Tips and Tools for Creating Awesome Social Media Videos

Are you leveraging marketing videos on your social media channels? If not, perhaps you should think about it.

Video is enjoying a meteoric rise, fueled by changing consumer habits, growth in mobile usage, and the unstoppable march of streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime.

According to Brightcove, more than half (53%) of consumers say that they engage with a brand after watching one of their videos on social media. For digital-native millennials, meanwhile, the figure jumps to 66%.

Is it really any surprise, in light of these statistics, that 88% of marketers say they are satisfied with the ROI on their social media video marketing endeavors?

Using social platforms is great for connecting with customers and generating brand awareness. But you could greatly increase engagement and click-throughs by adding video to text and image posts.

YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram are the key platforms. However, there were also 1.2 billion daily video views on Twitter in the last 12 months – 2x growth, year on year.

Suffice to say video is the best-performing content type on social. So unless you want to be branded “a company from the Dark Ages,” it’s time to start creating dynamic videos and sharing them far and wide.

In this blog post, I’m going to share top tips and tools for creating amazing social media videos.

Always Start with a Strategy

Filming videos then posting them to your loyal army of followers is a gratifying experience – providing they inspire likes, shares and comments of course.

However, for the good of your business, it is vital to put a strategy in place before you start recording. After all, you’re running a business. Save the aimless vlogs for your personal account.

Before you create any content, you need to think about your objective for the video – and for your video marketing strategy.

Is it product-led, and therefore purposefully created to increase awareness and shift units? Are you attempting to stimulate conversation, attract followers, motivate newsletter sign-ups, compel viewers to look at your website, invite competition entrants, promote a discount code?

Evidently, there are many different reasons you might create a video. But as long as you’re clear about what the reason is, you’ll be in a position to evaluate the success of any particular campaign.

Needless to say, you should ensure your video goals align with those of your business, generally.

Invest in Basic Equipment

Little wonder so many businesses have made video the crux of their social media strategies.

Think about it: the investment is minimal. Videos can be shot using a smartphone camera or webcam. And most social media users don’t expect any kind of grand production.

Instead, they prefer clips that are short and sweet, entertaining but valuable. Many online video makers even contain slick stock footage that you can use, overlaying your logo, website and phone number.

Of course, if you’re intent on blazing a trail and creating a lasting impression, a good portion of your content should be fresh and unavailable elsewhere.

Whilst still cheap, DIY videos necessitate a modest investment in the form of LED lighting, external microphones and tripods. Although most modern smartphones are equipped with a good enough lens, you might also elect to invest in a professional video camera if the budget allows.

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Use Templates

Just as there are numerous video marketing tools which let you use stock footage, there are also plenty of tools featuring professional templates and themes.

With ready-to-use templates, you can create awesome content that helps you stand out from the crowd, whether you’re sharing an explainer video or tutorial, a product presentation or an Instagram Story.

There are literally hundreds of templates. So it pays to browse for a while to find something that accurately reflects the style and tone of your business.

Of course, you can also tweak these templates to achieve the feel you’re after.

Two template-rich tools which have become extremely popular in recent years are Wave.video and Biteable.

Let’s talk about the former first. Wave.video’s templates are numerous, categorized according to industries like business, education, fashion, travel, sports, and art and culture. You could literally browse for hours, with a range of styles and formats to choose from.

When you’ve found a template you like, just grab it, customize your video and instantly share with followers. You can also watermark videos and optimize for over 30 formats with just a few clicks.

Image via Wave.video

Biteable is similarly brilliant, with page after page of templates to which you can add not only videos but also photos and text. Biteable boasts a huge music library too (or you can upload your own), plus its own dedicated animated video software. Nifty.

Continue reading this article on Shane Barker's blog.