As social feeds continue to gain importance in the local media mix, how should marketers think about vertical video? A new report from Tiger Pistol tackles this question. Entitled 2026 Ultimate Vertical Video Playbook, the thought-leadership resource is the latest in Tiger Pistol’s ongoing playbook series.
Before getting into the report’s findings and best practices, let’s define the opportunity. At a high level, organic social marketing for local businesses continues to ramp up as generative AI lowers production and creation barriers. And as paid advertising rates ratchet up, organic social channels gain popularity.
As this plays out, vertical video remains a native format that’s optimal for scrolling feeds from Instagram to TikTok. And it’s not just about the aspect ratio: vertical video has a defined vibe and language. For example, it’s short form nature means that content needs to be succinct and punchy.
These qualities are also compelled by the attention for eyeballs in social feeds. And beyond universal best practices in vertical video, tactics branch into Instagram Reels, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts. For example, TikTok’s users and algorithms favor content that is very genuine and sometimes gritty.
“Short-form is where attention lives, and franchise networks and multi-location brands have a real structural advantage there,” Tiger Pistol VP of Client Success Sarah Cucchiara told Localogy Insider.
Full Execution Stack
With that backdrop, TigerPistol’s report is comprised of six articles that explore how digital marketers are building production systems and tactics around vertical video. True to TigerPistol’s focal range, these articles speak to franchise networks, multi-location brands, marketing resellers, and agencies.
The playbook also addresses the full execution stack, including creative best practices, production scalability challenges, and localization strategies for brands with a national footprint. As Cucchiara notes above, multi-location brands have structural advantages to execute… they just need to harness them.
As for key takeaways, here are a few we’ve extracted:
- Why Vertical Video?: Audience behavior, platform investment, and ad spend have all converged around short-form video, signaling an opportunity for brand marketers.
- Creative Best Practices: The first 2 seconds of a video are critical, as are platform safe zones, and creative style. These factors determine whether a vertical video earns a watch or loses it.
- Native Advantage: From Reels to TikTok to YouTube Shorts, each platform rewards a different creative register. Platform-aware variants consistently outperform one asset that’s ported everywhere.
- Production Breaks at Scale: The number of these platforms, required refresh cycles, and localized variants all add up to creative demand that traditional workflows aren’t built to support.
- Structural Advantage: Multi-location brands are set up differently than SMBs. Lean into structural advantages, including brand resources. But apply local execution that doesn’t overwhelm the corporate team.
- Reseller and Agency Edge: The vertical video playbook is different for resellers and agencies. They have to balance production scale and margin. There are ways to accomplish this, says Tiger Pistol, if smart production systems are put in place.
“This playbook is about turning that advantage into consistent, scalable execution across every platform and every market,” said Cucchiara.
Check out the full playbook.
Header image credit: Igor Omilaev on Unsplash
