Each social network has its own idiosyncrasy and each social network user has different content consumption habits. That’s why, when producing a video for social media, certain aspects have to be considered. In this article we’ll break down the elements a video produced for Instagram should have in order to have a real impact on audience.
[bctt tweet="Creating the perfect #Instagram video for your business is easier than you might think. Read on for some Insta tips, tricks, and tactics and let us know how you've used Instagram video to share branded content." username="relevance"]
Elements that will be analyzed and explained:
What video types work the best?
There are specific requirements that you must consider before making a successful Instagram video. The first step is understanding which video types are available. When you go to your Facebook Ad Manager to define your ad video format there are two options: Feed and Stories. In the first case, you must use a 1:1 video format (this corresponds to a 1080*1080px size video). While stories must have a 16:9 format (this corresponds to a 1920*1080ox size video).
Prioritizing the use of one video style over another is directly related to your commercial purposes. Instagram Stories work best for building loyalty over current customers, while Feed Videos work best for reaching new audiences and making them part of your social community.
What should the average video duration be?
The first thing you should know is that the average video upload time spans from 3 seconds to 60 seconds. There are even pages where you can look up the average video length from top publishers. But this doesn’t mean that you should use the same strategy. It all depends on what you want to say and how. Another interesting statistic from the HubSpot team showed that the most commented on videos had an average time of 26 to 30 seconds. This is because humans can process visuals (images or video) faster than any text. Your video must have a hook, show your band’s qualities, and finish with a call to action, in an average time of 30 seconds.
If you need to upload a video that’s longer than 60 seconds, you can do so with a third-party app. However, you should consider breaking it up into short 15 seconds clips. Some examples are: Continual for Instagram and Story Splitter..
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What audiovisual resources and techniques should be used
First Step is Planning Ahead: For a better understanding of what audiovisual resources and techniques should be used, you must start by defining your strategy. A strong strategy means an effective understanding and selections of your communication tactics and actions to achieve your business goals. Defining your consumer profile with demographic and psychographic information is a must. You can understand your target audience and make the most successful communication to attract and achieve customer loyalty.
- Boomerang: Making GIFS is now easier than ever with the Boomerang App. A boomerang is a short style video that plays itself forward and backward (again and again) as a loop. This type of video does not include audio. It’s great for showing something quick back and forward. In the following video, you can get inspired by other users ideas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikOzd9GROiY
- Slow motion: The slow motion technique has been used for decades. Think about those amazing movie scenes that we all remember, like those in Reservoir Dogs or the Shining. The main goal is to create an emotional impact and keep viewers on the edge of their seats. Most brands use slow motion for food videos or fashion videos.
- Hyperlapse: Hyperlapse is a fast motion video technique. It is a great strategy to show a long-term project in a matter of seconds. Here’s an example:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bf9FxfbFkoI/?taken-by=cj_hendry - Superzoom: Since last year, Instagram added the Superzoom. You can record your Superzoom through your Instagram account on your stories. It has a 3-second length and it’s based on zooming over an object with dramatic music. Superzoom is used for creating something dramatic but funny so that your users can relate to your sense of humor.
- Layout: This is another Instagram app that allows you to make different designs by mixing phone images and making a composition. In one image you can have different photo combinations.
- Face Filters, Stickers & Gifs on Instagram Stories: Face Filters are one of Snapchats’ best features. Later, Instagram added their own version to their users stories. They can be used with the camera formats "Live", "Hands-free", "Rewind" and "Boomerang". Some face filters work with two faces at once.
You can add Stickers and Gifs, to your stories. Once you have your video or picture, use the option on the top right that looks like a smiley sticker to add as many stickers and gifs as you like. Once you click on the smiley sticker, the sticker section will appear below and through it, you’re going to find the gift option. In the case of gifs you can browse or search by name. You also have the drawing and writing option just aside the smiley sticker.
How to optimize an Instagram video for better reach and engagement
- Hashtags: Using innovative and relevant hashtags can improve organic reach and boost your video promotion. You can even search for hashtag trends to help you select the most effective keywords. Another important aspect is that users can follow hashtags. You can make this work in your favor by doing research on potential hashtags that you can use. This will also help you understand your audience and competition behavior on the use of the potential hashtag.
- Engagement Content: The key aspect is to communicate who you are as a brand and be willing to teach and ask your audience’s opinion. For example, making a post asking your users how they are using your product is a great opportunity to have your consumer’s opinion and experiences.
- Scheduling Posts: You can reach your potential audience by understanding when the best time to post is. There are many studies that show the most effective time to post, but it actually all depends on your brand and user identity. Remember that every audience is unique, so when scheduling your posts, you must understand your potential users’ activity. You can use Instagram Analytics to review follower metrics.
- Instagram ads: If you’re in need of a visibility boost, you can use Instagram ads to increase users’ views. It’s important for you to know that this is not organic and it costs money, so be clever when choosing which video ads have more visual and communication impact.
Timeline Videos vs. Story Videos, what’s the difference?
Using Instagram Stories represents a great opportunity to reach your audience in a whole new way. It’s all about showing your brands spontaneous and unique side, and most of all, it helps by showing your product/service personality. Instagram Stories are essentially a carbon copy of Snapchat Stories so you can even add gifs, hashtags, write and draw on your stories!
So, this is about the spur-of-the-moment and letting your audience have a peak into your brand’s day-to-day life. These have a lifespan of 24 hours, so you don’t have to worry about deleting content. There’s also an amazing stories link feature that allows you to include a link in your post. This means that if your goal is to increase traffic to your landing page or e-commerce page, this is an excellent way to achieve that purpose.
While Timeline Videos, are used for increasing visibility. It’s all about reaching new audiences so that you can have more followers and as a result, more clients. There’s a key aspect that changed on the Instagram feed based on its algorithm. Instead of showing what’s recently been posted on your feed, Instagram is now showing photos and videos that the users would rather see. This means that content is adapting to users preferences, so it’s more important than ever to create high quality video and image content.
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Final Thoughts
The use of audiovisual resources and techniques depends directly on your brand’s identity, target audience, goals, and business strategy. Dare to be creative in your Instagram efforts and use your resources wisely. Use Instagram video stories to build loyalty and Instagram Timeline videos to gain visibility. Also, never forget to interact with your audience to boost engagement by letting them know that their opinions and comments are relevant for you.