Platforms like Instagram and TikTok have cemented the power of short form videos. While YouTube has long been a driving force of online video content, in recent years, there’s been a push towards longer, slicker videos on the platform. This is a natural product of so many creators going professional, using their YouTube views for full-time earning. But now the pendulum is swinging back, and YouTube’s Shorts are a direct response to TikTok – and Reels on the Meta platforms, to a lesser degree – with the palpable immediacy and authenticity of short, portrait-oriented video.

If you’re already rolling your eyes and doubling down on your commitment to never download “that app” or add it to your company’s marketing mix, stop. TikTok has around 1.7 billion active monthly users globally, and an estimated 12 million of them call Mzansi home. TikTok has identified South Africa specifically, and Africa more generally, as key growth areas, for both users and advertisers. According to World Wide Worx’ SA Social Media Landscape Report 2023, it has overtaken Instagram, and claimed second place, after Facebook, with 30% penetration of urban South Africans aged 15 and up.