Creating Viral Content for Instagram and TikTok

Are you using TikTok or Instagram for business? Looking for a content strategy that works and won’t leave you exhausted?

In this article, you’ll discover a three-step strategy to create highly engaging TikTok and Instagram content that will scale your audience while helping you avoid burnout.

Why Should Businesses Consider Short-Form Video on TikTok and Instagram?

Every business can use educational content to attract consumers on social media platforms. The question most marketers and business owners face is how and where to provide that content to their target audience.

Short-form TikTok videos and Instagram videos are strong contenders for three reasons.

• The barrier to entry is low because both platforms make it easy to set up profiles and begin publishing content.
• You can quickly test new topics or delivery styles because you’re not producing a single, hour-long video that requires a significant investment of time or money.
• Incorporating trending audio into your videos plays into the algorithms so you reach more people.

Understanding that short-form content delivers results is one thing; keeping up with the demand for new short-form video content without feeling exhausted is another.

Tap into the three-pillar strategy below to consistently create and publish highly engaging content that scales your audience while helping you avoid burnout.

A 3-Part Strategy to Create Successful Short-Form Video for TikTok and Instagram

At a high level, this strategy relies on polarity, creativity, and energy management.

#1: Polarity

To incorporate polarity in your video content, you’ll combine two things that aren’t typically associated with each other to attract viewers and spark conversation.

The polarity or surprise of seeing two disparate elements works in your favor because it jars people’s minds and allows viewers across the spectrum of interest to engage with your video.

For example, Kat Norton combines Excel tips with dancing and music.

Some people love it. “Wow, I would've never thought to combine Excel and dancing and music!”

Some people hate it. “What is this girl doing?”

Some people fall anywhere in between. “What’s happening here?”

The polarity gives people an opening to comment on, react to, or share the video. Regardless of the sentiment, the algorithms see increased engagement so the video is surfaced to more people.

The key to successfully leveraging polarity is authenticity. If you’re uncomfortable with what you’re doing, that feeling is likely to register with viewers on a subconscious level. Rather than creating affinity, you’ll be putting up an invisible barrier.

Pick something you genuinely love and then brainstorm ways to combine it with your content delivery. For example, if you’re in the real estate business and you love golf, you can video yourself taking swings at the golf ball. With each swing, you use effects to hit a real estate tip onto the screen.

#2: Creativity

Many people can get held up by the limiting belief, “I’m not creative.”

In reality, every person’s makeup includes a creative element. Think back to your younger self. What did you enjoy—drawing, painting, singing, dancing, writing, acting, or something else? Maybe you’re a cook who creates new recipes or an engineer who finds solutions to problems. Creativity takes many forms.

Moving forward with creativity is simply a matter of understanding why you believe you aren’t creative. Maybe it’s because you no longer have an outlet for your creativity.

Once you’ve acknowledged your creativity, you can learn how to get into your own unique creative flow.

Your brain has two sides, each of which focuses on different functions. The left side is more analytical and the right side is more creative. If you try to move immediately from an activity that engages the left side of your brain straight into another activity that requires engaging the right side of your brain, you’ll likely end up frustrated.

Your brain needs time to switch gears.

This process looks different for everybody but engaging in activities that put your mind on autopilot before you step into the creative ideation process is a good place to start. Go outside and take a walk, meditate, dance, draw… do anything that allows your mind to wander freely for a few hours.

As ideas come to you, make note of them using whatever tools work best for you.

#3: Energy Management

Everyone has the same 24 hours in a day. The topic of time management focuses on what you do during finite slices of that time.

This strategy puts more emphasis on how you show up so you can increase your productivity within the constraints of that finite time block. It all relates to learning how to work with the left and right sides of your brain.

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Rather than organizing your time around task priority, try organizing tasks based on the sides of the brain they engage.

Not only will you be able to accomplish more during each time block, but also your mental state and physical energy will improve because you’re not requiring your brain to flip-flop multiple times every hour or day. You’re harnessing and channeling the energy you need and applying it how and where it matters most in your day.

Want to test it out? Instead of trying to force creativity by shoehorning a 30-minute brainstorming session in between several meetings and analytical activities, dedicate 3 full hours to creative ideation and see what happens.

A 3-Day Timeline to Batch 10 Videos a Week

Dedicate all or a significant portion of one day a week to ideating in the creative flow state. During this time, you’ll come up with topics to cover and find inspiration for including elements of polarity in your videos.

Near the end of that day, spend an hour or so researching trending content on TikTok and Instagram. Because you’re still in the creative flow state, your brain will begin to connect your content ideas to trending songs and videos.

All that’s left is to map each idea into a content plan so it’s ready for your next day of recording.

Dedicate a second day of the week to create videos. A full day may seem like a lot but you’ll use this time for hair, makeup, lighting, and so on before you batch-create your videos.

Dedicate a third day to video editing. As you’re working on each video, be mindful of video length. Try to keep your quick tip videos as close to the 15-second mark as possible and your storytelling videos under 60 seconds.

Regardless of the style of video, the choice of music or sound is what makes the biggest difference. But there are a couple of things you can do to give your content an edge on the competition.

Tips for Improving Average Watch Time and Retention on Short-Form Video on Instagram and TikTok

Whether you’re creating short-form video for TikTok, Instagram, or both, the first couple of seconds are critical to attracting and engaging your viewer.

Kat understands that her audience is often looking for solutions to a problem. She starts many of her videos by showing the promised result and then walks the viewer through the steps to achieve that result. Once she has them watching, they’ll likely watch the looping video a few times to fully comprehend the solution she’s showcasing.

Another way to pull viewers into watching a full video is to leverage entertaining storytelling. For example, Kat has started acting as different characters in a single video. She might start the video dressed and acting as The Boss, then switch to The Co-Worker, and then switch to herself.

Other Notes From This Episode

• Connect with Michael Stelzner @Stelzner on Instagram and @Mike_Stelzner on Twitter.
• Watch this interview and other exclusive content from Social Media Examiner on YouTube.

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