Every content budget conversation eventually turns into an argument about what to shoot next: a polished brand film, a founder interview, or another batch of fifteen-second clips nobody on the leadership team fully respects. HubSpot's 2026 State of Marketing data settles that argument with a number, not an opinion, and it is worth understanding before you plan next quarter's content spend.
Short-form video is the format marketers rank highest for ROI in 2026, at 49 percent, ahead of long-form video at 29 percent and live-streaming at 25 percent, per HubSpot's 2026 State of Marketing report. If your budget is limited, fund a recurring short-form shoot before a single polished long-form asset. Long-form and live still earn their place further down the funnel.
What HubSpot's 2026 data actually says
HubSpot's 2026 State of Marketing report asked marketers to rank which content format delivers the strongest return on investment. Short-form video won by a wide margin, not a narrow one.
| Format | Share of marketers ranking it top ROI |
|---|---|
| Short-form video | 49% |
| Long-form video | 29% |
| Live-streaming | 25% |
Sixty percent of marketers now actively use short-form video, and the report found 104 percent more marketers named it their single most valuable channel compared with 2024. That is not a format quietly gaining ground. That is a format that has taken over the conversation in two years.
Why is short-form pulling ahead specifically now?
Three things are compounding at once. AI editing tools have cut production time enough that 63 percent of marketers now use them to edit and scale video output, which lowers the cost per clip without lowering quality as much as it used to. Audience preference has shifted toward creator-style, UGC-feeling footage over polished studio spots, in most categories that sell to consumers directly. And the platforms themselves keep reallocating feed real estate toward short video: Instagram Reels alone now account for roughly half of time spent on the app, and 62 percent more marketing teams report using TikTok in 2026 than in 2025.
None of that is a fad narrative. It is three independent forces, cost, taste, and distribution, all pointing the same direction at the same time.
What should a small business fund first with a limited budget?
Not a single polished video. One well-run shoot day, planned around three or four themes, should produce fifteen to twenty-five usable short clips, which beats a single long-form asset on cost per usable piece of content almost every time.
| Content type | Cost to produce | Where it works hardest |
|---|---|---|
| Product or service demonstration | Low, phone-shot is fine | Paid social ads, product pages, DMs to warm leads |
| Founder or employee-led explainer | Low to medium | Organic reach, trust-building, LinkedIn and Reels |
| Customer testimonial, UGC-style | Low, often creator-supplied | Ad creative testing, landing pages, review sections |
| Polished brand film | High | Homepage hero, sponsorships, occasional flagship campaigns |
The first three rows are where the ROI data is telling you to spend first. The fourth still has a job, just not the job of carrying your monthly content calendar.
Book one shoot day a month, script three to four short concepts in advance, and film in batches with a phone or a single camera rather than a full crew. Cut that footage into fifteen to twenty-five short-form pieces across the month, and use a repurposing plan to stretch it across paid, organic and the website itself. One good shoot day, planned well, should outproduce a quarterly ad-hoc video budget on both cost and volume.
Does this mean stop making long-form or static content?
No. Long-form video still rank as the top ROI format for 29 percent of marketers, and live-streaming for 25 percent, which means both still earn real budget for a meaningful share of the market. What changes is the default. Long-form suits depth: a full product walkthrough, a webinar, an in-depth case study. Live suits urgency: launches, Q&A, real-time events. Short-form suits reach and volume, and reach and volume is what most small businesses are short on. Treat the HubSpot ranking as a prioritization signal, not a mandate to cancel every other format.
Is short-form video actually driving sales, or just views?
Broader 2026 video marketing data backs up the ROI ranking with revenue numbers. Eighty-seven percent of marketers report a direct increase in sales tied to video generally, and 82 percent report positive video ROI overall. Short-form earns the highest share of that credit specifically because it is cheap enough to produce in volume and test against real performance data, rather than being judged on instinct after a single expensive shoot.
A one-quarter allocation plan
- Set a recurring monthly or bi-weekly shoot day rather than a one-off annual video budget.
- Script three to four short concepts before you show up, so filming stays fast and cheap.
- Cut the raw footage into fifteen to twenty-five short clips, sized for the platforms your customers actually use.
- Route the strongest two or three clips into paid ad testing, since performance marketing teams need fresh creative on a weekly cadence, not a quarterly one.
- Save one long-form or live moment per quarter for the asset that genuinely benefits from depth, a full walkthrough or a launch event.
Frequently asked questions
What format do marketers rank as highest ROI in 2026?
Short-form video, at 49 percent of marketers ranking it their top ROI format, according to HubSpot's 2026 State of Marketing report. Long-form video came in at 29 percent and live-streaming at 25 percent, so short-form leads by a wide margin rather than a narrow one.
Does this mean I should stop making long-form or static content?
No. Long-form and live video still rank as strong ROI formats for a meaningful share of marketers, and they do different jobs in the funnel, building depth and trust rather than reach. The data says fund short-form first when budget is tight, not fund it exclusively.
Why is short-form video pulling ahead now specifically?
Three things stack together: AI editing tools have cut production time enough that 63 percent of marketers now use them to edit and scale video output, audiences increasingly prefer creator-style and UGC-feeling clips over polished ads, and platforms themselves keep shifting feed real estate toward short video, with Reels alone now accounting for about half of time spent on Instagram.
What should a small business fund first with a limited content budget?
One well-planned shoot day that produces 15 to 25 short clips usually outperforms a single polished long-form video on cost per usable asset. Prioritize product demonstrations, founder or employee-led explainers, and customer testimonials, since these convert into ads, organic posts and website content from the same footage.
Is short-form video actually driving sales, or just views?
Broader video marketing data from 2026 shows 87 percent of marketers report a direct increase in sales tied to video, and 82 percent report positive ROI overall. Short-form specifically drives the highest share of that because it is cheaper to produce and easier to test in volume than long-form content.
How much short-form video does a small business actually need to post?
There is no fixed number, but a realistic starting cadence for a small business is three to five short clips a week across the platforms where its customers already spend time, sourced from a single monthly or bi-weekly shoot rather than a video shot from scratch every time.
The takeaway
The format debate is over for anyone paying attention to the data instead of their own taste. Short-form video is not the trendy choice anymore, it is the default-ROI choice, and the businesses still routing most of their budget into occasional polished long-form pieces are choosing a worse trade on paper. Fund the recurring shoot day first. Everything else is a supplement to it now, not the other way around.