The Short-Form Trap: Why Your Higher Ed Marketing Isn't Connecting

If your institution's video strategy lives entirely in 15- and 30-second clips, you may be leaving your best story on the cutting room floor. Prospective students are already hunting for longer, deeper content, and now one of the biggest platforms in the world is building for exactly that.

On this episode of ROI University, Chris and Rustam break down Instagram's move into long-form video, what it signals about where attention is heading, and why higher ed marketers should start building a long-form content library now.

Instagram is coming for long-form video

In late October 2026, Instagram began testing Features, a format that lets creators upload videos up to 90 minutes long. Creators can link their short Reels to the full video, so a viewer who discovers a clip can keep watching without leaving the app.

The test started with select creators in Brazil and is expanding to creators in the U.S. It also lines up with Instagram's push onto the living room TV, where YouTube has been the most-watched streamer for three years.

Rustam wasn't surprised. "I was kind of wondering why Instagram wasn't taking advantage of this," he said. The audience is already there. What's been missing is a way to keep watching when a 60-second clip ends and the real story begins.

Prospective students already want the long version

Rustam's eldest daughter is researching master's programs. She follows a few schools on Instagram, but when she wants to hear what a program is really like from current students, she goes to YouTube.

That split is the opportunity. Short clips catch her eye; longer videos answer her questions. "Imagine if she didn't have to do that," Rustam said. "Now she's got all of that insight and information in one place."

The same pattern shows up outside higher ed. Rustam follows a solo sailor who posts short clips on Instagram, but every time, he jumps to YouTube to watch the full story. When a platform makes people leave to get the whole picture, the institution loses the moment.

Attention isn't shrinking. It's getting selective.

It's easy to assume younger audiences only want fast content. TikTok and Snapchat deliver hit after hit of dopamine. But the same students will sit through an hour-long YouTube video on a topic they care about, or watch a 90-minute MrBeast video start to finish.

"I almost feel like it's the extremes," Rustam said. The middle ground is where Instagram sees room to grow: a 20-minute campus tour, a student's day in the life, an alumni story. Content long enough to answer real questions, delivered where students already scroll.

The takeaway for marketers: students aren't less attentive. They're more selective about what earns their time.

Human stories beat AI-generated filler

AI video is everywhere right now, and it's easier than ever to produce. Chris's take is clear: use AI to help with the work, but don't let it write all your content and make all your videos.

"Leave that up to the human to really have a personal, experience-based story to share," he said. Instagram's bet on long-form is a bet that storytelling still matters, and that it isn't going anywhere.

Rustam pointed to the 15- and 30-second institutional spots that all start to look the same. What resonates is content with real weight behind it: actual student experiences, real voices, real places. Long-form content should do two things. It has to earn attention, and it has to build trust. If you're planning those videos, our video marketing best practices for higher education are a good starting point.

What about monetization, and Google?

One open question: creators don't yet have a YouTube-style revenue share on Features. That may slow big YouTube creators from moving over, though they can post in both places. Rustam's view is that it will come. Where the audience and attention go, the ad model follows.

Both hosts admitted they don't mind relevant ads. As marketers, they often watch to see how an ad was built and what the call to action is.

Could this pressure Google? YouTube is a big part of Google's video and Performance Max inventory. Chris doesn't see Google Ads going away, but he welcomes another powerful platform with a real audience for long-form storytelling.

The takeaway

The headline is Instagram's 90-minute video test. The real lesson is simpler: if your institution isn't investing in content, you should be.

• Use short-form for discovery and long-form for understanding. Let Reels catch attention, then link to the full story.
• Start building a long-form library now. Early adopters on a new format have a head start. Campus tours, student experience stories and alumni journeys are a good place to begin.
• Keep it human. Real students and real experiences build the trust that drives enrollment decisions.
• Tell a consistent story everywhere. Your value proposition should show up the same way on Google, Meta, YouTube and whatever comes next.
• Test before you scale. Treat new formats as experiments and measure more than views.

Not sure how your content is performing across platforms? Start with a simple attribution model, or reach out to RGI for an audit and strategy session.