How to Use Instagram for Your Business
Instagram is quickly becoming a video marketing platform for small businesses. On Instagram, there is a lot of competition so you need to come up with an entertaining video that gives people reason to watch; so that when they laugh while watching your short video clip, they will think of your brand and want to buy your product.
Plan the Video Sequence
You can start by planning the video sequence, for example, in the first video, you introduce your brand. People will be able to access the video slideshow and watch them in sequence on top of your profile. Slideshows on Instagram are great for introducing your branded hashtags. You can also give a tour of your product, give simple step by step tutorial on how to use your product, behind the scenes and questions and answers videos.
You can use a video editor to combine all the footage into a single video. First, you drag all the video clips into the timeline. Next, you rearrange them by dragging to the desired position. The video clip will automatically click into position.
Create a Slideshow Video
Not everyone has the equipment and skill to shoot video footage. An alternative is to create a video slideshow which will only require you to prepare some photos. The slideshow can be equally successful - you just need to know the right information to put in the slideshow in order for people to watch. Video slideshow can be about top lists, count down or step by step tutorial.
Add Text Overlay to Your Video
On your Instagram video, you should add some text overlay by using the fonts that are available on the built-in the editor on the social media platform. You can also use your own video editing program to add the text design on your video. It is important to keep all your videos with a consistent design. If you don't want to add a text layover on the video, you can include an empty slide with only the text in between the photo slides.
Keep Your Video Simple
The video must be easy to understand, you can use step by step approach to make it easy for the audience to understand the video message. You can use 1 - 2 filters to improve your video appearance. The filters tab is the second tab on the left. When you click the filters tab, you will find a lot of different filters to add to the video.
The filter can be added by dragging it and releasing over the video clip in the timeline. You can experiment by adding different types of filters on the same clip to see the result you would get. You can also add fast motion effect to the video to capture audience attention. To increase the video speed, you can go to the clip properties and drag the speed slider under the Video tab to the right.
Loop Videos
Looping videos, also known as boomerang videos, are usually made to make people laugh. It is a short clip that keeps on repeating the same thing. It is used primarily for introducing to people about a product feature, how to do things, or making a funny clip even funnier. Many people use this feature to meet the minimum requirement for the video length which is 3 seconds long. Because loop video is funny to watch, people will typically stay on your Instagram page longer to engage with your brand. To create a loop video, you simply copy the original clip and paste it on the same video track on the timeline. You can paste the same clip as many time as you want until the video reaches the desired length.
Add Music to Your Video
On Instagram, the video will automatically play without noise. But, adding a soundtrack can make your video stand-out. Using music to express the personality of your brand is more effective compared to lengthy text or voiceover speech. It is important to choose the right soundtrack that can set an exciting atmosphere in your video.
Stop Motion Videos
Stop motion video involves stitching a series of photos into a video. The photos move fast as if the characters in them are moving. You can also make a stop motion video by using the footage of an existing video. There is no option for you to add any music in the stop motion video. Basically, it will stay in the stories for 24 hours. After that, you can see it in your Stories archive. Stop motion videos are great for showcasing something that happens in a day of your life or offering a fast tour of a product.