Let’s talk about video.

It is a huge part of how we consume content on the internet. Auto-play on Facebook and integration of longer Instagram videos means that it’s hard to avoid getting caught up in a story, music video or viral content.

Brands have been capitalising on this by creating fun, shocking and emotional videos that make people want to hit that share button as soon as they finish watching it. Just think back to Christmas last year, where did you watch the John Lewis Christmas advert? For me, it was on Facebook after being shared by the majority of my friends.

John Lewis hit the nail on the head with an advert that superseded TV advertising and went viral, being seen by millions more people than traditional methods.

If you’re thinking of creating visual content for social media, here are some tips on how to create engaging content:

  1. Evoke emotion

The reason that people share things is to connect with their followers/friends so whether they are laughing or crying make sure you evoke some sort of emotion.

  1. Grab your audience’s attention

With video content increasing on social media, it gets easy for people to just scroll past it. To make sure your video is watched make it grab your audience’s attention by being relatable, helpful or just plain old shocking.

  1. Keep it short

In 2015 a study found that the average length watched of an online video was 2 minutes 42 seconds. The same study found that the average attention span is only 8.25 seconds so keep this in mind when creating a video, it’s likely someone scrolling through social media will look at the duration before continuing to watch.

  1. Boost it

Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram now all have the option of ‘boosting’ your content so if you can put aside some budget for this it can be helpful to get your video seen by a targeted demographic.

  1. Have a clear message

Even if your video is solely created to make people laugh you want them to remember who made them laugh (so when they’re talking to their friends in the pub your brand name comes up.) Whatever the purpose of your video, ensure there is an obvious call to action, whether it’s to share the video, enter a competition or visit a website.

Think your business is too dry for creative videos? Let’s chat!

Image sourced from Pixabay.