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Content & Social

Short-form video

Also known as: Reels · TikToks · YouTube Shorts · vertical video

Definition

Short-form video is vertical, mobile-first video made for swipe-through feeds such as Instagram Reels, TikTok, YouTube Shorts and Snapchat Spotlight. It is judged in the first seconds, so the hook and structure matter more than production polish.

One idea per video, the point in the first two seconds, captions on by default, and a clear next step at the end. The platforms are where the audience already is: in GWI's Q2 2026 survey, published by DataReportal, 78.5 per cent of UAE internet users aged 16 and over said they had used Instagram in the past month and 75.5 per cent TikTok, a self-reported measure that differs from advertising reach figures.

Write captions in Arabic and English, and choose the spoken register on purpose: Khaleeji reads as local in a way Modern Standard Arabic often doesn't. Creators posting promotional content need an Advertiser Permit, paid or not, so check it before commissioning. In health, Dubai Health Authority's 2022 social media standard requires documented consent from anyone shown in an ad, so a clinic's patient footage needs paperwork before it needs editing. Short clips tire fast, so plan a pipeline of variants rather than one hero video.

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