being left in the dust.
Below, we explore five compelling reasons public companies should invest in short-form video platforms as a core part of their communication and growth strategy. From unmatched audience reach to direct revenue generation, the case for going short is stronger than ever.
1. Massive Reach and Engagement on Tap
The sheer scale of YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels is difficult to ignore. YouTube Shorts now boasts over 2 billion logged-in monthly viewers, and its videos rack up tens of billions of views each day. Instagram’s Reels feature is similarly dominant – it has grown so popular that Reels alone now make up 50% of the time users spend on Instagram. This represents a fundamental shift in how people consume content, with short-form videos driving engagement like nothing before. For companies, this means an opportunity to broadcast brand messages on platforms where eyeballs already are in the hundreds of millions. Each “short” has the potential to reach a younger, mobile-savvy demographic that traditional ads might miss. Consider that people are resharing Instagram Reels 4.5 billion times every day, according to Meta – a built-in virality engine that can amplify a clever marketing message across the globe overnight. In short, the audience is massive and highly active. Companies that master these platforms can rapidly build brand awareness on a scale that would take far more time (and money) with conventional media.
2. High ROI and Conversion Rates
Short-form videos are not just trendy – they’re measurably effective. Marketers consistently rank short videos as the content format with the highest return on investment. In one 2025 survey, 71% of marketers said short-form video provides the best ROI, far surpassing long-form video or live streaming. The reasons become clear when you look at engagement metrics: users are more likely to watch a 30-second clip to the end, meaning the message actually lands. YouTube Shorts, for example, achieved an industry-leading 5.9% engagement rate in Q1 2024, edging out even TikTok in users’ responsiveness. What this translates to is more bang for each marketing buck – higher viewer retention, more likes, shares, and click-throughs per video. Completion rates and repeat views on short videos tend to be strong, reinforcing brand recall. And thanks to algorithm-driven feeds, a well-crafted Reel or Short can keep attracting viewers for days or weeks as the platform’s recommendation system works its magic. It’s telling that advertisers are taking note: YouTube’s parent company reported that ad monetization for Shorts more than doubled year-over-year, reflecting how brands are shifting spend into these high-engagement slots. In sum, short-form content isn’t just reaching people – it’s prompting them to act, making it a smart investment for conversion-minded companies.
3. Authentic Storytelling and Brand Loyalty
Another key advantage of short-form video is the ability to humanize a company’s brand and connect on a personal level. Unlike glossy traditional ads, a 15- or 60-second smartphone video often comes across as more genuine and relatable. Businesses are using Reels and Shorts to pull back the curtain – sharing quick behind-the-scenes glimpses, employee spotlights, or day-in-the-life vignettes that build trust by showing the humans behind the logo. This authenticity pays dividends in customer loyalty. Modern audiences, especially Gen Z, crave brands that communicate in a fun, conversational style rather than corporate boilerplate. Short videos are the perfect medium for that. For example, language-learning company Duolingo (NASDAQ: DUOL) cultivated a quirky, irreverent persona on TikTok and Reels via its owl mascot. By leaning into comedic skits and trending memes, Duolingo amassed over 8 million TikTok followers in just a year, vastly expanding its fan base. That kind of engagement isn’t just vanity metrics – it has translated into real-world growth, with Duolingo becoming a favorite app among young learners. The lesson for big companies? If you can make customers smile or feel a personal connection in under 60 seconds, you’re far more likely to earn their long-term business. Short-form video allows even the stodgiest industries to put a human face forward, whether it’s a CEO casually explaining a new product in a Shorts clip or engineers doing a quick lab tour on Reels. The boost in brand goodwill and loyalty can be substantial.
4. Direct Sales and Revenue Growth Opportunities
It’s not only about soft metrics like engagement and loyalty – short videos can drive hard sales. Social platforms have increasingly built e-commerce into Reels and Shorts, enabling viewers to buy products with just a tap. This “shoppable video” integration essentially shortens the journey from inspiration to purchase: TikTok’s in-app shopping, Instagram’s product tagging, and YouTube’s integrated shop links let users move from watching to checkout in seconds. For public companies, especially in retail and consumer goods, this is a potent tool for boosting revenue. A viewer might see a 20-second Reel of a new sneaker line and instantly tap to purchase, no ad redirect needed. We’ve already seen dramatic case studies of short-form content generating sales spikes. One oft-cited example is Chipotle’s viral #GuacDance campaign on TikTok (a format now mirrored on Reels) – it prompted fans to post short videos dancing for free guacamole. The payoff? The campaign became TikTok’s highest-performing branded challenge at the time and led to Chipotle’s biggest guacamole day ever, with over 800,000 orders of guac served. The one-week challenge boosted avocado usage by 68%, translating a fun video trend into real dollars. Even beyond one-off hits, short videos improve the marketing funnel economics: higher engagement plus built-in shopping links means better conversion rates and clearer attribution of what content drives sales. Companies can literally watch the revenue impact roll in via analytics dashboards that track clicks from a YouTube Short to an online store. In short, Reels and Shorts are not just for branding – they’re becoming direct revenue-generating channels.
5. Strategic Edge in the Public Markets
Adopting short-form video isn’t just a marketing tactic – it’s increasingly a mark of a forward-looking business in the eyes of investors and analysts. In the public markets, companies that demonstrate savvy digital engagement often enjoy a halo effect on their brand value. Embracing platforms like Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts signals that a company is in tune with contemporary consumer behavior (particularly of younger demographics) and is meeting its audience where they spend time. This can translate into competitive advantage across sectors. It’s telling that even traditionally conservative industries are getting on board. B2B and financial services firms, for instance, have started using LinkedIn’s short-video features and Facebook Reels to share quick insights or thought leadership, reaching decision-makers in snackable format. We’re seeing that no sector is truly “too serious” for short-form content – whether it’s a bank posting a 30-second economic update or an industrial company showcasing a new technology with a bite-sized demo, the format adapts to the message. Companies that ride this wave successfully often see tangible business growth as a result. Just look at e.l.f. Beauty, the cosmetics company: by pivoting heavily to TikTok/Reels content to engage Gen Z, e.l.f. saw a 49% surge in sales year-over-year and handily outpaced its industry’s growth. That kind of performance gets Wall Street’s attention. Or consider Chipotle again – its embrace of digital platforms (including short videos) coincided with its stock hitting an all-time high as digital sales nearly doubled and same-store sales jumped 10%. Investors understand that strong brand engagement on emerging platforms can lead to real financial results, whether through higher sales, a broadened customer base, or a burnished brand that commands pricing power.
In the end, short-form videos have evolved from social media curiosities into strategic communication and growth tools. They allow public companies to broadcast their story in creative ways, strengthen brand equity, and even drive revenue – all while aligning with how modern consumers prefer to consume content. The takeaway for any business in the public markets is clear: leveraging YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, and their kin is no longer optional if you want to capture the next generation of customers (and shareholders). As attention spans shrink and content feeds speed up, those brief, vertical videos may hold the key to long-term success. In the world of capital markets, savvy companies are realizing that sometimes, big gains come from thinking small – one short clip at a time.
Here are our top 5 shorts videos.
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