How to Create Engaging Videos for Social Media
It’s no secret that video, especially short-form video, is the future of social media. But, not just any videos are going to cut it – it’s incredibly important to make sure that you’re creating engaging videos that entice your audience to keep watching. Today, we’re going to walk through some tips and tricks for creating engaging videos to boost engagement, watch time, and impact on social media.
Capture Your Audience’s Attention
Within the first 2 or 3 seconds of your video, you’re going to need to make sure to capture your audience’s attention. You can use a salient hook statement, ask a question they might want to know the answer to, or show what your video will be about by utilizing text on the screen. With such a crowded digital landscape, consumers’ attention spans are growing shorter and shorter as they watch more and more un-engaging video content – make your video one that stops their scroll by capturing their attention right away.
Tell a Story
What’s the purpose of your video? For most videos, you’re going to be telling a story through the content. Whether you’re telling a story of something that happened to you, a story about why your customer is going to love your product, or an emotional story that followers can relate to – it’s important to follow a traditional story structure of having a beginning, middle, and end. Also, you’re going to want to make sure that your story is engaging in a way that makes followers want to watch until the end – tell your story in a way that makes your audience feel like they’re experiencing it right along with you.
Be Relatable
Everyone loves to see content that they can relate to. You should have a solid idea of who your ideal client is, who your followers are, and what they will find relatable. Once you’ve identified who you’re trying to talk to, you can then pick out a few problems, passions, or desires that your ideal client is experiencing, and make content that speaks to those.
Provide Valuable Information
Videos are a great way to communicate valuable information about your brand or product. Sharing your brand values, showing off the benefits of your product, showcasing how to use your product, or sharing some of your knowledge are all great examples of videos that provide valuable information to your audience. Make sure that you’re sharing information that is actually your own or responsibly fact-checked – don’t repost something you saw from an influencer, copied from someone else’s account, or are only sharing because you’ve seen everyone else share the same thing.
Make it Visually Pleasing
People process images and visuals infinitely faster than they process text or speech. Using eye-catching, scroll-stopping visuals is an incredibly effective technique for capturing and keeping your audience’s attention. You’re going to want to make sure that the visuals are on-brand, high-quality, and relevant to the topic of the video.
Be Bold
Nobody wants to watch the same video over and over again as they’re scrolling through their home feed. Whether you’re hopping on a trend earlier than most, trying to set a trend of your own, sharing a cool and unique video idea, or sharing your opinions or beliefs, being bold in your videos is a great way to not only hook your audience’s attention, but also to show off that your brand stands out from the crowd.
Make Sure it’s High Quality
Another key thing is to make sure that your video is high quality. There is nothing that will make someone scroll away faster than a video that’s hard to hear, blurry, the text goes by too fast, or or that’s low quality. Not only are low quality videos unpleasant to watch for your audience, but they also communicate that your brand is not tech-savvy, not current, and not high-value.
These are just a few tips to get you started creating engaging videos for social media. Save this post or take some notes for the next time you sit down to create your content. If you’re needing some expert strategy or guidance for creating engaging video content, or just want someone to take each step in stride with you, then head to my Services page to learn more about how I can help you uplevel your video marketing game! If you’re in need of some inspiration, check out my Reels on Instagram!
