Making Instagram and Facebook Videos that Stand Out From the Pack

Today we've teamed up with the video pros at Vimeo to talk all about videos for social media. In a video-first social landscape, you might feel under-equipped to make stellar social media videos that really do justice to your small business or brand—especially if video isn’t your forte.

Leverage these 5 Vimeo-approved tips to create better social media videos for your Facebook or Instagram.

1

Templatize your work.

You don’t have time to spend hours and hours editing each video, reel or Story you’re going to post for your business. One of the best ways to standardize your processes and make better videos faster is to shift to brand-approved templates.

Templated videos follow a theme both visually and in their framing, and this is an easy way to give your videos a unified look and feel that’s also distinct from your competitors.

Plug and play a distinct visual style throughout any videos you create. This might include filters, presets, color schemes, having a consistent font whenever you add text to a video or a distinct brand kit (like a final frame at the end of every video showing off your logo).

2

Opt for enticing transitions.

Video transitions aren’t just jump cuts or fade-to-black anymore. Mastering video transitions creates an unexpected and delightful element that will keep your audience engaged.

And these transitions don’t have to be traditional, either. One of the biggest lessons we’ve learned from the rise of vertical videos (like TikToks and Reels) is that riffing on a transition or jump cut is one way to participate in the biggest trends on the internet today.

3

Tailor your videos to each social platform.

Repurposing your videos—also known as cutdowns—will extend their life cycle and help you get more bang for each video’s buck.

You can turn an Instagram Story into a Facebook ad, transform existing video clips from your camera roll into a reel and keep audiences interested by making sure each platform is telling a uniform story.

It’s so important to create a bespoke content strategy where everything you share on social media feels intentional—not just copy-and-pasting from another app because a topic or format is trending.

It can be overwhelming to know exactly the right specs for each platform, especially if you’re making a ton of videos. Don’t worry! Here’s the information for Facebook and Instagram:

• Facebook video lengths and specs
• Instagram specs

4

Pay attention to emerging trends.

We know video, so we’re not exaggerating when we say shoppable and interactive video is the future.

Nurturing a potential customer is a lengthy lane. “According to the age-old marketing rule of 7, it takes someone an average of seven interactions with your brand before they make a purchase,” said Suze Kaufman, Social & Content Distribution Manager at Vimeo. “Be patient and focus on creating authentic, engaging opportunities for interaction.”

Enterprise businesses are already paving the path to purchase with shoppable video. This begs the question: what if small businesses could turn that scenic route into a high-speed highway and transform a full-of-friction process into something much easier?

How it started:

• Customer hits your Instagram → visits your website → adds your product to cart → explores a little more on Instagram → abandons their cart
• Customer sees a cool product or service on Facebook → signs up for your email newsletter → visits your website → peruses a few reviews on Google → finally makes a purchase after a lengthy research phase

Where it’s going with interactive video: