So you want to take the social media world by storm with your astoundingly exciting, visually pleasing, and exceptionally informative video content? Good luck, and get in the queue. If your intention is to make content that goes ‘viral,’ you may have to redefine your goals and start to look at your approach from a more organic point of view.
There are many reasons why you might want to create high-quality videos for your online needs.
You may run a small business and want to put together great promotional videos or perhaps you have designs on being a social media influencer, there are genuinely hundreds of different purposes for wanting to produce great visual content, and here are a number of ways, tips, and hints to help make sure that you get the best finished product.
Direct and Focused
Whatever videos you are putting together you’ll need them to be short and sweet and that’s for two key reasons.
Firstly our attention span, as a society, has reduced significantly and those watching videos on social media channels are keyed in to focus for at best a minute and anything beyond that may prove somewhat pointless. Secondly, another reason to keep it short is the related costs and time associated with producing longer-form content.
Whatever the purpose of the video, be it an advertising project for your company’s latest product release or a video to boost your push to become a social media enthusiast, you need to be direct and to the point.
Learn How to Edit
A hugely important part of any social media campaign is how your content is cut and put together. That means you’ll need to know how to edit your content to fit the relevant format and audience of the channel you are posting the video.
Though there may be some scope for outsourcing this aspect it would also be useful for you to get to know all about video editing software so that you can also dabble in this area yourself.
The art of editing will also help to make the most of all the material you have shot or produced so that if you’ve compiled perhaps even hours of content, you can then learn how to cut the best bits into various formats, from teasers to short-form content such as Instagram stories and even longer-form videos that you might choose to post on other channels like YouTube.
Natural Lighting Is the Best Lighting
Lighting your subject is very important, and for that reason, and to avoid unnecessary expense, you should look to make the most of natural lighting, which means filming on clear, bright, but not too bright, days or indoors where the lighting that is in place is amenable to the shoot.
Stabilize Your Phone or Camera
Though in 2022 you don’t have to spend a fortune on amazing tech to make your videos look professional there are some aspects you will need to consider. For instance, when it comes to shooting content with your phone, you’ll need to get yourself some sort of stand or tripod to get a more stabilized shot. Yes, handheld filming has its place but unless you are filming the next Bourne sequel, you’ll have to work out ways to keep things steady.
Use Music to Capture Attention
Often when we are scrolling through videos or just mindlessly consuming what appears on our social media feeds, it’s the music and sound that hits us first and grabs our attention so you’ll need to take advantage of this.
Don’t take the risk of using commercial music unless you are willing to pay for the relevant licenses. This is less important for individual videos that may just appear on your personal feed, but if you are a business or company of any sort, you can’t afford to take the risk of committing an offense relating to using unlicensed music; it could lead to your accounts being closed and likely financial penalties.
Use Subtitles
On the other end of the spectrum, there are those who don’t watch with sound, which is a lot of people who tend to focus more on the visuals and the messaging, so you’ll need to make sure you have accurate subtitles added to your videos.
Not All Social Media Channels are The Same
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that the videos you produce will have the same impact wherever you post them. All social media channels have their own niches and demographics, and that means you’ll need to cater to the relevant audience.
For instance, TikTok is directed at a younger crowd with very short attention spans, you’ll need to be super creative and take into account this dynamic audience. YouTube has an older crowd who tend to watch longer forms of visual content, so you can be more in-depth when considering what content to post there.
For businesses, it’s also important to consider the respective conversion rate of the different social networks and advertising models they adopt. Some platforms are far more effective when it comes to selling and promoting your product or services and have the relevant data and analytical services that make it easier to direct and convert.
Others are less commercially viable, and you may therefore want to adjust your budgets and resources accordingly.
Be as Unique as You Can In a Thoroughly Overloaded Space
There is, understandably, a desire when it comes to producing videos for social media channels to reinvent the wheel, to be different, and to stand out, and while this is a noble goal it’s also, in many ways, almost impossible to achieve.
That is why many individuals and companies look to ride the wave of a trend or style in order to be relevant and to catch the attention of viewers. This is often a far more practical and constructive way to approach the matter.
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