Instagram is a marketer’s best friend. The free app’s video capability means smaller brands could increase long-form, creative content beyond just images. And Instagram is ensuring its video capabilities are accessible to these brands.
From in-feed videos to IGTV, Instagram Live, and Stories, there are several chances and styles available to marketers who wish to increase their video reach on a budget. Videos on Instagram have the highest overall engagement rate across all features of the app — 38% higher than picture posts.
If this sounds like music to your ears, that is good. If the one discordant note is that you have no idea how to make incredible videos for Instagram, that’s what this guide is for. We will uncover the correct recommended video requirements, sizes, and software to use to be sure your Instagram videos become a rockstar asset to your brand.
Why Instagram Videos
If you wish to develop your reach and attract a bigger audience, Instagram is your area of dreams. To develop your business, Instagram content should be creative and catch the attention of your audience. We have rounded up some ideas to get the ball rolling — which one(s) might fit into your technique?
1. Inspirational message
WorkParty is a guide book to making a dream career. In keeping with the theme, the corresponding Instagram offers tips on how to be a rockstar in the workplace. This video is an inspiring podcast excerpt hosted by WorkParty, with guest Bobbi Brown.
This content would not have almost enough impact if it were an image. A consumer mindlessly scrolling through their feed could’ve easily scrolled past another picture, however, the video and its uplifting message stays with consumers.
2. Memes
These are your ticket to engagement. You could use memes to promote your brand culture, mission, and products.
Bustle utilizes memes to promote its culture as a digital destination for young ladies. By utilizing a relatable funny caption, young ladies may see this meme and feel connected to Bustle, and motivated to learn about their entertainment.
3. Interviews
Do you have a new podcast episode coming out? Publish a snippet of the interview on Instagram video. It will attract users who’re excited about your market.
Here, The New Yorker published a captioned snippet of their upcoming interview with a lighting technician working on Hamilton. Giving a behind-the-scenes look at one of Broadway’s hottest musicals is sure to drive engagement for musical theater buffs and New Yorker fans alike.
4. Tell a story
Every business has a story, and Instagram videos bring that story to life. Sharing videos of people who are impacted by your product offers you the target audience more reason to look into your company.
Microsoft tells a tale of the sea in this video, and how their technology helps fishermen complete their jobs more effectively.
5. New launches
An ideal method to tease upcoming products is to publish them on Instagram. You do not have to do a full-fledged commercial to make an impact. Headwear firm Love Your Melon used one model and an array of colors to promote their new line of products.
Even posting video countdowns to tease new products gets customers and interested in customers and interested in what’s to come. That includes the products on Instagram could be the visual element that pushes a browsing consumer to purchase. Personally, that pink wrap is calling my name.
6. Existing products
Your existing products can be given similar treatment. Potential customers may not be aware of the extent of your catalog, and bringing that content to them, instead of leaving them to search, means more engagement for you.
Boston local plant-based restaurant Whole Heart Provisions uses videos to promote the creations on their menu. Somebody looking for a new breakfast spot could catch menu items and a short, fascinating video of the layers it has.
7. Promotions or sales
In case your market has a huge Instagram presence in a B2B industry such as cosmetics, let your audience know about upcoming sales. Or, run an Instagram-exclusive sale and post a video that includes the products like Benefit Cosmetics does here.
8. How-to videos
5-Minute Crafts has 34 million Instagram followers. Their content consists of life-hacks you could perform in 5 minutes, and they are all videos.
How-to videos or product demonstrations — particularly for products in a niche market — are a good way to introduce an audience to your business. Plus, like 5-Minute Crafts, you could promote other social channels that display similar content in the caption.
You might be asking how these brands are making content and how you could make something similar. Stay tuned.
How to Create and Post an Instagram Video
First, you will want to open your Instagram app and press the icon in the middle of the controls that have a plus sign in the middle.
Then, you could either select a video from your library or create one in-app. Right here, I am making one in-app. So, you will slide your finger over to the section labeled “Video” and press and hold down the middle button to record your video. When you launch your hold, the video will replay on the screen.
After that, you will be taken to a screen to select a filter for your video. My favorite filter is “Gingham,” because it brightens any dark shadows and offers videos a pastel finish.
When you notice the control panel of this screen, after you select your filter, clicking “Next” will bring you to the “Trim” section of the control panel. Right here, you could edit the length of your video and minimize and paste different sections together.
Now is a great time to select sound options. Clicking the megaphone button above your video will turn the sound off. Leaving the megaphone as is means your video will have sound.
After trimming, you could select a cover. This screen shows you the frames from your video for you to select which one Instagrammers will see while scrolling their feeds.
Right here, I selected the center frame because it is still and captures the subject of my video nicely. After selecting an image, you are ready to post. The last screen is where you add a caption, location, and select which Instagram account to add to.
By clicking “Share,” your post will be posted and automatically appear in your feed. You need to be able to see the cover of your video before the video autoplay and your filter is added.
When editing a video, think of what will fit with your brand. For instance, your brand colors will really come into play when editing a video. Incorporating themes that fit into your page and audience’s interests will increase engagement.
That’s where apps could come in handy. For instance, StoryLuxe offers free templates for Stories that give them a cool filter and permit you to post multiple kinds of content at once. Apps and sites such as Canva offer easy graphic design tools to help in creating a story stand out. Take a look at their landscape video on typography:
Giphy and Pixaloop are two apps that make gifs for you in any format your digicam is ready to. To make use of, merely open the apps, file your video, after which the software program will create a GIF for you that you may add straight to Instagram. Try Pixaloop’s software program replace launch: