How Gen Z uses short-form content to fuel long-form consumption
The role of YouTube in Gen Z consumption of Network TV, Cable and FAST – the sample before the sundae.
08.28.2024
The explosion in popularity of short-form content (YouTube, TikTok, Instagram Reels) does not mean the death of long-form (Network, Cable, FAST, and SVOD). In the eyes of Gen Z, consumption of short-form content and long-form content are not mutually exclusive, but rather one is often used to fuel the other.
While Gen Z uses YouTube and other short-form platforms for several reasons, their interest in discovery is particularly noteworthy. They use short-form content to not only discover new interests, brands or restaurants, but also to discover new content.
59% of Gen Z uses short-form video apps to discover new long-form content (1).
This is a generation that grew up in a time where more video content was published every day than could be watched in a lifetime, and in doing so, developed a system to sift through the noise. That ‘system’ is short-form, easily accessible content. An easily digestible video, on a platform they already visit daily, gives them a taste before committing to a full episode or movie. Hence, the sample before the sundae.
By including a short-form content strategy, marketers can provide the samples that Gen Z expects to see before committing to a long-form video. When we consider that over 80% of Gen Z report using YouTube, beating out Instagram with 75% and TikTok at 69% (2), YouTube remains a powerhouse in reaching Gen Z.
