by Are you struggling to move people from being familiar with you to buying from you? Wondering how to create short videos to help guide people to purchasing?
In this article, you'll learn how to create short, cost-effective videos to help convince people to purchase your product or service.
Why Use Short, Fact-Based Video?
According to a Wyzowl survey, 72% of participants prefer to use video to learn about a product or service. This indicates that video is a great option for small businesses to connect with, convince, and convert leads into customers.
Quick fact videos packed with stats are especially helpful during the convincing phase of the customer journey. This type of bite-sized video is designed to capture the viewer's attention and explain the key points about a particular concept, product, or service in a visually compelling manner.
As a bonus, creating quick fact videos doesn't have to involve elaborate props, actors, or venues. It's cost-effective video content. All you need is a powerful script along with the right graphics, animation, or visuals to amplify the story.
Before getting into how to create such a video, let's do a deep dive into what makes an effective, engaging quick video.
The human attention span is getting shorter, which is why it's important for any piece of content to begin with a bang. Start with a fact or prediction that grabs the viewer's attention, leaving them intrigued and wanting to learn more.
Then go on to state another startling fact or prediction to further build on the story. After highlighting a concern, give viewers context to understand it better.
Toward the end, ask a question and leave viewers with a clear and strong call to action (CTA).
It's interesting to note that in a span of just 60 seconds, a fact video can accurately throw light on an issue. Be sure to use moving visuals, an appropriate background score, and the right amount of words in every frame to give viewers enough breathing room to take in the information.
Here's how to create short, fact-based videos you can use in social media posts and ad campaigns.
#1: Storyboard a Video That's 60 Seconds or Less
A storyboard is to a video what an outline is to a blog post. It helps you detail what every frame should consist of while ensuring the story follows a logical flow. Creating a storyboard lets you approach your video in an organized manner.
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Developing a storyboard begins with narrowing down to the purpose of the video. Ask yourself what you want to achieve from the quick fact video. Do you want to spread awareness about your product/service? Increase engagement? Generate leads?
Once you have a clear goal in mind, you'll be able to curate the message, script, flow of scenes, and CTA.
Here are the elements you'll need to gather.
Script Elements
Before you start creating your content, you need to have every scene planned out with the appropriate script. Perhaps you have an existing article you want to extract the text from. Make sure that all of the key points you're addressing are laid out in the desired sequence in a document.
Quick fact videos are meant to be brief and will be most effective if you focus on one message instead of cluttering it with too much information and overwhelming the viewers.
Media Elements
The best videos are visually striking so select video clips, images, or graphics that are in line with your goal, take the story forward, and are clutter-free. Choose relevant visuals that go well with the text and strengthen the message. Be mindful of how background visuals will combine with your text overlays.
Text Elements
Because it's a quick fact video, you must add text overlays to complement the visuals. Decide which words you want to highlight and how much time to spend on each frame. Don't add more than 120–150 characters per frame to allow viewers enough time to read and digest the information.
The text needs to be legible across devices. You can achieve that by selecting a font style and text size that are easy to read (without being jarring), using contrasting colors, and placing the text appropriately against the visuals.
Branding Elements for Watermarking
Remember that while branding is important, it needs to be subtle and proportionate. The last thing you want is an overpowering brand logo that takes up more space than it should and interrupts the viewing experience. Use a watermark of your logo rather than an overpowering version that will pull the viewer's attention away from your content.
Musical Elements
Even though most people watch social media videos with the sound off, it's always a good idea to add background music to your quick fact video. The right kind of audio accentuates your storytelling so choose wisely.
The best way to select a suitable background score is to think of the emotion you want to evoke and the mood you wish to set. Do you want people to feel angry, sad, uplifted, surprised, or some other emotion?
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GET THE DETAILS#2: Assemble the Video
Once you've chosen the various elements of your video, you can start arranging those elements in your chosen video editor as per your storyboard.
Because 52% of social media users browse on mobile, the videos you create need to be mobile-friendly. This means they need to adapt to the screen and be devoid of clutter. It's also important that the pace of the video complements the movement of the frames.
Remember, the shorter the fact video, the better. With declining attention spans and content being consumed on the go, short-form videos tend to perform better on social media. People are more likely to be engaged while consuming short, snackable videos that provide value in 60 seconds or less.
Be mindful of the length of the content and make sure it's concise.
The Beginning: Use a Hook
Pay special attention to the first few seconds of the video. You need to open with a hook that instantly captures viewers' attention. You can start with a question, state a startling fact, or share a message that piques curiosity.
Make sure that the hook is in line with the video's title so people are assured that they're viewing what they were promised.
The Middle: Educate Your Viewer
After reeling the viewer in, you can go on to introduce the concept/problem and follow it up with a solution or leave the viewer with a question to ponder.
The End: Issue a CTA
Just as the first few seconds are critical, so is ending with a strong CTA. That's what drives results and defines the success of the video. Make sure to include a clear CTA that tells viewers exactly what they need to do. Always dedicate one whole frame to the CTA so it gets the visibility it deserves and prompts action.
Before you download the finished video file, preview it to ensure it looks fine and transitions smoothly. Then download the files for publication on each of your social media profiles.
If you have profiles on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, Snapchat, or Pinterest, remember that each platform has unique specs. You might be tempted to post a one-size-fits-all video across all channels but that would be a mistake. Optimizing your videos for the various social media channels makes for a better and more engaging viewing experience.
Pro Tip: If you're creating a series of quick fact videos, stick to one theme so it registers in the minds of the viewers and becomes more recognizable. Create a themed template (optimized for each social platform) that resonates with your brand aesthetics and message. These pre-made templates will speed up the process and let you maintain consistency.
#3: Publish Your Video on Social Platforms for Organic Distribution
Creating your content is just half of the work. Now you need to be sure your video is seen.
To make your efforts count, promote the video so people will find and watch it. Here are four tips to help you optimize the videos you create to maximize views and engagement on social media:
- Upload videos natively to social media platforms. Native videos are those directly uploaded to the platform. They perform better than non-native videos because they don't interrupt the experience by directing users to a new window.
- Use custom video thumbnails. Make sure the thumbnails convey key information and compel the viewer to hit Play. A click-worthy thumbnail is one that's simple, powerful, and designed for various screen sizes.
- Tailor social media captions for the platform you're posting on. For instance, hashtags work well on Instagram and Twitter, while longer captions are better suited for Facebook. Use relevant keywords in the title, caption, and hashtags to optimize the video for search and boost discoverability.
#4: Create Retargeting Ad Campaigns for Warm Audiences
Identify the key platforms frequented by your target audience and run an ad campaign to generate more views. Be sure to retarget warm audiences that know of your product.
For example, you can post the teaser as an Instagram story ad that when swiped up directs users to the main video on your Facebook page or Twitter account.
Conclusion
Businesses that want to add video to their social media marketing strategy are often intimidated by the creation process. The good news is that quick fact videos are as easy to create as they are to consume. They're also tailor-made for social media because they deliver your message in a concise, engaging way.
Be sure to track metrics such as video views, number of shares, completion rate, and average view duration to understand how your content is performing and inform future video posts.
What do you think? Will you consider using short, fact-based videos in your marketing? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
More articles on social media video:
- Discover six tools to crop, brand, and optimize square videos to perform better on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
- Explore the key elements of the customer journey when it comes to video.
- Find out how to avoid five video marketing mistakes the experts see most often.
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