Tips for Video Creation for Social Media
We all know that videos perform better than images or text on social media platforms. When viewing a video, people retain 95% of the video’s message compared to 10% if people read text. Videos also perform better than most other types of content on social media, provided they’re done right. People are more inclined to watch a short video than they are to read a short piece of text.
How then, do you ensure that you’re creating videos that people are actually going to watch? It can be a challenge, but we’ve got a few tips and tricks for you to help you make engaging videos that perform well on your social media platforms.
You do not need a professional videographer.
Things have changed, with the increased consumption of social media, people have become more forgiving when it comes to video. This is not to say that you can use poor quality video and expect it to do well. It does mean, however, that you can use your smartphone to film videos that are perfectly adequate for social media.
Film high quality footage.
The quality of your footage speaks to the quality of your product or service. If you are happy to post bad quality videos, what can customers expect from your business? This is of course, not always true but it will seem that way to the viewer. The Instagram algorithm will literally ignore videos that are blurry or low quality and people who see low quality videos will scroll right past. With smartphone cameras being better than ever, people have become used to a certain standard of video.
Start your video with a strong opener
The first few seconds of your video are everything (We believe that they can often be even more important than the rest of the video). Research shows you have 3-5 seconds to catch someone’s attention. Begin your video with something interesting and have your branding visible. You can start with a shock factor question or one that asks if the viewer has a particular problem, and then move on to how you can solve it, etc. If the first 5 seconds of your video are boring, people will lose interest and move on.
Create a Clear Flow
Good videos, like good stories, have a clear beginning, middle, and end. This can be done by keeping three distinct sections in mind when drafting your video Begin with something eye-catching, offer a short amount of valuable content, and end with an obvious call to action.
Include an unmistakable CTA
It happens sometimes, that we’re so concerned with making a “good video” we forget to think about what we want the video to do. What is the objective? What is the message here? These are the questions you should be asking yourself at the beginning of the video creation process. A good rule of thumb is to think of an answer to the viewer’s question, “So what?” or “What must I do with this information?” If you cannot think of an answer, there may not be a point in making the video at all.
Background Music
Ensure the background music you use in your videos is unique to each video and more importantly, that it goes with the video content. For example, a video about pet food that will help you keep your pet healthy should include upbeat music. Using sad music in this example would make for a disjointed and confusing video that would not compel people to believe your message. Also, don’t forget to make sure the music that you use is royalty-free to avoid copyright infringements well as getting your video removed from the platform.
Keep in mind, that some users will have their sound off by default.
With the above being said, remember that often people will scroll through social media in public places and thus, may well have their phones on silent to avoid disturbing those around them. As such, your video needs to make sense without sound and if you’re having people speaking in the video, be sure to include subtitles. This is not only for those with their phones sound turned off but for those who have hearing impairments and overall, just makes your video generally more accessible.
Keep all videos between 30 seconds and 2 minutes
This is our own belief and there may well be sources that say longer is better, however, it depends entirely on the platform the video is going on. YouTube, for example, people expect videos to be long. On platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or TikTok, just because you can post a longer video doesn’t mean you should. Attention spans are short these days, so we suggest keeping videos short and concise. Any text you include should be one short sentence per frame and be visible for roughly 2 -3 seconds as text that lingers for too long is also annoying.
Video creation for social media is a bit of an art form, so we’re here to help! HashTag ME offers animated video creation so you can get your message heard without having to worry about the ins and outs of the process! Let’s get you tending!
