Everything You Need to Know About Creating Social Media Videos
With social media taking over the world, it’s important to stand out from the crowd and attract new customers. An excellent way to connect and gain your viewer’s attention is to create videos on social media, you can also hold them long enough to communicate your message.
While most business owners understand the value of social media, creating videos specifically for Facebook and other social media networks can initially seem intimidating. You can use several different video ad formats on these platforms.
If you want to create videos specifically for social media platforms, here are some helpful tips to make the process easier and more effective.
How to create videos for social media
There’s no doubt that video is one of the most popular social media ad formats. And for a good reason! Video is an engaging, visually stimulating way to capture your audience’s attention. Plus, with the rise of platforms like Instagram and Snapchat, creating videos for social media has never been easier. Here’s a summary of what you need to get started:
- The ideal length for a social media video varies between 15-seconds and 2-minutes long.
- Your text content should be short, concise, and focused on driving people to take action.
- Use natural sound or musical background tracks to engage viewers.
- Make sure to include captions so people can understand what you’re saying without having to turn up the volume (especially if they’re using headphones)
- Include a call-to-action at the end of your video (i.e., subscribe or like)
- Add any links you want them to click at the end.
Equipment Tips & Tricks
You don’t need a big budget or professional equipment for social media videos. Just about any smartphone can shoot high-quality video these days. That said, you can do a few things to improve the quality of your videos.
- Make sure you have plenty of light. Natural light is best, but if that’s not an option, try to avoid shooting in dimly lit rooms.
- Pay attention to the sound. If you’re filming outside and there’s wind, pick up a cheap foam windscreen or pop filter for your microphone. The last thing you want is for the background noise to be louder than what you’re saying.
- Be mindful of shadows. If possible, find someplace where there isn’t much direct sunlight or place something between yourself and a window if you’re filming indoors with natural light coming through the window behind you (perhaps a plant).
Editing Advice
When editing, keeping the clips short and snappy is a good idea. Longer videos are harder for people to watch on their phone screens. Additionally, it is important not to cram too many different ideas into one video, or viewers will lose interest.
- It’s better if you edit down the content of your post until you have just a few main points that can be conveyed in under two minutes of video footage. For example, try using an image as a transition, so you don’t need to show that part of the video every time.
- After recording your video, try viewing it without sound to see how much text you need before posting. Make sure there’s enough information given without having to add words to each clip.
- Go back and edit any parts that aren’t clear so they are easy for everyone to understand. If the result still feels like it’s going by too quickly, add more graphics or voiceover narration.
- Ensure your audio levels are set properly during filming; otherwise, they’ll be way too loud in the final product.
How to Choose Music
Choosing the right music for your social media videos is essential to capture the mood and feeling you want your viewers to experience. However, there are a few things you should keep in mind when making your selection:
- The genre of music you choose should be appropriate for the overall tone of your video.
- The song’s tempo should match the pace of the video footage.
- You’ll want to avoid any songs with explicit lyrics.
- Avoid very aggressive music that may sound good but doesn’t fit with the sentiment of your video.
- The point is to feel good, not angry or scared. If you’re trying to convey happiness, feel free to include upbeat songs with a lot of energy.
- A slow, melancholy tune may work well if you’re trying to evoke sadness or sorrow in your viewer.
Marketing Your Videos Online
When it comes to marketing your videos online, there are a few things you should keep in mind.
- Ensure your high-quality videos offer something unique that viewers will want to watch.
- Promote your videos through social media and other online channels.
- Create catchy titles and descriptions that entice people to click on your video.
- Use keywords and tags to help people find your video.
- Include links to your website or other relevant pages so that viewers can easily navigate to the site they came from.
- Be consistent with posting videos – post at least one video per week if possible. The more frequently you post videos, the better chance you have of building an audience and increasing your brand visibility.
Overview of the Different Social Media Platforms
Video is one of the most popular social media ad formats, and it’s only getting more popular. Here’s an overview of the different social media platforms
For example, Facebook’s auto-play feature can lead to increased watch time. Facebook Live broadcasts are often more successful than prerecorded ads because it provides the opportunity to create an authentic connection with followers by answering questions and talking directly to them in real-time.
Instagram Stories has been testing video ads since September 2016, but there are no reports on how successfully they generate leads and sales. If you want something quick and easy, try recording a 15-second story from your phone and upload to Instagram. The nice thing about this option is that there are no limits on how often you can post stories on this platform, which means you can post daily if desired.
Business owners should note that these various social media platforms have different strengths – be sure to consider the nuances of each before making your decision about where your content will live.
