How to Make Your Instagram Videos More Interesting?

Instagram has always been a visual platform where you can gather more Instagram followers, and Instagram likes by taking advantage of people’s tendency to engage more with visual content. Using videos on Instagram is a great way to increase your brand engagement and get higher search engine rankings. However, that doesn’t mean that just any old video will do. If you want to boost business growth using videos that will fetch you more real Instagram followers, you need to make them interesting. Here’s a guide on what you need to know when using videos for Instagram marketing.

Why use videos on Instagram?

Although images get more engagement at present in the form of Instagram likes, using videos can help you increase engagement rates on your account through a higher number of comments generated. People who watch a video on Instagram are more likely to share their thoughts on it in the comments section or respond to some aspect of the video.

Using a video, you can elaborate on aspects of your brand, its products/services, and other factors that are difficult to do in writing or through an image. Videos can help you tell the story you want for your brand and this can create a personal connection between you and your Instagram followers. Those who end up watching your videos can better understand how to use your products or may even connect with the brand personality established through the video.

People lead busy lives and are being bombarded with information every day. This has resulted in the creation of a world where people are seeking information with as little time investment as possible. Most people simply don’t have the time to read through text or comprehend other media, but videos can help achieve what these other media can’t in a short period of time. They can also create a better understanding of the message than other forms of media can.

Businesses have begun to realize the importance of using video to further business goals and this has contributed to the rise of video marketing in today’s world. More videos are also being watched on Instagram today, so you need to step up and deliver if you don’t want to risk losing your Instagram followers to your competitors.

Video formats on Instagram

Videos on your Instagram feed

These are the videos posted to your feed directly which must be at least 3 seconds long and can be up to 60 seconds in length. The aspect ratio of feed videos is between 1:1 for the standard Instagram square to 4:5 for vertical. These tend to show up on the Explore page of people who already watch videos and can help you reach a wider audience.

Instagram Stories videos

These are best as vertical videos with an aspect ratio of 9:16 and can be a maximum of 15 seconds in length. While Stories disappear after 24 hours, you can highlight important Stories to keep them on your profile.

IGTV

Such videos must be at least 15 seconds long and can go up to 10 minutes, with larger, verified accounts being able to post videos that are up to 60 minutes long.

Livestreaming

Livestreaming is also one way for you to use videos on your Instagram to build a deeper connection with your real Instagram followers.

Planning for great Instagram videos

Establish your goal

Think about what you want to achieve through your video. Do you want to gain more Instagram followers or just increase engagement on your posts? Do you want to boost conversions through your videos? Knowing what you want will help you plan accordingly so that you have the right video that can help you meet the goal.

Decide on the equipment you’ll need

High-quality videos require usage of high quality equipment. You need to make sure you’re using a great camera and audio equipment so that you visuals are great and sound is spot on. You’ll also want to get the right lighting for your videos so invest in lighting equipment if you need to so that your videos are well lit.

Shoot your video

While shooting your video, make sure that the subject is in focus and keep your shot steady so that jerky movements don’t end up distracting your Instagram followers. You can also find creative ways to incorporate brand colours into your video to resonate with your brand’s overall image.

Edit it well

Make sure you do a good job of editing your videos once you’ve shot them to keep your Instagram followers glued till the end.

Post your video for SEO

Even great videos require you to put some effort into optimizing them for search engines. Make use of the right hashtags and keywords so that your videos reach a wider audience and result in business growth.

Video ideas to boost business growth

Teasers

If you’ve got a longer video that you can’t put up on Instagram, but are uploading it to your YouTube channel, you could always direct your Instagram followers to it by using a teaser video. This way, they’ll get to know about it and get interested in watching it on the other platform.

Teaser can also be used to create hype around a product you’re going to launch. You can include key features and highlights of the product and put it up in the form of a teaser so that your Instagram followers become aware of it and can eagerly await its release.

Time lapse videos

Taking your audience behind the scenes and introducing them to the work involved in your business is a great way to establish a personal connect, but there is a risk of revealing too much. This is not something you want for your business as it can result in your ideas being stolen. Time lapse videos work perfectly in such cases because you can take your audience behind the scenes and create an interesting video without revealing too much. Through time lapse videos, you can show:

• A product being packaged for shipment to customers
• Setting up a venue for an event
• Brainstorming content on a whiteboard

Explainer videos

You may feel like you’re coming across as too promotional with these, but in reality, explainer videos are crucial to the success of your business. Remember that your Instagram followers are interested in your content which is why they’re following you in the first place. They consider you to be the authority when it comes to your products, so take advantage of that and use explainer videos to your products’ advantage. These videos can be used to:

• Highlight specific features of a product
• Showcase your products in action
• Demonstrate the use of the product

They are a great way for you to show your audience why your products will add value to their lives and encourage them to buy your products.

Stop motion videos

Stop motion videos are those which have been made by compiling several images together to communicate a story or take your Instagram followers on a journey. Through these videos, you have the advantage of assembling props and other items in any way that you’d like. This is not something you can do for a normal video or a single photo. With such videos, you get to take your audience on a journey in a fun way and ultimately reveal the outcome you want to. For example, using a stop motion video to put across the proceedings of an event can keep your viewers interested until the end of the video revealing the final outcome from the event.

User generated videos

People are sometimes sceptical of what they see and hear from a brand because of the obvious profit motive involved. They’re more likely to believe that your brand’s product or service holds value if they see that other customers of your brand are reporting on it positively. Content generated from existing customers of your brand feels more genuine to others than a marketing message or ad and can be used to experience a growth rate in conversions.

Videos to introduce yourself

It’s important to remember that Instagram is a social media platform so people on the platform are looking to make some real connections. They want to be able to connect with other people and when they connect with brands, having a human element can make a big difference. Posting videos where you’re directly talking can help people put a face to the brand and erase that dividing line to create a deeper connection. You could start off by talking about what got you interested in this industry and keeping up with more personal content so that people feel a more personal connection with your brand.
These are just some of the many video ideas that you can use to boost business growth on Instagram, but there’s really no limit to what you can achieve if you put your creativity to the test.

Conclusion

Using videos on Instagram to grow your business isn’t always easy, but with some practice and patience, you can end up making videos that your Instagram followers just can’t get enough of.