Video is a must-have in every brand’s social media strategy and. In 2019 alone, more than 85% of businesses were using video as a marketing tool and they managed to boost their revenue by nearly 50% compared to the companies that don’t use video.
When it comes to Instagram, it is definitely a platform you should be present on. According to statistics, 80% of users follow a brand on Instagram and 11% of U.S. social media users shop on Instagram.
According to eMarketer, this year, Instagram and Facebook together will account for about 60% of the total social video ad spend, which is more than Snapchat, Twitter, and YouTube combined.
Obviously, almost everyone is publishing videos on Instagram so, if you want to stand apart from the competition, you need to figure out how to make great videos.
In this article, we’re offering 7 tips that will help you cut through the noise.
Get Ready with Video Hosting
Before your start creating outstanding Instagram videos, take some time to get ready by choosing a great free video hosting platform.
Video hosting is a site that allows you to upload, store, and share videos. If you choose a good video hosting solution, it will make your life much easier by saving you from a number of annoying manual tasks. Hosting platforms automatically encode the video, compress it, make it available anywhere around the world across different devices, provide a video player, and offer sharing features. All of this allows you to make more videos, and get the most out of them.
Have a Great Instagram Management Tool
Once you get active on Instagram, you are very likely to become overwhelmed by the complexity of managing it. A good Instagram management tool will help you schedule your videos ahead of time, add videos to a queue category that makes sense for your Instagram content strategy, make it easier for you to track conversations, track the success of your Instagram efforts, etc.
Create Unique Content
Before you start working on your first video, think about whether Instagram is really the best platform for it. In addition, think about the medium: are you sure that this particular story won’t work better as a written article or maybe an infographic?
The goal of incorporating video into your marketing strategy is to boost customer engagement. Engaging videos that feature the brand’s core values boost viewer retention even after the video is over. As mentioned earlier, the competition on Instagram is fierce, and that’s why you need to create videos that viewers will want to comment on and share with others.
One way to capture viewers’ attention and spark curiosity is to customize the fonts, colors, and animations. You can easily do this with easy to use video maker apps and offer a great number of customizable video features.
Create a Series
Once you have gone through all the trouble of coming up with a great Instagram video idea, why not make the most of it by creating a series? This is a great way to create a sense of continuity to your Instagram presence. Not to mention, it will give you tons of content to roll out.
Of course, make sure to start with the most engaging video in order to make the audience want more. Bear in mind that people tend to scroll quickly and skip anything that resembles an ad. So, ensure that your cover image and your first two to three seconds are eye-catching.
Include Subtitles
If you want to make your videos accessible to a wider audience, subtitles are crucial. According to statistics, videos with captions generate a 12% increase in viewership and nearly 40% of consumers say they are more likely to finish videos with subtitles.
While it is true that about 60% of people view Instagram Stories with the sound on, you should keep in mind that a large portion of Instagram’s traffic is mobile. That’s why you need to plan for both sound-on and off viewing.
Cross-Promote Your Videos
Why not take advantage of the many different Instagram video formats? Besides posting them on your feed, consider promoting your videos on your IGTV, your live videos, and in your Stories.
Once you’ve posted your video all over Instagram, make sure to get it onto other channels: Facebook, Twitter, blog, email. However, avoid posting the same message on every single channel; cross-promotion does require some finesse.
Experiment with Different Types of Videos
As you might have already heard, how-to tutorials are the most popular type of videos. But the problem is, there are many different how-to tutorials. So, how do you determine what your audience wants? Easy – by experimenting.
Create different types of videos – behind the scenes, documentaries, interviews, before-and-after videos to see what your audience engages with. You can even get people to vote for their favorite idea by posting a poll in your Stories.
In Conclusion
Instagram video (in feed, Stories, live, and IGTV) is a must-have in every brand’s social media strategy. And even though there are many ways to create engaging video content, you need to figure out how to stand out from the crowd. The first step is to determine what your audience wants. Then, once you equip yourself with a great management tool and a hosting platform, you can start curating video content and sharing it with your viewers. Of course, don’t forget to practice these 7 rules and make the most of your Instagram video campaigns.
