Everyone from big brands to independent marketers is expected to be comfortable with short-form video creation. But for those who have not worked as creators or have more experience with long-form video, it’s difficult to know where to start.

Here are some of the tools, and their use cases, creators and brands should consider when creating short-form video.

Platform-based tools: For many creators and brands, TikTok and Reels both offer all the tools that they will need. These tools allow for quick and seamless creation, but can be limited in their capabilities.

• TikTok can be a one-stop shop for creators and brands who don’t need extensive editing tools. The platform offers filters, augmented reality (AR) effects, the ability to stitch clips together, green screen functionality, music overlays, and auto-generated captions.
• Reels’ editing functionality is pretty similar to TikTok, albeit more limited in terms of filters, effects, and available music. For creators and brands looking to post fairly basic video content, Reels’ native tools can suffice.
• LinkedIn does not offer native editing tools. That means brands and creators making short video content for LinkedIn need to either cross-post uploads from TikTok or Instagram or use a third-party editing platform.

Platform-owned external tools: The social platforms also offer tools that have more editing capabilities and are useful for cross-posting. These tools require a bit more knowledge to use, but can make cross-posting to different platforms easier.

• CapCut (owned by ByteDance) is a more sophisticated editing tool than what TikTok offers in-app. It supports multiple layers of video, text, and audio, as well as more advanced transitions than TikTok alone. CapCut also offers high-quality exports that do not have a watermark, making it a useful tool for videos to be posted on LinkedIn, Reels, or YouTube Shorts.
• Edits is Instagram’s upcoming answer to CapCut. It's a standalone video-editing app the platform will release at the end of March.

Third-party tools: While TikTok, Reels, and their associated apps may offer everything creators and brands need for short-form video, there are tons of other tools on the market for enhancing short-form video.These tools can add a great deal more polish and efficiency to your process, but they often come with a higher price tag.

• Editing tools like Adobe Premiere Pro and InShot are useful for those looking to go even further than what platforms have to offer. These are useful for creators or brands looking to make studio-quality edits, with special effects or complex transitions.
• Editing platform Descript allows for video editing using the transcript of the video as a guide, so creators and brands can cut out filler words without needing to know timestamps.

Non-editing tools: Not every tool is for stitching clips together. Other third-party tools can help with specific parts of video creation.

• Transformative tools like Opus Clip can repurpose long-form content like YouTube videos or tutorials for short-form platforms. Tools like Pictory and Lumen5 can also turn text prompts or blog posts into short-form video.
• Stock footage and music are available in tools like Pixabay and Artlist.

Graphic design tool Canva is a resource for incorporating unique designs and animations.

This was originally featured in the EMARKETER Daily newsletter. For more marketing insights, statistics, and trends, subscribe here.