📰 Your Weekly Marketing Fix (3/04/2025)

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Why Short Videos Rule… But Long Videos Are Making a Comeback! 💥

Hey Nerds! 🎉 Welcome back to The Ad Nerd—where marketing feels less like rocket science and more like your cool friend spilling the secrets.

Let’s dive into this week’s treasure chest of marketing wisdom

In The News 🗞️

Ramen Goes Viral (Literally)

When a TikTok video showed a young girl in tears of joy over a box of Samyang’s spicy ramen, the Korean noodle brand seized the moment.

Read more →

a cell phone sitting on top of a table next to a potted plant

Trends vs. Authenticity

New research on social media marketing reveals a tricky balance for brands hopping on the latest meme or trend. On one hand, 40% of consumers think it’s “cool” when brands join viral trends, but a sizable 33% find it cringe-worthy if it’s done wrong or too late.

Read more →

Nerd Tip of the Week 🎯

Short-Form vs. Long-Form Video

Short videos (TikToks, Reels, Shorts) are everywhere – but does shorter always mean better? Let’s break it down:

Why Short Videos Dominate:

Algorithm-Friendly: More engagement = more visibility.

Quick & Shareable: 73% of consumers discover new products via short-form video.

Cost-Effective: Faster to produce, easier to iterate.

Perfect for Trends: They’re built for viral moments.

Why Longer Videos Are Making a Comeback:

More Depth: Great for storytelling, tutorials, and brand-building.

Higher Conversions: Longer videos can boost conversions by 34%.

Expanding Platforms: TikTok is testing 60-minute uploads – because users want long content!

The Smart Strategy: Balance Both

✅ Hook with short, follow up with long – A 30-second teaser on Instagram, linking to a 5-minute deep dive on YouTube.

✅ Repurpose & Remix – Slice up long videos into short clips, or compile shorts into a longer piece.

✅ Match format to your goal – Need awareness? Go short. Want to educate? Go long.

✅ Know your audience – Gen Z prefers quick hits, but niche audiences love in-depth content.

🔑 Key takeaway: Short videos get attention. Long videos build connection. Use both for maximum impact!

Real-World Example 🔎

"Barbie" ( Film 2023)

Barbie (2023) became the cultural moment of the year – thanks to its genius marketing strategy:

💡The "Breadcrumb" Approach: Months before launch, Barbie dropped mini content pieces – teaser trailers, meme-worthy clips, and 100+ brand collabs. Each short piece built hype without revealing too much.

💡Big Drops for Big Moments: Once engagement peaked, longer-form content (full trailers, behind-the-scenes videos) sealed the deal and drove excitement to the box office – leading to a $1.5B+ success!

🎬The Lesson: Start with snackable content to build buzz. Then, reward your engaged audience with longer, high-value content when they’re ready.

Tool of the Week 🛠️

🎥 CapCut (Free)

This week’s "Tool of the Week" is CapCut (made by TikTok’s parent company), chosen for its free tier, easy clip-cutting, effects, and auto-captioning.

Check it Out →

Recommendation of the Week

Growth In Reverse

Chenell Basilio

Want to grow your newsletter? Join 38,471 creators getting smarter about building their audience. Each week, I spend 20+ hours reverse engineering how top creators grow their newsletters. You get the roadmap to unlock the growth strategies they used.

Marketing Mythbuster 🧠

“Nobody Watches Long Videos Anymore”

🚫 False! People binge hours of content daily (hello, Netflix marathons!). Long videos thrive if they’re engaging – TikTok even reports a 40% rise in long-form video watch time.

👉 It’s not about length. It’s about value. Make every second count, and your audience will stick around.

Just for Fun 😂

💡Quirky Fact: The first-ever YouTube video (“Me at the zoo,” 2005) was only 19 seconds long – basically a YouTube Short before Shorts even existed. 😆

(Now go forth and conquer those video formats – whether 15 seconds or 15 minutes – and have some fun with it!)

That’s all for this week, Nerds! 🤓

Keep building, experimenting, and having fun with your marketing. Got questions or tips to share? Hit reply and let me know—I might feature you next week!

PS: Don’t forget to share The Ad Nerd with a friend who needs some quick marketing magic!

Keep learning and growing,