What role does short-form video play in your newsroom today, and how has that changed in recent years?
VD was founded in 2020 as a video-based and social-first newsroom. So you can imagine how central short-form video has always been to our editorial and content strategy: first with IGTV, then with Instagram Reels, and at the same time with TikTok and Facebook.
If we exclude YouTube, content consumption on platforms has always been characterized by speed. Although for a period of time we were led to believe that audiences were moving towards longer formats - with TikTok introducing longer videos and Instagram Reels expanding from 90 to 180 seconds - our data shows that audience retention is still strongest within the first 10 to 30 seconds.
What are the main goals behind your short video strategy - reach, engagement, subscriptions, brand building, or something else?
At the moment, all the short-form content we produce is free and our main goal is reach: increasing brand awareness and generating engagement.
The most valuable metrics for us are shares, comments and saves. These actions show, on one hand, the user’s intention to build a relationship with the media outlet and with the community around it; on the other hand, they are a measure of the value we are able to provide to our audience.
How is short-form video production organized in your newsroom? Who is involved in creating the videos?
The VD editorial and production team is made up of 15 people: one social media manager, seven journalists and authors, a video department with three videomakers and two producers, and a graphic design team made up of two art directors.
The production of short-form content starts with the approval of an author’s proposal. The author is responsible both for writing the script and editing the video.
From finalization to possible revisions and approval rounds, the whole process usually takes around five to six hours of work.
If a video requires a more complex creative approach or more advanced technical editing, our designers and video editors get involved, but this happens quite rarely.
The final step is publishing and monitoring comments and interactions on social platforms.
What does your typical workflow for producing short videos look like, and what are the biggest operational challenges?
The main challenge is balancing quality and creativity with speed of publication. Short-form video is one of the formats we use to cover current events, trends and topics that require a fast reaction from the newsroom. In these cases, beyond maintaining our editorial identity and perspective, timing is crucial.
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