How to Create Videos for Instagram That Drive Engagement

Video on Instagram empowers marketers to share their brand’s story, communicate key messaging, and showcase their product or service. Video can be applied across all stages of the marketing funnel, making it the go-to format to generate leads, increase engagement, and improve conversions.

• 85% of marketers plan on using video in their business strategy in 2021.
• There are over 1 billion active Instagram accounts worldwide with 90% of Instagram users following at least one business account.
• 93% of markets say that video is very or somewhat important to their business.

Innovative brands are waking up to the benefits of video marketing, and what better way to flex your video creation skills than with one of the world’s biggest social media apps? 

But that is not all. With Tailwind, you can plan, schedule and post Reels – filling your Instagram content calendar in a matter of minutes!

What is Instagram engagement?

Instagram engagement measures your audience’s interactions with your content and provides valuable insights into how your business forms connections. Engagement also acts as virtual proof that your business is worth looking at by prospective customers.

Most importantly, engagement is proof to Instagram’s algorithm that your content is resonating with your audience. Therefore, it will help show your posts to other people with similar interests and widen your reach.

Engagement is about measuring the interactions between your brand and your audience. Here are the most common engagement metrics on Instagram. 

• Likes
• Shares
• Comments
• Saves
• DMs
• Mentions
• Click-throughs

How to increase Instagram engagement with video

There’s no shortcut to creating engagement. You need to create video content that resonates with your audience, sparks conversation and provides an opportunity to connect.

Create an excellent first impression

You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression, and on Instagram, your audience is a mere thumb-flick away from scanning past your content to the following video. 

• Visuals are everything. Use robust eye-catching video footage that will ensure your content stands out. 
• Include a striking static image. Think of this as the “cover photo” for your video. The image will be the first thing your audience sees when they’re scrolling through their feed, so make sure it stands out. 
• Three-second rule. People who watch the first three seconds of a video are more likely to finish watching the entire clip. Make the first three seconds count and grab your audience’s attention.

Brand your content

It’s well-known that a customer goes through several touchpoints with your brand throughout their buyer’s journey. These touchpoints could be viewing a physical billboard ad, receiving a targeted Facebook ad, reading a blog post, or engaging on social media. 

With so many touchpoints (and so many brands!), it’s essential that your audience understands that they’re interacting with the same business along their path to purchase. Therefore, you must continue to display your brand identity at all times to help your potential customer recall your business along their various interactions.  

• Solidify your brand voice. Use a consistent voice and tone across all your marketing materials — Instagram videos included. 
• Use your brand colors. Every business should have its brand colors. Create video content that highlights your color palette. 
• Include a logo. What better way to make your brand stand out than using your logo or watermark? 

Implement these talking points in your video strategy to create a strong, recognizable brand identity that will help to maximize engagement.

Experiment with different video formats

What works for one business might not work for another. Experiment with the different Instagram video formats and measure the success of each campaign to analyze which provides you with the most engagement. You might find more success with Instagram Reels than IGTV, or the majority of your engagement might come from Stories. Test, measure, and analyze your Instagram engagement rates for each format and stick with what works best for you.

Provide value, be authentic, and earn attention

To keep your viewers engaged and pique their interest in your video content, you need to provide them with value. By delivering value to your audience — whether that’s comedic relief, sharing how-to’s or tips and tricks, or educating on a subject matter — your brand will come across as authentic.

Authenticity sounds like another social media buzzword, but genuinely representing your brand will help your audience relate to your video content and naturally increase engagement.

Create a solid CTA

When planning your video, consider what action you want the viewer to take after watching and engaging. Typically, this action will depend on the goal for your video and where the asset slots into your overall marketing strategy. For example, a top-of-funnel brand awareness video might include a CTA that asks the viewer to download a whitepaper or register for a webinar, therefore pushing them further into the marketing funnel and along their buyer’s journey. 

Not every video will need a CTA. Some video content might be purely to spark a conversation or provide entertainment. Only include a CTA when you need the viewer to take action.

Think of it this way. What’s more beneficial to a business? A brand with one million followers and zero engagement or a brand with 10,000 followers and plenty of engagement. To create engaging videos that smash through the monotony of the scroll, sign up to Lumen5 — an online video maker that creates thumb-stopping social media videos in minutes.