Every good marketing campaign features a solid social media presence. Using social media apps and websites to connect with current and prospective customers or clients can grow your brand recognition and bring new eyes to your product or service. One of the most effective ways to share your products or services with customers online is by creating eye-catching and compelling social media videos.
A social media video should reflect the story of your company or product. You may want to show your product in action, or you might prefer to have an expert sit down and explain how your product or service works. Whichever route you choose to go with your video, knowing how to film, edit and share your video for the most impact is crucial to making your video content work for you.
The world of social media videos can feel overwhelming, but we’ve compiled some tips to help you tell the story of your product or brand through online video content.
Familiarize Yourself With Social Media Apps
While most social media apps and websites follow similar video guidelines and algorithms, understanding how each platform works and how they show your content to followers and customers is an essential first step when creating and sharing video content. Some platforms favor short-form video content, or content that runs between 15 and 30 seconds, while others tend to favor long-form video content that runs between one and five minutes. When you create your social media video, remember the platform you plan to share it on and the video length that platform will likely favor.
Investing in dedicated video editing software is ideal, but many apps have editing tools built in, so take some time to learn how these tools can work for you and your video content. Explore the editing tools within most social media platforms to increase your knowledge and ability to tell your visual story well. Prioritize learning about the differences and similarities between the available social media platforms.
Get to Know Your Audience
Each platform will have its unique audience, so knowing what those audiences are looking for in a social media video will inform how you tell the story of your product or brand. It’s important to understand key characteristics of your audience, such as age, gender, marital status and other demographic details. These insights tell you what your audiences will likely engage with, which is vital to launching a successful social media campaign. If you want your social media videos to reach the right people, pay attention to your insights and the demographics of your customer base.
Have the Right Equipment
High-quality social media videos are essential for brands to maintain a social media presence. Making wise video recording equipment purchases is essential for creating content that captures the attention of your customer base.
If you use action shots to feature your product, consider investing in an action camera. If large, landscape videos make more sense for your product or service, a DSLR camera will help you create high-quality shots. DSLR cameras are also ideal for macro or close-up videos.
Investing in camera equipment is only one step in creating social media videos for your company. An additional important step is investing in audio recording equipment. A plethora of microphones and other audio recording equipment options are available for content creation. A shotgun microphone is a popular go-to mic because of its versatility. These mics can capture crisp, clear audio from your subjects and surroundings.
Boom microphones allow you to pick up sound close to your subjects while keeping the microphone out of frame. Lapel or lavalier microphones are often used to capture audio on a stationary or moving subject infrequently.
Pick Your Video Editing Programs
Many video editing programs on the market help you combine your audio and video, but choosing one that makes sense for your budget or the scope of your video project should be a top priority. Popular editing software options include Adobe Premiere Pro, Apple Final Cut Pro and CyberLink PowerDirector 365, among others. Quality editing software will give you the tools to adjust video and audio quality, use transitions and effects and provide features like motion-tracking, multi-camera editing and advanced color grading. On average, you can expect to spend about $100 annually for one of these editing programs.
If you’re new to using editing programs, consider taking a course that will teach you the ins and outs of your new editing software so you’ll be ready to bring your video to life with all the features and tools available.
If you still need assistance, reach out to a video production company like Pretzel Logic Productions to help bring your creative vision to life.
Capture Their Attention
The average attention span of social media users is about eight eight seconds, which means capturing your audience’s attention within the first few seconds is essential to getting your message across before they swipe away.
Craft a story that draws your audience in and compels them to stick around. Opening your video with a question or a strong statement can encourage your audience to linger on your video and hear you out. Present your audience with a relatable problem that your product or service offers a solution for. Inviting your audience to engage with your video content can increase the likelihood of retaining their attention.
Creating engaging video content to boost your social media presence will pay off in more ways than one. Whether you choose to DIY your next social media video or want to work with a video production company, you should do some research. Familiarizing yourself with social media apps, investing in the right equipment and knowing your audience will benefit your brand and your customer base.
If you’re ready to hire a professional team to help with your video production, Pretzel Logic Productions is here for you. We have an experienced team ready to create amazing videos for your business, and we’re poised to take your social media to the next level. Contact us today and see what we can do for you.