To combat shrinking attention spans, social video content must feature a change every two seconds. This principle, borrowed from professional film and TV production, can be a visual cut, a new text overlay, a sound effect, or a transition. Constant stimulus is necessary to prevent viewers from getting bored and scrolling away.

Viewer attention wanes just a few seconds into a video. To combat this, content creators should strategically insert a 'pattern interrupt'—an unexpected pop-up, a quick call to action, or a visual distraction—around the six-second mark to jolt the viewer and retain their engagement.

Most content is filmed at eye-level. To instantly stand out, radically change the camera's perspective. Filming from the floor, taping the phone to the ceiling, or capturing a subject from a great distance creates a visual pattern interrupt that makes viewers pause and pay attention.

When repurposing short-form videos to YouTube Shorts, prioritize search engine optimization in your titles. Even if the content only lightly touches on a topic, title it based on what users are searching for to leverage YouTube's power as the world's second-largest search engine, not just as a social feed.

The old strategy of creating long, infographic-style pins is obsolete. Pinterest now prioritizes authentic, scroll-stopping videos similar to Instagram Reels. Even poorly designed but powerful videos that grab attention outperform highly polished, traditional pins, signaling a major shift in creative strategy.

In crowded feeds, purely educational content is often too boring to capture attention. Creators should embed entertainment, storytelling, and curiosity into educational topics to keep viewers engaged and coming back for more.

Consumers see thousands of posts a day, making generic sales graphics invisible. To capture attention, use creative formats that are entertaining and playful, such as creating a fake news announcement about your sale or parodying a well-known ad trope.

This psychological tool, called "pattern interruption," uses extremely short clips to keep the viewer's brain in a constant state of digestion. By preventing the brain from having enough time to form an opinion (e.g., "this is boring"), you maximize retention and keep them from scrolling away.

Short-form videos are not meant to replace your deeper teachings. Instead, view them as the initial touchpoint—the first impression that captures attention and funnels new people toward your more substantial long-form content like podcasts or detailed tutorials.