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Using Instagram for Video Marketing

Instagram Videos

A picture is worth a thousand words, and every picture is another opportunity to tell your brand’s unique story. With over 700 million people around the world posting on Instagram, you won’t want to miss out on the invaluable benefits offered by an enormous and diverse audience. Even better, business owners do not need a large budget or production equipment to shoot compelling videos on Instagram. Instead, a quality post can entice your followers to complete purchases on the video-sharing mobile app.

In fact, free video creation tools exist online, granting video neophytes the ability to publish viral-worthy videos. But while video production requires little effort, the true challenge lies in the content of each video.

So what exactly constitutes as viral-worthy video content? The answer isn’t that simple because each social network has unique guidelines and audiences. Thus, you will need an in-depth understanding of how to fully take advantage of the photo-sharing app. The social media experts at Premiere Creative have great video insights that can help businesses achieve success on Instagram.

Best Practices for Posting Videos on an Instagram Newsfeed

Your newsfeed is the most straightforward approach to distributing video content. Through complicated algorithms, these posts appear directly on your followers’ newsfeed. Most marketing experts agree that you should always reserve this slot for your most polished video content. For instance, you can post a video highlighting the value your brand offers to viewers, exclusive discounts, a series of how-to videos, or even an exclusive behind the scenes tour that features the inner workings of your company.

But this distribution method is not without its flaws as Instagram limits video posts to a mere one-minute. While this time limit may impose some problems with your content strategy, any seasoned marketer will find cunning ways to circumvent this restriction. If you have a longer piece of video content that you wish to promote, for instance, you can post small portions of the video as teasers on Instagram to pique viewers’ interest. Moreover, luring interested customers to your website to finish watching the video by using a URL within the video’s description will increase your page’s activity. Keep in mind that hyperlinks do not work in your post, so you’ll want to keep the link short and easy to remember. Furthermore, consider offering exclusive content to your followers, unavailable on any of your other marketing channels. Doing so provides an incentive to follow you and can act as a great conversion tool for your most active supporters or customers.

How to Format Your Instagram Video Post

Don’t forget to consider the technical aspects of your videos. While it’s always great to “think outside the box,” you should definitely shoot your video inside the frame. You can upload and play videos on Instagram in a square, vertical, or landscape mode, so make sure your videos don’t appear cropped. Once you upload your video, choose a compelling video cover. Much like YouTube, Instagram allows you to select a video cover that appears as a thumbnail in followers’ newsfeeds. Choose your thumbnail wisely because intriguing frames can be the deciding factoring for whether users watch your video.

Posting Video Content as an Instagram Story

What initially began as a copycat feature to Snapchat quickly evolved into Instagram’s most popular hallmark. A reported 200 million users watch and use Instagram Stories daily, surpassing Snapchat’s reported 161 million daily active users. But what exactly makes this feature so addictive?

Personalized stories strike an emotional chord with a viewer more effectively than a generic post. By evoking emotion in your video marketing, you can empower social influence that will increase the likelihood of viewers sharing your videos within their own social network. Statistics across the board, transcending all industries, prove Instagram Stories generate enormous results for an unprecedented number of brands. Many businesses report Instagram Stories leading to heightened engagement on posts and increased traffic to their company profile.

The Benefits of Instagram Stories

Unlike posts on your Instagram page, Instagram Stories have a strict time limit of 24 hours and users can only view these videos by clicking on the avatars at the top of their newsfeed. Though the parameters allow 10 seconds per story, savvy marketers work around the loophole by breaking up a video in shorter increments and posting these increments as consecutive Instagram stories. Moreover, marketers can include fun feature overlays and graphics, filters, stickers, and Emojis, all of which transform these videos from ordinary into extraordinary. If you feel more comfortable editing your video off Instagram, you can simply use a plethora of free graphic design tools, which allow you to resize content for Instagram stories. Once you’re satisfied with your video, it’s time to share it with your followers.

Alternatively, you can always opt to shoot a live streaming video. Live video broadcasting from inside Instagram has a limit of one hour and will disappear after the broadcast finishes. This option offers a great way to showcase an exclusive, a behind-the-scenes sneak peek at upcoming products or services. You can generate buzz about the launch, thereby prompting people to tune in so they don’t miss an exclusive first-look.

The Rise of Video Marketing

Digital experts believe that video usage will continue to rise, even accounting for 80% of all global internet traffic as early as 2019! In particular, Instagram experienced incredible video growth within the last year. But as trends highlight increased video consumption, more brands now realize that video content is now an essential component of a digital strategy, rather than a “nice to have” component. With proper execution, video content on Instagram can launch your brand’s digital presence. The key lies in providing exceptional video content to your audience.

Is your business looking to delve into video marketing through Instagram? Contact the digital experts at Premiere Creative today by calling  (973) 346-8100 to learn how Instagram can help drive social engagement and lead your brand to success.