Most of the greatest things in the world are rooted in small beginnings. Their fuel for growth is often a mixture of time, effort, and adaptability. These are the same three components that, when utilized, will help you grow your brand and tell your story. While you may only have a small square to work with on Instagram, here’s how you can make the biggest impact with visual storytelling:
Content Variation
Every story has different pieces to it and so should the content that you create for Instagram. By providing a variety of videos, you’ll keep your audience’s interest while also being able to highlight different parts of your business. For instance, on one day you might show a behind-the-scenes clip of your staff putting an event together, but on another day you’ll show a short lifestyle video promoting your new product line. These two simple videos allow your followers to learn multiple things about your brand: what your company culture is like, what goes into the making of your events/products, your company’s voice/message, and how you want your customers to feel when they purchase your products.
Layout Optimization
Two of the best video layouts on Instagram are vertical and square. By formatting your videos in either of these dimensions, you’ll be optimizing your user experience. Vertical videos are great for creating an immersive experience for your followers. They take up the whole phone screen and can make someone feel like they were there recording it on video; especially if you’re capturing a live event or showing behind-the-scenes of your company. Whether you film it on your phone or a high-def camera, this type of format is a great way to make a bold statement. Square videos are always a great go-to video style since that’s the natural layout of Instagram. It takes up less space than a vertical, but more space than a horizontal video. They’re easy for your audience to digest and interact with, but they’re also extremely easy to share – whether it’s sending the video through an Instagram message, Facebook post, e-mail, etc.
Camera Options
Having high-res video content is just as important as having footage shot on your phone. They each have a time and place to be used, but, luckily, social media has made it easy and acceptable for camera phone footage to be the norm. Be careful though, you don’t want to overload your audience with too much of either types of video style. Make sure to keep a mixture of both and always keep your audience in mind when you’re creating them. Thinking about what your followers will want to interact with will naturally help you decide which to choose.
Videos are fun, engaging, and can truly bring your brand to life. Have fun, start creating, and then learn how to optimize your content even more to increase your engagement and followers on Instagram!
