10 examples of short reels
Intro
Your first few frames are the most important here.
Think about it.
If someone is flicking through short videos, you want to be a ‘thumb-stopper’.
Grab attention in the first few seconds and give them a reason to stay.
Even more specifically, if they’re on a slower connection they’ll experience a brief pause on that first frame.
Make it count.
Bear in mind that while I’ve still rated the thumbnails on these videos, they’re not as important as others.
That’s because most audiences stumble upon a short as it’s organically inserted into their feed.
Unless they’re already browsing your profile, it’s unlikely they would see your thumbnail first.
However, Youtube is beginning to insert these into regular search results, so it’s still worth creating an attractive thumbnail.
#1 Rick Kettner
Most common words: Step, Number, Options
Thumbnail: Great
Length: 0:58
✅ Pros: Notice how the most common words are ‘step’ and ‘number’. Rick does a good job of guiding you through his video in this list format, which keeps you watching. You were primed with the “5 steps” in the title and opening dialogue, so you already expect to see five steps (much like the title of this guide).
❌ Cons: Rick hasn’t added burnt-in subtitles for those who’ll watch this muted on their phone. Granted, Youtube has auto-transcribed the video and will by default turn the subtitles on if you’re viewing it in Shorts on your phone, but if this were to be uploaded to another platform, he’d hit this problem.
#2 Ross Simmonds
Most common words: Going, Just, Look
Thumbnail: Bad
Length: 1:00
✅ Pros: That background warping helps create some motion in the video that would otherwise be quite static. However, I reckon this is a byproduct of a camera stabilisation effect added in post-production. Still, notice how Ross uses his hands a lot. This captures attention very quickly.
❌ Cons: The supplemental stock video that adds a graphical overlay to the concepts Ross discusses aren’t given enough screen time and may actually deter from the video. The bending of the neck for “pain points” doesn’t really fit, and staying on Ross may have been a better choice.
#3 Vusi Thembeckwayo
Most common words: Rolls-Royce, Buy, Seen
Thumbnail: Bad
Length: 0:28
✅ Pros: Notice the burnt-in captions right in the centre of the screen. With this placement, they’ll never fall beneath the UI buttons of any platform. They also use different colours to emphasise different words, so they never become part of the furniture.
❌ Cons: While this is a nice clip, it doesn’t seem to have much of a goal. There’s no call-to-action. The only intended next step would be to watch more of Vusi’s content and slowly become engulfed in his thought leadership. But just as he asks in his quote, what does watching his quotes give you access to?
#4 GaryVee Video Experience
Most common words: Believe, Marketing, Target
Thumbnail: Great - I’ve an idea of what it is!
Length: 0:11
✅ Pros: Whoever edited this found a great quote to clip up. Early marketers quote GaryVee a LOT, but it’s easy to see why from this short. It’s quick, easy to understand and inspirational.
❌ Cons: While the content is motivating, it leaves quite a bit to the imagination. This is all hype, no substance (in my opinion). However, as a short, it does its job in getting you interested and wanting to view more content.
#5 Learn with Shopify
Most common words: Content, Trying, Sell
Thumbnail: Great
Length: 0:42
✅ Pros: Keep an eye at the top of the video. The editor has inserted their own burnt-in play bar. Depending on the player you use for shorts, you may not see a play bar. For those who get twitchy after seven seconds, this helps people hold on just a little longer.
❌ Cons: The audio edit in this video is a little rough. You can hear the cut at the beginning of the second tip. This can easily be ironed out in the edit by adding in a little audio dissolve. It’s an extra step, but it makes all the difference.
#6 Chris Walker
Most common words: Fail, Product, Category
Thumbnail: Great
Length: 0:18
✅ Pros: Having the title of the video on screen all the way through helps drive home the topic. When you’re flicking through video after video, it’s easy to forget what the current video is about (if it’s not giving you time to think - like this one).
❌ Cons: While the quote here is interesting, it lacks some context to make it completely understandable. The video could’ve been a little longer to explain what the four “quadrants” are. It could’ve also used that extra time to give the ending a bit more breathing room, as it’s quite a harsh cut off.
#7 The Strategy Coach
Most common words: Apple, Innovation, Startups
Thumbnail: Bad
Length: 0:59
✅ Pros: The little animated guy really does help keep attention on this video. While the text itself is pretty long-winded, the speed in which he talks, and the good lip-syncing becomes a little hypnotic.
❌ Cons: As said above, the script for this video is very long-winded, and takes a few seconds to get into the meat of the content. The video edit underneath is also quite jarring, with other shots temporarily cutting in.
#8 Magical
Most common words: Live, Mean, Want
Thumbnail: Great
Length: 0:07
✅ Pros: Using Youtube’s ‘Remix’ feature (similar to TikTok), creators are able to quickly make funny relatable clips based on the quotes of other content. This clip being seven seconds, it could easily fit on the long-gone Vine, which found the optimal viewer attention span.
❌ Cons: Unless there’s supporting content, this humorous content can only go so far. It’s good for building an audience, and possibly an audience who’ll share, but how do you monetise them?
#9 Philip Ruffini
Most common words: Twitter, Marketing, Strategy
Thumbnail: Bad
Length: 0:43
✅ Pros: That hook at the beginning is excellent. Making a comparison between your point and an idea or person that’s well-known is a great way to visualise your concept in the viewer’s mind. ‘Jumping on the back of’ Elon Musk’s popularity also means Philip’s tapping into an audience who are already searching for and viewing Musk-related content.
❌ Cons: I’m struggling here. Phlip’s pulled out all the stops. If I had to pick something, I’d mention how he doesn’t really reach an actionable ending. Sure, “Controversy > Tweet > Product launch” almost hits the mark, but it just needs to be tweaked to be more relatable for the audience. Something like “Build controversy > Promote your product > Launch > Repeat”.
#10 Philip VanDusen
Most common words: Brands, Type, Competitors
Thumbnail: Good - but would you know what it is from just this?
Length: 0:45
✅ Pros: There’s so much to unpack in the first few seconds. Firstly, that zoom in that was created in post (look at the first frame for the repeated images) to give it an initial punch. “You would not believe” is an incredible first line. It hooks the viewer from the first second, and notice how it’s accompanied by his own custom avatar.
❌ Cons: For all its upfront brilliance, the clip feels like it slows down the longer you watch. Those punches at the beginning need to be followed up with either occasional similar punches, or incrementally large pops to keep the attention span the same or greater. The video editor has left in some longer sentences towards the end that could’ve been cut down or chopped entirely.
Get 50 more examples
These examples come from the free PDF guide ‘6 Types of Video Every Startup Should Create’, which you can download on this page:
