Format

A format is the shape a piece of content takes, independent of its topic: a talking-head clip, a process video, a before-and-after, a list read to camera. The same idea can be filmed in several formats, and one format can carry many different topics.

Choosing a format is a separate decision from choosing what to say. Treating the two as one is a common reason a good idea keeps getting filmed the same way every time.

Testing one topic across two formats, rather than two topics in the same format, is often the faster way to learn which lever actually moved a result.

A format also carries its own expectations into a video: an audience that has seen an account do process videos well tends to grant a new one in that format more patience than a format it has never tried before.

A common mistake is changing the topic and the format at the same time when testing an idea — if the result changes, there is no way to tell which choice actually moved it, and the next test starts from the same confusion.

A format also carries its own production cost, separate from how well it performs: a process video with several setups takes longer to shoot than a single talking-head clip, so choosing a format is also a decision about what an account's cadence can actually sustain. A format list is worth keeping short for the same reason a pillar list is: an account testing five formats a month learns less about each one than an account testing two, simply because each gets fewer real attempts.

Where it comes from

HubSpot's own marketing glossary frames format the same way: the medium or structure chosen to carry an idea — video, a live session, an email series, a written piece — separate from the idea itself, and worth varying on purpose.

Read the source: HubSpot — The ABCs of Content Marketing: A Glossary of Terms.