3 Secrets To High Performing Social Media Video Production
Social media video production in not just about getting likes, it's an exciting way to build your brand awareness and generate new ideal clients.
Is social media video production your friend or foe?
Without a doubt, social media video production is one of the biggest trends in marketing right now, and is becoming necessary to get your brand more recognition.
However, the entire social media space is incredibly competitive and usually dominated by celebrities, influencers, and cute animals!
Oftentimes, you can invest in a social media video, and it can fall flat.
Or you post an honest video of yourself, and get no likes or responses.
That really sucks.
Does it feel like social media is working against you?
The truth is, you may be missing a few essential ingredients – those of which aren’t always obvious.
In order to help you make sense of the chaos, here are three golden tips that I’ve seen work for our clients.
Here are three secrets to engaging social media video production.
Hook Your Audience
We are busy. Even in quarantine.
In fact, you’re probably skimming through this blog right now.
The same “busy” mindset applies to social media, and that’s why the most enticing post wins.
Therefore, you need to make sure the very beginning of your video has a strong opening.
In film, we call this a “hook”. Something that’s going to catch them off guard, and hook them in.
It doesn’t need to be fireworks and explosions. It just has to be unique and original.
Ask A Question
In the early stages of producing your social media video, consider what questions you can ask your ideal client demographic, so that their interest is piqued instantly.
When you ask a question that they relate to, they feel compelled to answer in their head, and will want to see if your answers match.
This draws attention.
Nail A Pain Point
Think about what their biggest pain is, and call it out.
We’re all thinking about our survival in one way or another; business survival, Brand relevance, future income – these really feel like they affect our survival.
Pain points play into our need for survival.
If your client can solve a pain point for good, they are much closer to the feeling of safety, and that’s why calling out a client’s pain point can really hook them.
Now just to be clear – I’m not advocating for causing fear. There are only limited circumstances where can work.
Oftentimes approaching pain points lightly, with humour or empathy can work just as well to hook your audience.
Get To The Point
Clarity is key in hooking an audience with your social media video production.
The best advertising can connect with viewers without confusing them.
Identify from the very beginning what you’re advertising.
If it takes you too long to get to the point, your video will fall flat.
Again, it can still be humorous or exciting, but most importantly it needs to be obvious.
Increase Production Value
Increasing production value increases entertainment, and that really hooks your audience.
Entertaining content always wins in the overcrowded world of social media (and mediocre videos).
For example, the brand new shower-head company Mission8 used a high end video production team for their kickstarter, and generated over half a million dollars with one video!
Keep in mind their goal was only $20,000 – which means they made a MASSIVE return on investment.
Dollar Shave Club had similar success with one video, when it first came out as an unknown brand, generating 12,000 sales almost instantly.
Make sure your video is well produced, and you will hook your audience.
Yes, it will require more budget, but it will also produce a far greater return on investment.
You gotta give to gain!
A funny joke, a quip, or a bold statement are also fantastic ways to hook your audience.
Ensure Flexible Audio
As we scroll social media, we are instantly inundated, and won’t often take the time to click the audio button on a video. We’ll often just skip it.
I personally do this all the time.
But if your social media video can communicate well without needing voice-over or music, you can still have impact.
How do you approach this?
Your product or service should be something you can identify, without sound.
The first step is to ensure subtitles are present. This will help you tremendously!
Beyond that, consider strong visuals.
This takes creative planning, strategy, and constructive feedback.
Having someone on your media team that has a strong understanding of visual storytelling, can help you guide your video to a place where it delivers its message, even without sound.
A simple way to test this is to watch your video without audio.
Does it work the same?
If not, you may be missing a critical ingredient to a high performing social media video.
Choose The Correct Orientation
A big part of getting your video watched more often, is how it’s displayed.
Different social media platforms now have varying preferences of orientation (meaning portrait mode or horizontal mode).
For example, videos on instagram look much better when in square or portrait mode, instead of the usual horizontal (also called widescreen or landscape).
Youtube is the opposite, and showcases horizontal videos much better.
So which is the best option?
It’s to match the platform you are posting on.
This requires you to research which is the optimal platform for you to post on, largely decided by your target demographic, and make your video to match that.
Alternatively, you can make all three versions, and have complete flexibility across platforms.
Here’s an example we did recently for a commercial that was designed for all three orientations:
Forbes has reported that 94% of us prefer to hold our phones vertically when scrolling social media.
Seems obvious.
But the report went on to state that if we come by a video that requires us to change orientation, we are 2.5 times more tempted to bypass it!
So there is a huge benefit for your video in matching the preferred orientation of the social media channel.
In large part, Vertical video has skyrocketed in popularity.
If you have to rotate the video’s orientation to watch it, you’re breaking the flow of people’s attention span, and losing viewership.
Are you losing viewership with your current video?
It’s very difficult to format a widescreen video into a vertical format once the video is completed.
It’s like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. It doesn’t match visually.
So consider ahead of time what your ideal platform is, and then pick your orientation to match.
Orientation Checklist
Here is a social media list so you can have an instant reference of which orientation to go with.
Linkedin – Widescreen (horizontal) 16:9 aspect ratio (1920 x 1080)
Facebook Feed – Square – 2:3 aspect ratio (1080 x1620)
Facebook Stories – – Portrait Mode – 9:16 aspect ratio (1080×1920)
Instagram Gallery – Square videos – 4:5 aspect ratio (1080×1350) or Square videos – 5:5 aspect ratio (1000×1000)
Instagram Stories – Portrait Mode – 9:16 aspect ratio (1080×1920)
IGTV – Portrait Mode – 9:16 aspect ratio (1080×1920)
Youtube – Widescreen (horizontal) 16:9 aspect ratio (1920 x 1080)
Tik Tok – Portrait Mode – 9:16 aspect ratio (1080×1920)
Triller – Portrait Mode – 9:16 aspect ratio (1080×1920)
Snapchat – Portrait Mode – 9:16 aspect ratio (1080×1920)
As you can see, there is a pretty wide variety.
Make sure that your video fits the right orientation, and you can increase your viewership success rate.
Just getting started with video? Check out the S.A.V.E.
By Anthony Madani
