If your social media videos are not engaging your target audience, don’t lose hope. Strategic alterations to your video content will heighten engagement and add to your bottom line. Here’s a quick look at how to make your social media videos so much more engaging.
Table of Contents
Generate a Flow
The best social media videos have a beginning, middle and end. Though your videos will likely be 30 seconds to a minute in length, they should still tell a story, albeit a brief one. Tell the story with a video that has three clear segments and it will prove that much more appealing and memorable to your audience. The bottom line is a video with a clear start, middle and end is easier to follow, meaning it will keep viewers engaged and also heighten your conversion rate.
Capture the Viewer’s Attention Right Away
The initial couple seconds of the video are the most important. Take some time to brainstorm a great opening hook. A powerful hook right off the bat will generate immediate interest and increase the likelihood of viewers watching the video all the way through to the end. As an example, highlighting the problem that the value proposition addresses or asking an interesting question are intriguing hooks that will capture the audience’s attention.
Viewers Relate to People
A video without a human face will likely fail at engaging the audience. Instead of narrating the video without revealing the speaker’s face, talk directly into the camera. It will also help to include other people as the viewing audience is that much more engaged with social media videos that include several people. People are more relatable than animations and objects.
Sweat the Small Stuff When Uploading Videos to Social Media
Every last detail of the video’s technical specifications matters in the context of quality on social media. The subtleties of social media video sizes might not seem that important, yet they ultimately play an important role in determining the quality of the video and viewers’ takeaways from the content. Do not upload a video file greater than 4GB. The optimal resolution is 1080 x 1080, but it does somewhat depend on the platform. Try to keep your social media videos between 30 seconds and a minute in length.
Steer the Audience Toward Taking Action
The viewing audience is malleable to a certain extent, meaning their willingness to watch your video indicates they are open to the power of suggestion. Suggest the viewers take action in the form of paying for your product or service and they just might heed the call to action. Sprinkle in the call to action in the first third of the video, at the video’s midpoint and at the very end so viewers will understand exactly what they are to do next to take advantage of the advertised value proposition.
Mind the Video Quality
A video shot on an old cell phone and hastily uploaded to your social media page will not make the intended impact simply because its quality is low. Though you can use a smartphone to shoot high-quality video, only do so if it’s relatively modern and generates video quality similar to that of broadcast-quality video production.
Mind the lighting, acoustics and stability of the camera when filming. If your hand is shaking, place the phone on a tripod or stacked items so it can capture video footage without hindrance. A strong source of light by the camera makes it that much easier for the viewer to see the footage. When in doubt, film by a window or even use a ring light to get the room’s lighting just right.
If you find there is an echo in the room, add soft items or even pieces of furniture to soak up the soundwaves. Above all, be sure to clean the camera lens before pressing the record button to ensure the video you capture is crystal clear.
Add Captions and Text
Most social media videos are viewed on smartphones, meaning viewers are likely to have the volume turned down. Your social media videos won’t make the intended impact unless people understand the underlying message. You can communicate your company’s message with audio, captions and text.
Captions should appear at the bottom of the video to communicate the dialogue of the video. Adding related text at strategic points throughout the video will also reinforce the message. Just be sure to select a text font and color that matches your company’s brand.
