Articles ·
Short videos for small business: what we learned from our first TikTok and YouTube Shorts
In October we started posting short animated videos about our own product on TikTok, YouTube Shorts and Instagram, with no ad budget. Here is what the first data showed and the rules we took from it — they apply to any small business.
What happened with the first videos
The videos were about our free Website Checker. Within two days on YouTube, one video — “Is your website a zombie?” — got five times more views than the next. Informational videos (“Your website has 4 locks”, “Can customers find you on Google?”) were barely watched. And the stats showed the key thing: 86% of viewers swiped away in the first seconds. That is normal for short video — and a reason to change the opening frames, not the topic.
Rule 1. The character from the first frame
Viewers decide in the first seconds. Put the main character and the main question on screen immediately — no intros, logos or “hi, today I’ll tell you”. A character with personality — a zombie, a piggy bank, a little shop — holds attention better than text on a coloured background.
Rule 2. Shorter is better
The average view of our 16-second videos was about 10 seconds, so new ones are 8–10 seconds: a question, three steps, a takeaway. One idea per video.
Rule 3. Humour and emotion over a list of facts
The video where a website turns into a zombie did better than the one listing checks. People share what made them smile, not what taught them something. Keep facts for your website — the video only needs to spark interest.
Rule 4. A separate link for each network
TikTok and Instagram do not tell your website where a visitor came from, so all that traffic shows up as “direct”. We made short links with a tag for each network (for example, olbo.com.ua/tt for TikTok) and put them on the final frame and in the caption. Now we can see which network actually brings people.
Rule 5. Put the link in the caption before posting
On TikTok you cannot edit a caption after posting, and new accounts often cannot pin comments. On Instagram, links in captions are not clickable — only the profile link works. Plan this before you press “Post”.
Rule 6. One video a day
We uploaded ten videos in one evening — and the next day YouTube temporarily blocked new uploads from the new channel. Platforms also favour accounts that post regularly over ones that dump everything at once. One video a day per network is a sensible pace to start.
What not to promise yourself (or clients)
Platforms’ algorithms decide view counts, so no honest provider can guarantee them. What you can control: the first seconds, length, one idea, regularity and tracking links so you can see results.
If you want videos like these for your business
We make short animated videos for TikTok, Reels, Shorts and Facebook — from €95 per video, with three ideas to choose from and a version for every network. Examples and the brief are on our Social media videos page.