Recently Instagram had generated shockwaves by announcing that a new algorithm would radically alter the sequence of posts that users now see on their feeds. According to Instagram, averagely people miss close to 70% of the posts because of the exponential growth in the number of users, as well as the photos and videos being shared on a daily basis. This essentially means that it has become very hard for users to keep up with all that appears on their feeds, and most often they end up missing out on what they really want to keep track of.
Close on the heels of the earlier announcement that created a lot of backlash, Instagram announced that it would be extending the length of its video posts from the existing 15 seconds to a relatively mammoth 60 seconds. Justifying this, Instagram clarified that the time that people were spending on watching video content increased by more than 40% over the previous year. The increase in the video length is of great importance to marketers across the board simply because now marketers would be able to better engage their audiences and build brands better than ever before. Some best practices that video marketers can keep in mind:
Keep It Close and Simple
According to statistics, Instagram videos are being watched primarily on mobile devices and this is a trend that many marketers have already cashed in. According to a report published by eMarketer, Instagram is expected to rake in around $2.81 billion by 2017. The new freedom given by the increased video length makes it imperative for social media marketers to optimize the videos. This also means that the entire social media marketing and production team must work in better alignment to produce videos that are much more superior and can engage viewers for the extra permitted time.
Videos that are likely to succeed more will invariably have more close-up shots that can take better advantage of the limited size of mobile screens. The extra video length cannot be interpreted by marketers to encourage large landscape shots that do not communicate any detail to the viewer. The point to keep in mind that videos for the audience need to be created keeping in mind that they are always on the go and have short attention spans. You can contact the experts at instamacro, a leading digital marketing agency for more tips on video marketing.
Trim the Excesses
Just because Instagram has permitted uploading of 60 seconds of video content it does not mean that every film produced need to go to that length. Marketers need to keep in mind that their storytelling needs to be crisp and punchy and they really do not have to drag out the film over the 60 seconds to be effective. As with all editing, marketers need to get to the nub of the issue and tell the story to achieve the maximum impact – if this can be done in a shorter time frame, all the better. It is a good policy to edit the film to various lengths and see which one achieves the most engagement, and adjust your marketing communication accordingly. You can make a great deal of difference to the length by altering variables like the narration, conflict types, and other elements.
Experiment with New Video Styles
With the launch of the 60-second video, Instagram has opened up a lot many opportunities for marketers to optimize the style of the video content that were earlier very ungainly such as interviews and Q&A sessions. With the extra time, it is now possible to get proper answers that do not look rushed and unnatural. With the luxury of 60 seconds, voiceovers are another area that can now be far better paced, and it is possible for marketers to better incorporate devices such as silent pauses to create anticipation and tension that can be crucial to the message delivery.
Conclusion
With the 60 seconds, marketers now have a lot of leeway in crafting advertising messages that can create a far superior level of engagement. However, keeping the message crisp and impactful without excesses of any kind remains critical for user likes and engagement.
Author bio: A data IT professional, Sujain Thomas enjoys writing about field IT topics, such as database administration services. She works with remote DBA experts, providing DBA services and solving clients’ data problems.
One Response
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