These days, social media is all about video – thanks to the increasing popularity of TikTok videos and Instagram Reels. Short, visually-engaging and with a catchy song – videos tend to captivate audiences in seconds, which is what the people want. In fact, according to Wordstream, social videos get 1200% more shares than text and image updates combined.
To be seen on social, it’s crucial to have a good video marketing strategy in place. Sharing video content not only helps with engagement, but can significantly grow your audience and help you learn more about what your audience is looking for. And, one of the best things about sharing social videos is that Facebook’s and Instagram’s algorithms share and suggest them to your viewers, even months after posting, which leads to even more views and brand exposure.
So where to begin? Anyone can create a video these days – but it’s gotta be engaging and creative. All you need is your phone, some free editing software and a bit of a creative plan to get started. Mapping out a clear roadmap for your video content makes sure that there is indeed an intriguing story behind it. Otherwise, your viewers will be left wondering, “What’s in it for me?” And, we certainly don’t want that.
Five tips for creating engaging video content:
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Ideation. We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: good ideas are key to creating a great video. Ensure the video ideas match your branding and offer value to your target audience. Think of various ways to catch their attention to entice them to keep watching. And don’t forget to make sure that each topic is clear. For example, to help promote our wellness client BodaHealth’s services, we create social videos to highlight the benefits of the treatments they offer, each of which is designed to answer common questions that their patients have.
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Plan Ahead. Map out how many videos you ideally want to make in a month. Schedule a date for each video and give it a completion date to make sure you meet the deadlines. We’d recommend aiming for a few videos each month – ideally 1 Reel per week on Instagram. For our client Once A Tree Furniture, our team plans ahead and travels on-site to capture footage timed perfectly to promote their product launches and collaborations – like the one shown here.
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Layout Each Scene. Visualize how you want your videos to look before you start filming. Plan your transitions in advance for each scene you want to film to ensure that nothing is missing. This will decrease the chances of having to re-visit + re-shoot a location. Here’s a good example of a Reel we made for our client Little Lamb Lavender where we envisioned the scenes we wanted to include and had our client capture some relevant footage for it. We also incorporated some stock footage for scenes she was not able to capture on-site.
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Correct Optimization. Each social media platform has different sizing requirements and it’s important to follow guidelines to ensure the videos flow well with the algorithm and look correctly formatted on your feed. This usually means taking the time to find the best keywords, hashtags, video dimensions, popular music choices and appropriate branding. We use clear scene transitions, popular hashtags and pumped up music to ensure the Reels for our client The Diabetic Fighter are a hit with his audience.
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Watch the Analytics. Create new videos based on which videos have historically been engaging with your audience. Track the analytics based on the comments, engagement, how long the audience views the video, and the likes. This will give you an idea of what content your target market enjoys watching. Example: TSA’s audience loves content that features our team members, like this video.
Looking for more info? Click here to learn more about how video is dominating on all channels and how it is the best way for growth and here for different platform options to create your videos on.
As always, if you’re looking for new ideas or need help with creating video content, we’re here to help! Feel free to reach out to us for more information.
