Social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram have become powerful tools for content creators to showcase their video skills and engage with an online audience.
However, as more video content continues to be uploaded and promoted, it is crucial for content creators to do what they can to stand out from the crowd and avoid looking amateurish.
This blog post will provide valuable tips and techniques to help you capture and create high-quality videos on your phone, which can then be optimised across social media channels to elevate your brand’s content to a professional level.
Plan Your Content
Before you hit record on your phone and start capturing visual content, take the time to plan and strategise. Begin by brainstorming ideas and concepts that align with what your audience wants to be seeing online. This can be achieved by doing your research manually or using insight tools to work out what certain demographics exactly want to be seeing on your social media platform.
Also consider creating a plan of action to outline your shots, transitions, direction and overall flow of the video. This will ensure that your content is well-structured and doesn’t veer of course. Consider the background and lighting to ensure the shots you take are of high-quality and capture as much visual detail as possible.
Additionally, consider the length of your videos. On TikTok, short and fast-paced videos tend to perform better and resonate with a typically younger audience, while Instagram and Facebook allow for longer-form videos as well as ‘live’ content.
Overall, you should adjust your content to match the platform’s preferences.
Consider Investing In Low-Cost Equipment
While smartphones and mobile devices have improved their imagery and video capabilities over the years, consider investing in a lapel microphone for improved audio.
An external microphone will improve audio quality in amateur videos, ensuring your viewers can hear you clearly and are especially helpful if a lot of the content you share on social media features interviews and ‘pieces to camera’.
Another, low-cost measure of improving your phone’s video quality is a gimbal (also known as a stabiliser). A gimbal uses a mechanical arm to stabilise your phone/camera when you’re on the move, making shots of moving people or vehicles look less shaky and uncoordinated, more focused and professional.
Thinking long-term, if you are serious about improving your brand’s social media content, then your phone will not always be enough and you should seriously consider investing in an external professional videography team. The videographer will already have the equipment, skill and experience to elevate your content professionally.
Looking for a video production agency to enhance your video content? See how we work with brands to bring ideas to life across social media.
User Generated Content
Incorporating user-generated content (UGC) into your video content can significantly enhance its quality and make your content look less amateurish.
By leveraging UGC, you tap into the creativity and authenticity of your audience, creating a more engaging and dynamic viewing experience for them and for your wider online followers. UGC also introduces a sense of realism and relatability to your videos, giving your brand a chance to be seen as ‘giving back’ and showcasing some very real, diverse perspectives and stories. Whether it’s testimonials or product reveals, this added layer of authenticity from your followers will make your videos feel more genuine and less amateurish.
Consider Captions and Subtitles
Adding captions and subtitles to your videos is essential for making the content you capture on your phone look more respectable, as well as helping to reach a wider audience. The fact is, many viewers prefer watching videos without sound (especially if they’re watching videos at work!) or they may be hearing impaired. It’s important then, that your video caters to as many audiences as possible for maximum engagement.
By providing captions, you make your content accessible to a broader audience, increasing engagement and shares. Platforms such as TikTok and Instagram offer built-in tools for adding captions to vertical videos, saving you the time of creating them from scratch
Engage with Trends and Challenges
Staying up-to-date with the latest trends and challenges on platforms such as TikTok and Instagram is an excellent way to stay relevant, increase your visibility and social media presence as well as connecting with your brand’s audience.
There are a number of tricks to stay up to date with all things relevant – this can include researching popular video specs and hashtags. This will show that you are actively engaged in the community and will keep your video content fresh and exciting. However, make sure that the trends align with your brand and maintain a level of authenticity. Don’t blindly follow trends if they don’t resonate with your style or message.
Ultimately, it is down to you, the creator, to stay ‘media savvy’ and keep up with trending stories and relevant campaigns. By staying switched on to what is going on and affecting your consumers, only then can you ensure the content you showcase to them will resonate and generate a positive response. Long-term, this will also help build stronger relationships with returning customers.
Polish Your Presentation
Your appearance and presentation play a significant role in the overall professionalism of your online videos, giving your brand its own unique style and affecting how well content is received by online users.
Pay attention to your surroundings and choose a clean, aesthetically-pleasing backdrop in-line with your branding. It is key that the presentation and visuals of your social posts align with your business messaging.
Confidence and enthusiasm are also important, so ensure those who feature in your social media video rehearse their delivery and work on conveying the message concisely and with the right energy. Remember, viewers are more likely to engage with content that is visually appealing and presented in a confident manner.
Creating social media videos for platforms like TikTok and Instagram will offer incredible opportunities to showcase your creativity and connect with a broader audience. By following these tips, you can significantly improve the content you capture on your phone, resulting in higher engagement online and greater brand awareness long-term.
At Prohibition, we work with a range of brands across all sectors to create innovative video content, all achieved in-house by our dedicated videography team.
Learn more about the video production you can achieve with us and drop us an email: hello@prohibitionpr.co.uk or call on 0113 430 4160.
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