It’s no surprise that Instagrammers love their video content. The platform has churned out millions of video hits in recent times – from time-lapsed recipes to comedy skits. With social media data revealing how videos garner an overall higher engagement than actual image posts, it’s no wonder that 81% of businesses have hopped on this surging trend.
Research also shows that while videos may have been huge in 2018, they’re bound to grow even bigger for the year ahead.
With all this in mind, it’s important to know just what it takes to make a quality Instagram video. Where does one begin? We break down a few key ingredients below:
The Key Components of A Captivating Instagram Video
- A clear message. Videos with no clear goals have little chance of sticking with your audience – and chances are, they’ll forget it as soon as they watch a new one. Identifying your desired takeaway from the video will help shape the tone, story, and call-to-action of your post.
- A unique story. Think back to all the memorable commercials that struck internet virality. What did all these ads have in common? Chances are, each one shared its message through a compelling or clever short story; one that audiences wanted to share themselves. Try and incorporate some original storytelling in your video – remember that Instagram’s videos are only 60 seconds long, so make each second count.
- Good lighting and audio. An amazing message and story can get lost in terrible audio and video quality. Ensure your viewers can clearly see the contents of your post, along with whatever music, dialogue, or sound effects you’ve included. It’s thus a good idea to invest in a good quality mic or lighting, if necessary.
- A clear content type. And finally, it’s important to identify what type of video content you’d like your post to be. Is it an ad? A behind-the-scenes peek at your current projects? A tutorial? Pick a content type, and let your creativity shine.
Now that we’ve discussed the fundamentals of an engaging Instagram video, it’s time to talk Instagram video creators.
We fortunately live in a time where most social media tasks can be automated, outsourced, or simply made easier. Videos are no exception – there are a wide variety of apps and websites that help newbie Instagrammers create stunning video content, and you don’t need the skills of a top-notch videographer, either!
Below are some of the most highly-recommended video creators to get started with. Each one has their own set of unique features, so have a feel around to find out which works best for your goals and brand style.
Instagram Video Creator #1 – Animoto
Animoto is a video marketing platform for quick, simple video creations that look clean, stylish, and professional. Their drag-and-drop interface makes the whole process incredibly easy, allowing users to generate impressive social media videos without prior expertise or experience.
All you need to do is sign up to the website and pick from one of their pre-designed storyboard templates. There are plenty of options to choose from depending on your video goals – including product testimonials, birthday videos, event recaps, and even Instagram tutorials.
Or, if you wish to have all the creative control, you can begin creating a video from scratch.
Simply upload your media onto the platform, and drag them onto the video timeline to create your story. You can also add music, filters, and creative texts to your liking. Animoto also comes with over a million stock photos and videos to make use of, provided you sign up to their Professional or Business plan.
With trendy designs and the flexibility to customize them as you wish, Animoto is a useful Instagram video creator that can bring your ideas to life in minutes.
Instagram Video Creator #2 – Shakr
Those intimidated by the impressive skill of video creation can also give Shakr a try. Like Animoto, no previous experience is needed for creating an absolutely eye-catching Instagram video tailored to your unique brand and style. Unlike Animoto, Shakr boasts a library of over 2,000 videos designs to pick from – created by professional designers, with even more added each week. These designs can be filtered through “feel” or “energy”, depending on your objective.
The Shakr platform makes creating Instagram videos a breeze through yet another a drag-and-drop interface; simply upload your media files and place them onto the video timeline any way you wish.
The website also provides over 1,000,000 stock images and videos to choose from. Pre-licensed music is also available, letting you add professional background tunes without fear of copyright infringement.
If you’re working with a team, you can also turn your video creations into reusable templates for other members to use.
The downside to Shakr is that while it serves thousands of professionally made, gorgeously-stylized templates, customizations are sadly limited. Users are restricted to editing the existing text, template media, and music; with little option of editing the length of clips, text fonts, and transitions.
Still, it’s a highly useful website for creating Instagram videos in quick span of time – and making them look beautiful at that.
Instagram Video Creator #3 – Canva
Lauded by content creators everywhere, Canva is a one of the #1 design tools online that can help you generate gorgeous logo, animation, presentation, and banner designs with simple drag-and-drop features. All you need to do is sign up, redirecting you to a dashboard with a selection of social media templates to choose from.
Through the platform’s “Canva Animator”, users can easily create simple GIFs or video content in a matter of clicks.
After designing your standard Canva text image on the website, you have the option of downloading your content as an “Animated GIF Movie”. Upon clicking on “Preview Animation”, you can view the final animated output of your image, along with a collection of animation styles to choose from.
Among these are “Rise”, “Bounce”, “Slide”, and “3D” – each with their own unique movements and transitions.
After selecting your animation style, all that’s left is to download the content as a “movie” or a GIF file type. And there you have it – a quirky, moving text image to use as an intro card for Instagram videos, or as sole, Instagram ads themselves.
Instagram Video Creator #4 – Bannersnack
Online videos often come with a snazzy intro card or thumbnail photo to grab audience attention. Here’s where Bannersnack comes in – an online banner maker for high-resolution visuals to add to your Instagram ad campaigns, image posts, or Instagram videos.
Bannersnack provides you with a user-friendly, drag-and-drop interface with hundreds of stock photos, graphic elements, and fonts to use to your liking. You can even upload your own images (including .svg files!) for maximum creative control.
Unsure of what your image dimensions should be? Simply choose from their many available Instagram templates, and whip up professional, branded visuals in minutes.
You can even create an entire video using tools provided by Bannersnack. Through their online photo slideshow maker, users can put together eye-catching presentations with quality, animated designs. Previous experience in graphic design or coding isn’t necessary – this feature is easily navigated through drag-and-drop options, too.
Those pressed for time can also select from the ready-made slideshow templates available. All you’ve got to do is replace the default media with your own, and you’ll have an Instagram video ready in no time.
Instagram Video Creator #5 – Biteable
If you’re drawn to trendy, minimal, modern-looking animations – Biteable lets you create Instagram videos with just this contemporary sense of style.
Produce a clean, memorable Instagram video in seconds with the platform’s step-by-step process: choose from the ready-made scene templates available, add your text, edit the default color schemes, and choose from Biteable’s collection of pre-licensed background music.
Your final step is to simply preview your Instagram video, ensuring it fits your vision and feed. Once you’re ready, Biteable put your entire video together, converting it into a shareable file for your online networks.
The entire website is incredibly easy to use, with one of the simplest procedures to create professional-looking, Instagram-worthy videos. If want to save even more time, there are plenty of ready-to-use templates available. All you need to do is edit the text, images, and voila – you’ve got a video.
With a team of Instagram experts working behind the scenes, Biteable boasts a library of designs and video templates that optimize the best marketing tactics; from perfect colour schemes to the best eye-catching fonts. With all the guesswork done for you, all that’s left is to customize it to your brand style.
Instagram Video Creator #6 – VideoScribe
If you’ve been on social media long enough, you’re almost certain to have come across those “whiteboard”-esque videos. You know the kind: informative, animated videos in the style of drawings on a whiteboard. If this fits in with your brand aesthetic, then VideoScribe is the Instagram video creator for you.
Whiteboard videos are a unique way of telling stories online, guiding your audience through a sequence of a cartoon images and text art that sell a message or serve valuable information. Using VideoScribe’s user-friendly tools, users can easily create one of these videos for business, educational, or entertainment purposes.
Simply choose from the thousands of stock images provided by VideoScribe – or upload your own. The platform converts your personal media into cell-shaded SVG files, ready to be animated in your video.
Once you’ve arranged your sequence of images, all that’s left is to add your text and music. You can easily pick from a library of pre-licensed mp3 files or upload your own. When that’s done, you can download your video as an mp4, mov, avi, or wmv file to keep – or share it directly to your Instagram (and other social networks!). If you’d prefer you can also download your file as an image sequence.
VideoScribe works on the idea of “showing”, not “telling”, when it comes to online video. With quirky visuals and animations that make your video pop, you’re sure to create Instagram videos that app surfers will stop to watch.
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Instagram Video Creator #7 – PlaceIt
When it comes to optimizing Instagram video, you can’t forget your Stories. Remember, Stories allow you to create temporary, engaging image posts for important announcements or updates on your day-to-day – but they also allow video-based storytelling.
With 500 million users every day using Instagram stories, and Instagram videos receiving 38% more engagement than your standard image post – it’d be a shame not to optimize the medium when creating stories for your own profile.
But with each story running even shorter than your typical one-minute video post, how do you hook audiences in a matter of seconds?
With PlaceIt, the time and effort put into brainstorming, designing, and creating eye-popping Story videos from scratch is alleviated through their Instagram Story Video Maker. Users can create impactful story animations and videos with ease, choosing from the platform’s generous library of pre-made templates, fonts, colors, and music.
Simply customize the provided text, audio, images, and fonts to your liking.
With sets of vibrantly-colored, flashy layouts to choose from, Instagrammers can successfully advertise their time-sensitive updates – whether that be business giveaways, promotions, or simple brand announcements – with striking designs that’ll surely stand out to viewers.
If you’d rather use their platform to create a standard post – not to worry. These templates are also available for your typical Instagram video, keeping to the same stylish quality as their Story designs.
Create Spectacular Instagram Videos!
With an array of tools at your disposal, creating Instagram videos is as easy as a sequence of clicks. All you need are clear content goals and an established brand aesthetic; these platforms do rest of the dirty work. Previous professional experience likely won’t be a requirement either – whether it’s 60-second tutorials or animated story advertisements, each tool can easily bring your ideas to life.
With the right media, message, and marketing, you’ll be churning out Instagram videos that are sure to boost your engagement in no time.