Combining video with social media has the potential to deliver powerful marketing results if you get your planning, strategy and approach right. Instagram is the perfect platform for video marketing and one that should help get your message in front of thousands of potential customers.
Here are our top tips for getting your video marketing on Instagram right from the start:
- People watch video on mobile without sound
This is something that many new video marketers fail to comprehend. If users have the sound turned off, it’s going to diminish the power of your video. That’s why you need to make your content visually compelling but also whether to include captions or not. Our advice is to add captions and ‘burn’ them into the video. There are many platforms and software which can do this, and we use a free programme called Handbrake (https://handbrake.fr).
- Keep it Short
Unlike other platforms, you have a limited time in which to get your video message across and engage your customers on Instagram. On the news feed section, you can only post a video with a maximum of 60 secs in duration. With Stories, you have to upload video clips of only 15 secs duration. This is not a bad thing as it helps you stay focused on what is essential.
- Creating Emotion or Being Logical
Defining the reaction you want your audience to respond with, will also inform the type of video that you create and share. You can choose to elicit an emotional response or present complex information in a logical easy to digest way. Creating an emotion or presenting logical simple to follow message are both good strategies depending on your content.
If you want to forge an emotional connection with your audience, used mainly for raising brand awareness or sell a particular product or service then ideally, in those 60 or 15 seconds, you may want to tell a short story that tugs at the heartstrings and gets a lot of share because of its emotional content.
If you want to relate statistics, advice or information to your audience, for example promoting the specific benefits of a new innovative product, or share statistics on a piece of work that your brand has been involved with then a logical rather than emotional approach is the best way to get your message across.
- Optimising Your Video
This can mean a lot of different things when it comes to video marketing. You may have a longer video that you need to edit for Instagram. What do you need to include? How do you maintain its powerful messaging in a shorter timeline?
You also need to use tools such as hashtags to make sure people see your video. Researching the best hashtags for your product or service will make a huge difference in visibility and online shares.
- Instagram Tools
The good news is that Instagram has quite a few features as well as third-party apps to help you make quick and interesting videos to post. Try out time-lapse and slow-motion video as well as Cinemagraph (a software programme that creates movement from still images), they can all add production value to your content.
- Engaging on Instagram
It can be easy to fall into the trap of simple product pushing when it comes to social media output for businesses and video. Remember it is not all about selling, but also how you can add value to your audience.
The truth is that engagement is vital if you want to get your message across, especially on visual platforms such as Instagram. That means sharing and commenting on content that your fans have posted.
If someone shares your video with their fan base, be sure to thank them. Not only is it polite, it may mean they’ll share more in the future.
Understanding how you want to use Instagram and what type of marketing content is going to work for your business is essential if you are going to get your approach right and be successful. Done well, you should be able to create engagement with your audience and build brand awareness that puts your business on the map. Whatever your approach to video, the experts at Tallboy can help clarify your video strategy and help you get the results you need to drive your brand forward.