How do you master short-form video creatives for TikTok and Reels?

Creative Milkshake founder Mirella Crespi broke down some of the processes and principles behind her team’s world-class short-form video output for more than 400 industry-leading brands at a recent Affiliate World event. And as you’d expect for a company named after a milkshake, her first recommendation is to mix it up.

🔀 Creative Diversification

Creative diversification is the key to succeeding on TikTok and Reels. Because of how the Meta and TikTok ad auctions function, too-similar ads will saturate your audiences across platforms and burn through your creatives more quickly.

Videos based on specific personas with intentional creative angles, however, can make it easier for the platform algorithms to unlock new segments — essentially handling your targeting for you.

If you create ads that target a unique pain point for a niche demographic, those customers are more likely to engage with your content. And because people buy the same things for different reasons, different assets that target different pain points can expand your reach without relying on spend or oversaturating the market.

In other words, having diversity in your creatives allows you to reach different audiences for more sustainable performance over time.

Also, you can — and should! — be intentional with the types of assets you create, which includes identifying and tracking them according to the tactics they employ. These factors can include:

  • Levels of Awareness: Discovery, Research, or Action
  • Messaging: Functional or Emotional
  • POV: Brand or Customer
  • Voice & Tone: Humorous, Educational, Provocative, Motivational, etc.
  • Talent: On-Screen and Voiceover
  • Visuals: Graphics, Fonts, Animations, etc.
Creative Diversification

🎯 5 Attention Triggers

In addition to the components above, Mirella and her team also use and track a variety of attention triggers to capture users and keep them engaged. Top-performing triggers include:

  1. Music and Sound Effects: Fast-paced music and custom sounds are proven to boost ad memorability. STAT.
  2. Transitions: Fast scene changes correlate with video retention, especially when tied to music rhythmically.
  3. Movement: Movement within a video catches the eye and keeps the narrative moving.
  4. Text: Text pop-ups can highlight keywords and provide visual guidance toward a call-to-action.
  5. Emojis: Emojis humanize content and make it feel more native.

⭐️ 2024 Trends & Opportunities

First, if you aren’t already using AI tools for all stages of development and iteration, you need to find ones that work for you and incorporate them into your workflow. AI-generated voices and even on-screen talent can be a quick way to create assets.

Next, focus on creative analysis metrics like first-second retention, which is measured as video play actions divided by impressions. If your first-second retention is lower than 90%, changing the video’s thumbnail or editing the first second to stop the scroll can yield better results.
Creative Analysis Metrics

Finally, one video creation method that is showing promise is a sound-first approach. Data shows that more than 95% of TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Reels users spend at least some time with the sound on, which makes sound an underrated tool for capturing attention that can supercharge campaign performance.

🏆 4 Execution Best Practices

Mirella also shared four best practices for video creation she’s learned from crafting so many assets for clients.

Best Practice #1: One product at a time. Three at most.

In a conversion-focused ad, the product should be the main focus. Make one video for each product. If you must include multiple products and the video makes sense creatively, limit yourself to no more than three products so that the key points will be clear.

Best Practice #2: Clearly disclose price and value.

Viewers like to know the price and value of your product up front, especially on TikTok. Be transparent about your price and emphasize current promotions or offers.

Best Practice #3: Diversify your talent.

A large portion of top-performing ads, especially in verticals like fashion, beauty, home goods, kids & babies, etc. feature mainly women. Split-testing different ages, genders, sizes, and accents can make a huge difference!

Best Practice #4: 30 seconds is the sweet spot.

Most top-performing video ads are over 20 seconds but rarely exceed 40 seconds. Consider short attention spans when crafting your ads, and use that time to showcase function, details, benefits, and offers.