Videos have become an increasingly important part of everyone’s everyday life in recent years, and for good reason. Videos are engaging and shareable, which makes them a great way to get your message out to the masses and build your audience.
However, videos can be a tough format to get right. And as their popularity grows, standing outside of the competition and differentiating yourself can be challenging. There’s a lot you can do to improve video quality and make a video more engaging and shareable and today we are going to analyze the best 8 steps you can do.
Let’s dive into it!
Plan Ahead and Improve Video Quality
When it comes to creating engaging videos you have two choices: You can wing it and hope for the best, or you can plan a video shoot and shoot for perfection. Winging it might get you something watchable, but it’ll certainly lack the polish and high production value that comes from a planned video shoot. With a little planning and preparation, you can create videos that are as engaging as any professional production.
Firstly, when it comes to creating videos, the first thing you need to do is plan. Plan what you want to say, what visuals you want to use, and most importantly, who your target audience is. Once you have a general idea of what you want to create, you can sit down and start putting it into action. Next, you need to gather the right footage.
One of the biggest mistakes people make when making videos is planning on the fly. Instead, plan out each step of your video in advance. This not only makes it easier to edit down your video later, but it also helps you think through the different angles you want to cover and the questions you want to answer. Once you have your plan in place, write it out in a document so you can reference it when you’re creating your video.
These are some aspects you should work on in pre-production:
- Shot List. It is basically a list of the essential shots you need to have in order to edit the video.
- Prop List. Simply a list of objects you need to have in the video.
- StoryBoard. This is optional but it really helps for more complex videos. Basically it is a representation of every shot you have in the shot list put in a chronological order.
Check out the resource section below for a FREE Storyboard Template!
Make the first seconds stand out
The first few seconds of your video are the most important. They’re the ones that decide whether viewers will keep watching or click away. Think of it as a first impression in person. If a person’s introduction is awkward and stilted, you probably have the impression that they aren’t very socially apt.
We’ve all watched videos that grab our attention immediately. You can’t help but want to see what happens next. The first few seconds of a video can make a big difference in how people respond to it. But how can you make the most of those first few seconds?
The first step in creating an engaging social video is to create a hook. A hook is something that grabs the viewer’s attention and makes them want to keep watching.
There are a number of different types of video hooks, including testimonials, question and answer videos, and even those funny or surprising videos that start with, “Hey guys,” or, “Hey ladies,” and then segue into a video about social media.
The key to finding the right hook for your video is to figure out what works best for your brand and your audience. Some of the most popular social media videos are those that segue into a question or a statement of fact, which prompts viewers to ask a question or make a statement of fact of their own. It’s a great way to build engagement, and it also shows that you’re listening to your audience.
Keep your videos short and sweet
The average attention span of a YouTube viewer is three minutes and twenty-two seconds. Make your videos short and sweet, and you increase the chance of viewers watching to the end.
This shouldn’t stop you from providing the most value possible in every video you make.
Providing incredible value is the best way to improve video quality, drive engagement and build a social media following. The more value you provide, the more people will want to interact with you, share your content, and follow your brand.
Don’t be scared to make a video longer than 3 minutes but make sure to cut repetitions and always put as much knowledge as possible.
End with a call-to-action
The best videos inspire people to take action. That’s why it’s crucial to make your videos social media-friendly.
Social media users are looking for a fun, shareable experience that provides a clear call to action (CTA). With just a few simple tweaks, you can increase your social share-ability and build a bigger audience.
The call to action, which is the specific action the viewer is asked to take, is so important because it makes the action easy to follow. If your viewers don’t know what to do next after viewing your video, it is hard to make them come back.
Put subtitles on your videos
Subtitles are an easy way to make your videos more accessible for people who are hard of hearing, or for those who want to turn the volume down and take in the text. They also allow you to set the scene, explain what’s about to happen, and offer background information.
They’re also a great way to get your words in front of more people: closed captioning was viewed more than a billion times on Facebook in December alone! You can also use subtitles to highlight key points for people who want to skim.
There are several free options to create subtitles in seconds.The ones I use the most are:
- Create them in Adobe Premiere or Final Cut
- Use online software like Veed.io
Use eye-catching thumbnails and titles
You want to share your videos on social media. They’re a great way to show off your business’s personality, provide useful info, and help you build relationships with potential customers. But if you share the same videos on each platform with the same title and thumbnail, you’re missing out on a big opportunity. Each platform has its own unique audience, and the best way to reach them is to tailor your videos for each platform.
The Thumbnail is the first thing your audience will see and it is one that will make them decide to click or not and therefore watch the video.
This is one of the most important steps because even if the video has the best content ever and brings the most value to people if nobody is going to click, it won’t really matter.
What makes a thumbnail great:
- Use close ups on faces
- Use bright backgrounds
- Usage of text
- Easy to see and understand
Understand your Audience
When you make videos for social media, your aim is to reach as many people as possible. You want your videos to be shared, liked, and commented on. The best way to achieve that is to create content that will resonate with your audience. That means understanding your audience and tailoring your videos to their needs.
Understanding your audience is the first step to improving video quality and engagement. If you’re not sure who you’re targeting, take some time to do some research and find out who your current and potential customers are.
The more you understand your audience, the better your videos will be able to resonate with them. Start by asking yourself questions like: Who am I trying to reach?
Promote your videos
– Promote it on social media. Post your video on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, any platforms your target audience is using.
– Email to your subscribers. And if you haven’t already, start an email list. This is a great article that goes through how to do that step by step.
– Write a blog. Write a blog and embed the video in your blog post.
Conclusion
If you follow these steps to improve your videos you will see an immediate improvement. And remember that repetition is the mother of skill. Keep making videos and you will succeed!The call to action I challenge everyone to take is to implement every video you shoot with at least 3 of the steps we went through in this article and share with me and everyone in the fb group the results/improvements.
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