In today’s tech world you surely don’t need a mass com degree for creating a compelling video on social media. Untrained marketers are creating outstanding social video content with just a little more gadgets with a smartphone.  People are eagerly watching these videos.

Facebook and Snapchat have 8 billion daily video views and YouTube’s 1 billion-plus users. A million users are watching hours of online content every day. This trend is expected to continue, the number of users and viewers are increasing day by day. Statistics prove that.

As per experts, 74 percent of all internet traffic in 2017 will come from video.  Your competitors are already utilizing this dominant form of content. A  survey by the web marketing video council found that 61 percent of business are using video as a marketing tool.

Plan ahead so you can tell a story-

Thoughtful, emotional storytelling is the heart of any successful social video. To be remembered, start a story of human struggle and eventual triumph. You need to create a character with whom your viewer can connect he cries when the character cries and he laughs when the actor laughs.

Your character must have an emotional connection or a hero story in the video.

 

As per Harvard Business Review, a neurochemical called oxytocin is released

when we watch character driven or hero story. Whenever our brain synthesizes oxytocin, people tend to be more trustworthy, generous, charitable and compassionate. This human tendency can be beneficial to your brand.

Always know the beginning, middle and end to your story. Have a purpose to your character and show the objective has been achieved in the end.  In the above video, it has been demonstrated the uncertain feeling of a British girl to go to a country so diverse. Write a real tip. Use this video tip and you can capture your customer’s hearts.

Keep the camera steady-

Would you mail a brochure with the crooked logo? No right? Why would you make a video with shaky hands? Invest in a tripod for your phone and you are sorted to create professional videos. There are excellent tripod models available in the market. For small mobile phones, it is 3C Smart Octopus as it is like a professional video camera.

Audio is the key to success for any story-

You might have a few witty dialogues in your story or you might go for some natural sound effects like the chirping of birds during the day. Whatever audio effect you choose for your story it should have clarity and a punching impact on your audience.

The built-in microphone in your smartphone will always leave something unattended. To have a professional audio effect, you should go for a Mic. There are many inexpensive external Mics available to attach to your phone. Increase the production quality of your video with Rode SmartLav +. You can also go for shotgun mic  Mighty Mic. A high-quality external mic will help you in recording significant high-quality videos in no time.

Do not use digital zoom-

Digital zoom in videos sounds good in theory, but in reality, it will give you blurry videos. Wait for the technology to evolve for zoom in video experience. Until then avoid moving closer to the person or object you are capturing in your video.

Lights is the key-

As it is always Lights, Camera and Action. So lights are the key to a high-quality video.   So if you shoot in darkness, it will give you a low-quality video. Choose a bright set for your video. Auto exposure is often slow to adjust while changing from one scene to another. So be careful when moving from dark areas to bright ones. Always avoid overhead spotlight and backlight.

There are different LED lights available in the market that can be used for shooting in challenging light conditions.

Shoot for your intended platform-

Social videos look best when shot in the landscape (horizontal) mode.   If you must have noticed that is how we watch all the videos on TV and in theatres. Landscape mode is always pleasing to the eyes.

Videos shot in portrait mode does not give full picture experience while watching the video as the video will have a black bar on the sides. Except for videos shot for Snapchat or Instagram stories.

You need to remember the platform you are shooting for because each social network has a different set of audience. Optimization of social videos is different for different channels. A video shot for Facebook will need extensive editing before it can work well for Instagram. You need a different approach while shooting for Snapchat or Twitter.

Social networks have launched their native videos demonstrating its growing value. As we all know Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter have their video features. Social platforms like Youtube have video as their main feature. Live streaming platforms like YouTube, Periscope; Facebook have updated its News Feed algorithm to support Live video streaming.

Use an editing app to trim unnecessary stuff out-

Editing is one of the essential parts of featuring videos. Maybe the character stumbled over a few words, or the audio quality was off. Showcasing a professional video is important to do so editing needs to be done to remove all the errors.

If you do not need complex editing, you just want to compile a few clips and add few titles you can go for iMovie, Windows Movie Maker or YouTube video editor will do the job. For further editing go for Adobe Premiere Elements, Final Cut Pro X or Sony Vegas.

Shoot a video from different angles and you will have a variety of shots to choose from while editing.

Use subtitles or on-screen text-

We may assume that everyone binge watches videos during leisure hours. The truth is that most people watch videos while working. So they might be watching them without the voice feature. Communicate your content clearly; it is better to add subtitles. The viewer can appreciate your story without any sound too.

Aim to catch attention quickly-

Aim to hook your audience in first 30 secs. The first 30 secs matter the most to hook your viewers. If you manage to do so, they will stick around until the end and be eager about your story. So make it exciting and catchy.

Keep it short-

A fascinating Ted Talk or a Talk by Yuval Noah Harari on sapiens can go on 30 minutes and it will still be interesting for the audience. But for most of us, shorter is better. Twitter videos should be for 30 secs, Instagram  60 seconds and Snapchat 10 seconds max. A YouTube video can go up to 15 minutes.

Conclusion- Once you get the heck of these tips, you will be an expert in the business. Give your viewers appropriate reasons to share your video. Ask yourself “why will people share this video?”

The answer to this question is “Listen to your followers.” See what videos they are sharing and analyze them.

Hope these tips were useful to you. Make your videos and increase the business. Let us know in the comment section below for any further suggestions for making exciting and compelling videos.

Thanks to nelnotes.com for the featured image.