Video killed the static star. How you can quickly pivot to video-led content

Advice

The TikTok-wave is not only affecting dance moves, trend-set challenges or our darkening sense of humour; it’s dramatically shifting the social media game.

Instagram’s updates to optimise Reels within their user experience, as well as Facebook’s recent feed changes, only confirms one thing: video reigns. Our audiences are opting for short-form, fast paced and endlessly scrollable content.

With TikTok showcasing high engagement and beating other social apps when it comes to total time spent on platform, a video-led era is set to enhance the power of branded content.

But for small social teams, fully reaping all the opportunities of video content can seem daunting. How do you make the pivot to video happen?

Thanks to the wonders of the 21st-century, it is easier than ever to upskill your in-house team with online video editing courses.

Don’t be afraid to embrace your inner Spielberg. Much of the video content on Instagram and TikTok is lo-fi and shot on mobile. Your inner creative and strategic brain is your biggest asset. Buy some accessories that enable you to do more with your smartphone and then start to learn more about your device’s video editing tools and capabilities.

The other key strategy when it comes to engaging video content is to bring on creators or influencers to fill the gaps by producing content of their own. Be mindful that it’s a balancing act. They create, you lose some creative control. So be clear on your brief to them. How do you want your brand to be portrayed? What are the key messages? Remember that they know their audience best, so it’s important to trust their creative direction.

Finally, and arguably the most effective strategy is to engage with an agency that can produce and elevate your video content for socials – like us!

What you need to know

We may have done a good job of making the mission of creating on-brand video content for social media seem easy, but there are a couple of hard and fast rules to achieve success. Here are a couple of key pointers:

Video content works well when you align it to what’s trending. This includes trending songs, challenges and memes

Your community will call you out if you produce a video that is not aligned to your brand values. So have a strategy with clear boundaries on where your brand should play

Plan to be spontaneous. Plan key dates and moments in your content schedule ahead of time so you can have team members on standby to create content that aligns with trending topics, events and cultural moments

Still room for static?

Though it’s important to invest in video, there’s still space for static in your social media toolkit.

The launch of apps like Pinterest Shuffles and Bereal prove that images still engage.

Pinterest Shuffles aims to satisfy consumer demand for interactivity and image-led creativity, allowing users to curate their own collages with saved pins, and images from their personal library, while Bereal prompts users to take a photo (front and back camera) of exactly what they’re doing once a day; unfiltered.

Brands have already started experimenting with the Bereal functionality, with Chipotle and Beginning Boutique just two examples of smart marketers building an organic audience and broadcasting exclusive discount codes. While Pinterest Shuffles is still in its infancy, we predict it will increase time spent on the app and present an opportunity for brands to reach Gen Z audiences, where personalised experiences and interactivity hold the key to engagement.

With Bereal attracting 41 million downloads this year alone, TikTok has already cloned the function to create TikTok Now, with a very similar functionality. Moral of the story? Video is important, but statics still have their place.

Things are moving fast and there’s a lot to keep up with.

If you want to know more, please get in touch with our Social and Creative Team