The Secret Sauce to Making Great Videos for Social Media

We learned so many great tips at the Philadelphia Digital Summit that we couldn’t just fit it into one blog! We’ve discussed the benefits of libraries utilizing video to tell a story in the past, but we decided to revisit this topic with some great intel from an expert in the field. Desiree Martinez is a Digital Marketing Director and YouTuber with 25.9K subscribers and she gave a presentation on how to create engaging social video. The first thing she advised is that you identify the goal that you’re looking to achieve through video. Your video should make people do something –  but what is it that you want them to do? Engage? Remember you? Go to your website? Join an email list? Visit your library? Answer that question first before you create your video. No matter what type of video you’re creating, whether it be long-form (60 seconds+) or short-form (15-60 seconds), the following tips are great to keep in mind as you make and share your video content in hopes of achieving your main goal.

No Fancy Footwork

This fact holds true for any content that you produce for social media. It doesn’t need to be fancy! Use the equipment that you have –  your phone, tablet or laptop to film a video. There’s no need to get a special camera or set up lighting. Use natural light to your advantage and don’t worry if it doesn’t look professional. It doesn’t have to! Social media videos are supposed to be raw, that’s what makes them more relatable and easier to consume. It doesn’t have to be perfect and chances are it will take a few tries to get what you’re looking for but that’s ok. Keep your video on topic and to the point and use free editing software when needed to condense or make it better. The more planning you do ahead of time, the simpler the filming process will be!

Can You Hear What I Hear?

It’s true that you don’t need cutting edge equipment to make a video, but always make sure the quality is good! Audio is important in every video and you’ll want to make sure the audio is clear and your message can be heard. Make sure you’re speaking loudly and clearly and you’re somewhat close to the device that is filming you. Eliminate all background noises so there are no audio distractions. Another tip that has become much more important recently is to always enable captions or subtitles on your videos. Most social media platforms will automatically mute your video as it plays in someone’s feed. Since we’ve learned from last week’s blog that we as a society are constantly distracted and always on the go, you’ll need for your video to be able to perform without audio as well. Adding in subtitles will allow them to get the gist of the video quickly without turning on sound and since you’ve taken the time to make your video look great as well, they’ll still be engaged with your content.

Make Supporting Content

There are many parts that go into making your video look great other than the video itself. To keep branding unified or add a professional polished look, you might want to create a title slide or thumbnail image. That way, as someone takes a quick glance at the thumbnail or freeze frame of your video, they’ll get the information that they need right away and know if they want to watch more. Here’s an example of how NBC does this with their YouTube page for The Voice.

Their logo, branding colors, and title of each video are displayed clearly so that you know exactly what to expect. Using a free tool such as Canva can easily accomplish a title slide for your video that can be imported through whichever editing tool you choose to use. In addition, think about other supporting content you can create based off of this video. Could this video be embedded into a blog and shared that way as well? You could share behind the scenes footage of the making of the video to give your patrons a more inside look at what goes on in your library or become familiar with your staff. Once the video is made, you might want to also create a short clip or teaser to get people excited for the full video. If you put time and effort into making a video, feel free to share it along with supporting content as much as you’d like to get people engaged. And remember that it’s a trial-and-error process. You won’t know what works right away. Video should be creative and fun and a fresh way for you to test out different methods of engaging with your audience!