Creating successful marketing videos for Instagram
Are you using Instagram video marketing to promote your brand yet? If not, you should be. Instagram is now the third most popular social media platform, and it offers a wealth of opportunities to engage new audiences and boost product sales. But if you want to create marketing videos specific to Instagram, you need to know how to get it right, as the platform has requirements when it comes to video.
Here’s why you need to be using Instagram video to boost your business, and what is needed to create a successful video optimised specifically for Instagram.
Why businesses should be using Instagram
Instagram is growing rapidly. It now has one billion active monthly users, with half of these accessing the platform every day. This makes it the third most popular social media platform, after Facebook and YouTube.
The platform is favoured by young adults aged 18-29, with over two-thirds (64 per cent) of people in this age group having an Instagram account. However, it is also rapidly being adopted by other age groups too, so no matter the demographic you are aiming at, you can find them on Instagram.
Even better, Instagram is an extremely business-friendly platform, with users open to content from brands. Eighty per cent of users follow at least one business on Instagram, with over 60 per cent using the platform to discover new products that they otherwise would not have heard about. Thirty per cent of Instagram users have bought a product they have discovered on the platform.
In fact, brand engagement on Instagram is ten times higher than it is on Facebook, and a huge 84 per cent more than on Twitter. Instagram users actively want to discover new brands, products and services, which is why approximately two-thirds of visits to business profiles on Instagram come from users who don’t yet follow those businesses. This demonstrates the immense power of Instagram when it comes to attracting and engaging new audiences for your brand.
Why use video to promote your brand on Instagram?
Video is the ideal medium for Instagram, as time spent watching video on the platform has increased by over 80 per cent year on year. Instagram video marketing posts receive 38 per cent more engagement than still images on Instagram, as viewers want to see content which creates a connection with them. This is easier to do in a video than in a still image, as it enables you to tell a story.
This is why Instagram is rapidly becoming more popular with video marketers worldwide. Fifty-one per cent of video marketers have now used Instagram, representing an increase of ten per cent since 2018. This is expected to rise to 67 per cent over the coming year. Video marketing on Instagram has been proven to work, with 88 per cent of marketers who have used Instagram for video saying it has been successful for them.
What makes a successful Instagram video?
Here are some important tips to follow if you want your Instagram video marketing to be a success.
1. Keep it short and simple
Videos on Instagram have to be a maximum of 60 seconds in length. This means you have to cram a lot of information into one minute, so your message needs to be clear and concise.
The first few seconds are absolutely crucial here. Instagram users tend to scroll through their feeds quickly, so you need to create plenty of movement from the very beginning. This makes the viewer realise straight away that this is a video rather than a still image, encouraging them to keep watching.
2. Create a campaign
As videos on Instagram are so short, you can help to create more engagement by creating a multi-video campaign lasting weeks or months. This was what we did recently for Leviamate. The video below, demonstrating all the features of their product, was the first in a series of five Instagram videos. The following three each concentrated on one particular feature of the product, while the fifth featured customer testimonials.
This enabled Leviamate to create a longer and more engaging Instagram campaign. It also offered them better value for money, as they could spread the production costs over five videos.
3. Convey a clear message without sound
Videos on Instagram auto-play in the feed with the sound off. The audio only activates if a user clicks on the video. Because of this, it is worth assuming that your video will be watched without sound, so you need to convey your message clearly through action and text.
This is demonstrated in the Leviamate video, where each feature of the product is demonstrated clearly with footage of it being used, while also being explained clearly in text between each footage clip.
4. Don’t use too much text
Instagram is a visual platform. This means users don’t want to read too much text. Of course, text is important for conveying a message in a short video, but keep it large to make sure it is legible, and don’t write too much. It’s better to use simple headlines and let the imagery tell the rest of the story.
5. Have a clear call-to-action
Users want to know how to find out more about the product, or even how to purchase it. You need to give them clear instructions by including a strong call-to-action in your video. In the case of Leviamate, we used the strong message “Buy it now” shown above the website address, to leave nobody in any doubt what to do next.
6. Use the correct aspect size
For a video to work well on Instagram, it needs to be shot with the platform’s aspect size in mind (1080 x 1350). This is very different from the standard 16:9 widescreen aspect of 1920 x 1080, and it really does matter. If you shoot your video without using the correct frame size, when it appears on Instagram, certain elements are likely to be cut off at each side. These elements could be people or products, so it can destroy the entire message of your video.
However, you also need to think about getting the best value out of your marketing videos. It is likely you’ll want to convey the same message on other social media platforms, as well as on your website. This means the video should also be made in standard widescreen, as we have done in the below video for Leviamate.
You can see how this enables the company to repurpose the content, giving them a much broader reach.
Conclusion
Instagram offers a wealth of video marketing opportunities that businesses can’t afford to miss out on – so if you aren’t using it to promote your business yet, it’s time to get started! Please contact us if you would like any assistance creating attention-grabbing Instagram video campaigns.
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