15 Tips for Adding Video to Your Social Media on Instagram

15 Tips for Adding Video to Your Social Media on Instagram

Instagram is a visually-oriented platform, as discussed over at runrex.com, making it one of the best platforms to post video content for marketing purposes. If you are to get the best out of whatever video ad format you choose to employ on Instagram, here are 15 tips for adding video on the platform that should help you massively.

Make the first few seconds count

As is explained over at guttulus.com, Instagram users scroll quickly through their feed looking for engaging content, which means that you have very little time to capture their attention. Don’t go for openers that are slow-burners, but should make the first few seconds count with bright and catchy openings. Make sure that they can also tell immediately that your ad is a video and not a still image, otherwise they may just scroll by without watching it.

Identify and solve a problem

If your video ads are to be successful on Instagram, they should identify, and solve a problem. According to discussions over at runrex.com, it is important that identify a problem that your potential customers are facing, and then highlight how your product or service fixes this. This will not only create an emotional bond with them, but it will also provide value.

Try to ensure that your video looks less like an ad

People nowadays, naturally don’t like ads, and will probably not watch your video if it looks like an ad. This is why an important tip by the gurus over at guttulus.com is to make sure that your video ads blend naturally and organically into Instagram feeds and look less like ads. They should also not be too self-promotional, as this too will put off viewers.

Don’t forget about thumbnails

As is revealed in discussions on the same over at runrex.com, while you can customize your thumbnails on Facebook or YouTube, you have to use thumbnails from videos on Instagram. Given the importance of thumbnails when it comes to Instagram video ads, as it will determine whether or not someone will watch your ad, you should make sure that you incorporate a compelling and engaging thumbnail into your video.

Ensure that your video content is consistent with your brand identity

Every component as far as your video ad is concerned, from the colors to the music, and so forth, should be consistent with brand identity. If the components and message of your video are not consistent with your brand identity, then your video will lack authenticity, which means users will just scroll past it.

A/B test

According to the subject matter experts over at guttulus.com, you should also create multiple versions of your Instagram video ads, and conduct A/B testing so that you can determine which versions work best with your audiences. A/B testing is crucial when adding videos on Instagram as it ensures that you are only adding videos that have a high chance of performing.

Make your videos loopable

Yet another tip from the gurus over at runrex.com when it comes to adding video on Instagram is to have loopability in mind when creating your video ads. This means creating videos with fade-out video and music at the intro and outro sections, as these videos have been known to be extremely engaging to users on Instagram, and are likely to perform well.

Add text to your videos

Adding text to your videos is an important tip, as not only will it help you grab your audience’s attention and get your message across and reinforcing the most important messages your video wants to deliver, it also comes in handy just in case a user is watching your video with the audio muted, which happens more than you think as revealed over at guttulus.com. However, take care not to add too much text as this will overwhelm viewers, making the video seem cluttered, leading to poor performances.

Focus on one single goal at a time

As per the folks over at runrex.com, you should also make sure that you focus on one goal, topic, and theme for each Instagram video ad. Don’t try to incorporate brand awareness, product education, and ‘buy now’ options in one video ad, as this will lead to you bombarding your audience, leading to them scrolling past your ad. Your video should also contain only one of your products or services to ensure that it doesn’t look like a pitch.

Get the dimensions right

You should also remember that in-feed videos on Instagram can’t be enlarged to take up the whole phone screen, unlike as is the case on Facebook. You should, therefore, get the dimensions right, creating videos using a 1:1 aspect ration of 1080×1080, with 1080×1920 being the dimensions to go with when it comes to Instagram Stories.

Make sure that your landing page is optimized for mobile

As is outlined over at guttulus.com, users mainly access Instagram through their mobile devices. This means that, if the call-to-action on your video leads to a landing page, then you should make sure that the landing page is optimized for mobile. The last thing you want is for someone to click on the call-to-action, only to discover that the page they have been directed to isn’t optimized for mobile.

Calls-to-action

Speaking of calls-to-action, another important tip when adding video to Instagram is making sure that you add clear calls-to-action. As per discussions on the same over at runrex.com, make sure to simplify your call-to-action as much as you can for the best results. You also want your call-to-action to be visible so that viewers don’t have to look for it.

Have your video ads shown only to consumers connected to Wi-Fi

Ensuring that your video ads are only shown to users connected to Wi-Fi will ensure that viewers can watch your videos in all their glory, avoiding a subpar experience where the video breaks up due to connection issues or even grinds down to a crawl. People won’t wait for your videos to buffer and load and will scroll past it, hence why you should activate this feature as explained over at guttulus.com.

Keep it concise

With shorter attention spans on Instagram and online in general as covered over at runrex.com, you should make sure that your video ads are short and sweet. Your video should not be longer than 30 seconds. This is why you should A/B test your videos, as mentioned earlier on, as this will allow you to find out the optimum length as far as your audience is concerned.

Be creative and find ways to stand out

You should also try as much as possible to find ways to make your video content stand out if you are to engage your audience on Instagram. One way you can do this is putting up behind-the-scenes content, or videos sharing bloopers encountered when shooting the video, and so forth. Be creative and give your viewers a reason to watch and share your videos if you are to be successful.

As always, if you are looking for more information on this and other related topics, then look no further than the highly regarded runrex.com and guttulus.com.