16 Essential Video Marketing Tips for Small Businesses in 2021

In 2021, video marketing is rapidly becoming the most popular form of content marketing, with most consumers preferring short-form video over any other content type. As video marketing content continues to rise in popularity , there are a few best practices and helpful hints your small business needs to know about. We’ve done the research, gathered the best tips and have broken it all down by platform to help your small business boost sales with video marketing content in 2021. 

All Platforms 

1. Keep your videos short Not only is short-form video content much easier for brands to create, it’s also the type of content that customers love to consume! Did you know that people have an attention span that’s only 8-seconds long? Your audience is much more likely to watch an Instagram Reel than a full-length YouTube video.

2. Grab attention within the first 3 seconds Speaking of short attention spans, it’s important for your marketing videos to capture your audiences’ attention within the first 3 seconds of the video to increase their interest and encourage higher engagement rates on your video content. 

3. Use high contrast text It’s a great tip to add text overlay to your videos, but if you are adding text on top of a video make sure it’s easy to read. A great way to do this is by adding text that’s all caps with colors that contrast well like a dark font over a light background.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CO_AEzfBjce/

4. Keep word count low While you are adding text overlay to your small businesses’ marketing videos, be sure to keep your messages short and sweet so that your customers can both watch the video and quickly scan any text as well.

Instagram

5. Create story-sized videos If you aren’t using Instagram Stories for your small business yet, you are definitely missing out! (Learn more about how to successfully use Instagram Stories to boost your small business here.) If you are creating marketing videos, be sure to also make videos in the correct size and formats to be successful on Stories. It’s easy to create properly sized Instagram Story videos with Boosted video templates just be sure to select 9:16 when editing your videos:

6. Create custom Reels cover images Want higher engagement on your Instagram Reel videos? Try creating a custom cover tile image for your Reels. This will make your Instagram Reel videos look more professional, fit your feed and capture your customers attention. Learn how to add a custom thumbnail image to an Instagram Reels video here.

7. Title your Reels Another huge tip to encourage your customers to watch your Instagram Reels is to include a title. This could be a short description of the video content that appears only on the custom cover image, or you can keep the title at the top of the Reel for the first few seconds of the video:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CPL0MmZnNI9/

Facebook

8. Post videos to Facebook! This one might seem like an obvious tip, but with so many new short-form video options with newer platforms like Instagram and TikTok, small businesses sometimes forget about posting video content to Facebook. But Facebook can be a powerful search engine for your small businesses’ marketing videos did you know videos posted to Facebook reached 8 billion views per day in 2015 alone?

9. Make it interesting without audio Many people watch videos on their phone on silent, whether at home or in public, so you need to make sure your marketing videos are engaging and interesting with or without audio. An easy way to do this is by adding text overlay that can act as subtitles for the video content so your customers know all the info they need, even without the audio on. To add stunning text overlay, music and more, use the Boosted video-making app to create professional marketing videos in just a few minutes.

10. Upload native videos A native video simply means video content that is uploaded directly to a platform. Native videos are extremely important and highly rewarded within Facebook’s algorithm compared to posts that share a link to a video posted elsewhere, such as YouTube.

11. Create detailed titles and descriptions When uploading native videos to Facebook, don’t forget to take a few extra minutes to write a few detailed and descriptive words about your marketing video. Having a clear title and a short description about your video content will quickly let your customers know exactly what the video is about, looks more professional and can provide a small SEO boost. 

LinkedIn

12. Make it mobile friendly It’s a great tip to make all of your marketing video content mobile friendly, but it’s especially important for LinkedIn. Any videos posted to LinkedIn should be close-up content so your customers can easily see your content from a small phone screen.

13. Cross-promote social media platforms Not sure what type of video content to post onto LinkedIn? If you are already creating great video content on TikTok, repost those videos onto your LinkedIn! And the same goes for native videos you’ve posted to Facebook. The best way to receive as much exposure as possible for your brand’s video content is by cross-promoting it on your small businesses’ various social platforms.

TikTok

14. Make it 15 seconds You can create TikTok videos that longer than 15 seconds, but humans have short attention spans and 15 seconds is the ideal length video for TikTok. Many of the trending music and sounds are also 15 seconds, so this will give you even more options as you create TikTok video content for your small business.

@pardonmyfrench.co

what people think I sell Vs what I really sell 🤫 Please don’t take this one down tiktok. #greenscreen #readysetshop #smallbusinesstiktok

♬ original sound – Kaitlyn

15. Try out trending original audio If you’re using TikTok, you already know how important it is to use trending music! But did you know other user’s original audio is also a great option to include in your TikTok videos? There’s tons of great original audio for small business owners within #smallbusinesstiktok.

16. Use a combo of trending music & original audio Last but not least is one of our favorite secrets for small business owners to increase their chances of landing their TikTok videos on the FYP. If you are creating a TikTok video where you are talking to your customers, you can and should still add trending music! Simply select the trending music to add to your video, turn up your own original audio and turn down the volume on the added music.


Subscribe to our social media tips and get a FREE Instagram checklist for your business.

By subscribing, I agree to the Lightricks Privacy Policy.

What does it take to be a Social Media Content Creator in 2021?

If you’re a social media manager or content creator, or even if you’re just an avid social media user, you’re probably very familiar with the most popular social platforms in the industry.

Social media is dominating in 2021. The world’s largest social network by all age groups is currently Facebook – boasting a staggering 2.4 billion users! On top of that, about one-in-three people on the planet are using at least one social media network every single day. This all means one thing: a social media content creator is more important than ever.

Do you want to be a social media content creator?

Social media presents a huge marketing opportunity for businesses of any size. No matter what industry or niche you or your business is a part of, there’s bound to be an ideal platform to help you target the right audience. Instagram or Pinterest, for example, are the best social platforms for brands that rely heavily on imagery.

Or, TikTok, which is the best platform to use if you’re targeting a younger audience. People are no longer just using the king of social media: Facebook. In fact, according to the Huffington Post, today’s younger demographic are less likely to be on Facebook and are significantly more likely to be found using platforms like Snapchat, TikTok or Instagram.

What exactly is a social media content creator?

A social media content creator is a position title for the person who is responsible for managing a brand’s social presence, on any number of social media networks including but not limited to: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Twitter, and more.

A social media content creator may be the one to actually create original content and posts, or they may outsource the actual content but maintain responsibility to manage the process from start to finish.

The goal of a social media content creator is generate social media engagement while also keeping the brand voice and strategy on both a macro and micro level.

8 Social Media Content Creator Platforms:

With all of this in mind, it is key to understand that not every social network is ideal for your brand. Read on to learn more about the top 5 social media platforms for 2021, and discover the best ways to leverage them as a social media content creator.

1. Instagram

As you already know, Instagram is a popular social platform for sharing images, quick videos and 24-hour stories with your followers. But for brands and content creators alike, Instagram can be an extremely powerful way to reach a massive audience. In fact, according to Hashoff, roughly 91.9% of influencers choose Instagram as the ideal platform for their marketing efforts. And with roughly 800 million active users, it’s easy to imagine why.

A notable Instagram feature includes IGTV, which can be used to create and promote longer-form videos, podcasts, and livestreams.

Instagram is also known for hashtags – which are a great way to reach new audiences on the platform. Check out our guide for more in-depth strategizing: 7 Quick Tips to Build an Instagram Hashtag Strategy.

Both of these features can be used to help reach a much wider audience than just your followers.

Instagram can also be linked to Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr for simplified social sharing. On top of this, Instagram allows private accounts, which can be a useful feature for brands that don’t want to be as exposed online.

On the downside, Instagram is primarily designed as an image -sharing platform.

If you’re looking to create and share mainly video content for your brand, Instagram probably isn’t going to be your ideal platform. Although you can make good use of IGTV, Instagram just isn’t as versatile as YouTube when it comes to sharing videos.

Instagram Marketing for Social Media Content Creators

#Instagram Content Creator Pro Tip: Brand Storytelling

Yes, Instagram is a great place to post stunning photos, but if you don’t tell a story, you can’t expect to engage your audience.

Framing a narrative around the images that you post is what is going to cause your followers to develop an emotional connection with you. Telling a story in the comment section is also a great way to turn an unexceptional photo into one that tugs at the heart strings or brings out an otherwise emotional response in the reader.

Perhaps you just posted an image of you at a stunning beach. There is beautiful scenery presented, but what story is the image telling? What was your day like before you arrived there? How were you feeling emotionally?

As a content creator, you must make sure to tell your followers the story of how the picture came to be and it suddenly takes on a new life for them. They say a picture is worth a 1000-words, but some stories simply require a bit more than that.

Our Favorite Instagram Example for Social Media Content Creators to Learn From:

The Humans of New York Instagram account, with approximately 10.7 million followers, is the perfect example of a story narrative turning unexceptional images into emotional journeys for every social media content creator to learn from.

Each post is simply the image of a person and their story. The images posted rarely show anything other than the person with a passport-photo emotionless stare.

However, the story in the comments section on the other hand, shares the person’s most intimate stories of struggle.

Some people share stories of overcoming addiction to drugs, alcohol, or video games. Others share stories of struggling at school or in their place of employment. Then, after reading all about the person’s most difficult hardships, the unappealing passport-quality photo takes on a whole new life and creates feelings of deep sympathy within the reader.

2. Facebook

With nearly 2.4 billion users, almost one-third of the entire global population can be found on Facebook every single day. Because of this potential exposure to such a huge audience – it’s easy to see why Facebook marketing for content creators is such a big opportunity for brands.

On top of being wildly popular, Facebook is also famous for providing some of the best targeting and retargeting capabilities when it comes to running PPC advertisements. This is because Facebook pulls a ton of information from its users, including all sorts of things they like and follow. Instead of being restricted to targeting your ads based on age groups, locations or genders, you can hyper-focus them to a narrower target audience, who exhibit very specific interests or behaviors.

For example, instead of targeting females between the age of 18 to 26, you can target females between the age of 18 to 26, who have recently purchased a new home AND who enjoy hockey. This type of very precise targeting is one benefit that’s unique to Facebook, and won’t be found on any other social platforms. Check out our helpful guide here for creating your first Facebook ad for more insights.

On the other hand, although Facebook is a great place to generate organic buzz about your brand, you’re going to have to pay up if you want to see growth. In fact, in recent years, Facebook has become a platform where businesses pretty much need to pay for ads if they want any chance of standing out from their competition.

At the same time, Facebook users aren’t known to be quiet about brands that don’t quite live up to their expectations. In other words, it’s easy for bad opinions about your brand to float around on the network. And sadly, because of how easy it is to share information on Facebook, all it takes is a few unhappy customers to completely ruin an online reputation.

From being able to leave negative reviews on your page to sharing their disgruntled opinions with their family and friends, being on Facebook truly leaves your brand exposed to the mercy of your customers. If you’re providing good-quality products or services though, you shouldn’t have to worry about this too much.

#Facebook Content Creator Pro Tip: Create Dialogue

Social media content creation is all about engagement, and even your long-form written content needs people commenting, sharing, and liking in order for it to perform well.

Creating a dialogue on your Facebook posts will go a long way to bringing in new potential followers and ensuring you are showing up in the timelines of some of your less engaged supporters.

In fact, the more engagement your posts receive, the more Facebook’s algorithm is going to push your it to the top of people’s timelines.

Unfortunately, we’re learning a lot about what drives people to interact with posts these days and not everything we learn is positive. Controversial posts that divide people on topics which they are emotionally connected with often see higher levels of engagement. However, posting about such topics isn’t always going to fit with your brand.

Avoiding politics and controversial subjects is likely the route you want to go if you don’t want your post littered with angry comments.

Thankfully, simply asking questions such as “What are your favorite pizza toppings?” or “Caption this photo” are pretty easy ways to keep your followers engaged without having to resort to controversial subjects when it comes to content creation on Facebook and all social platforms.

Regardless, the key is to actually directly engage with them by asking questions and starting conversations.

If your followers are on your page because of your posts about food, ask them their opinions on various dishes. Are they on your page because you are an expert in a certain field? Ask them for their opinions on related topics.

The more you encourage your followers to engage with a post, the more that post is going to be seen by others. In turn, this can help increase your reach and expand your fanbase.

Our Favorite Facebook Content Creators Example:

Posted by Netflix on Tuesday, November 20, 2018

With over 68 million followers, Netflix has one of the largest and most engaged Facebook pages online.

Seemingly, all they have to do to create engagement amongst their followers is to post news about upcoming movies, TV shows, and more. But even Netflix goes one step further to engage its audience by asking questions to create dialogue.

In fact, posts with titles such as “The Umbrella Academy stars Tom Hopper and Justin Min decide once and for all: Who’s Hotter?” appear regularly on Netflix’s Facebook page.

The enthusiastic dialogue in the comments section then helps ensure that even more Netflix subscribers are aware that The Umbrella Academy is currently streaming on the service.

3. YouTube

YouTube isn’t used by businesses quite as often as Instagram and Facebook are. However, it is another extremely popular platform, with the potential to help your videos reach millions of people around the world.

In fact, it’s estimated that there are more than 5 billion videos viewed on YouTube each and every day. This makes it the world’s 2nd largest search engine, and the 3rd most used website, only preceded by Google and Facebook.

One of the best parts about YouTube is that brands can share videos on the platform for free. Like with other social platforms, only advertisers need to pay to promote their content. With that in mind, marketing on YouTube is great for small businesses or startups that just don’t have a lot of capital to invest into their online marketing efforts. Boosted is a great tool for creating YouTube videos. Boosted is a video maker app that enables you to create professionally-designed videos, in minutes.

You can use your own footage or select stock footage, and then add text and other elements to customize. It’s free to download and use (you can upgrade to access all video templates), which is always a plus for any small business looking to expand their reach. Here’s an example of the type of YouTube content you can create with VideoBoost:

Another great thing about using YouTube is that you can easily share your videos to other social networks, like Facebook or Twitter. And once your account is verified, there’s also no limit on the length of video you can post. So you’ll be free to post anything from short introductory videos to hour-long classes, seminars, or speeches. However, studies have shown that videos between 2 to 3 minutes are ideal for keeping your viewers entertained, without losing their attention.
Another powerful YouTube feature is that you can start your own channel and subscribe to other people’s channels as well. By doing this, other channels will be notified that you’re now following them. And in return, hopefully, they’ll return the favor and follow you back.

But the truth is that using YouTube isn’t all roses. It comes with a few downsides as well. The truth is that videos – especially videos that people are going to enjoy watching and want to share, take a lot of time and commitment, which is something you might not have as a small business. Another downside to using YouTube is that there is no guarantee people are going to actually see your videos. Even if you spend thousands of dollars creating a highly-targeted HD video, you might only get a few people who end up watching it.

At the end of the day, if you’re a content creator, you already understand the work involved in creating world-class content. Once you’ve mastered that, using YouTube to promote your brand should come to you naturally.

If you are looking to create video on other platforms, we have you covered. Boosted is an ideal video maker for every social platform: FacebookInstagramTikTokLinkedIn, & YouTube.

#YouTube Content Creator Pro Tip: Keep it Short

Even the top YouTubers today need to play into YouTube’s algorithms, or else their videos won’t perform as well as they want them to. So in order to expand your reach and get as many views as possible, you need to play into YouTube’s algorithms by keeping your videos short and to-the-point.

Anything approaching the 20-minute mark tends to be risky and anything over 25 is simply not advised, especially for less established brands, which are advised to keep their videos around 5 to 15 minutes maximum.

Viewers not watching your videos all the way through hurt your standing in YouTube’s ever-evolving algorithm, and results in your video appearing in the feeds of fewer people.

If you are confident your 20-minute video is engaging enough to keep people watching all the way through, then go for it. But in general, it’s probably best to keep your videos shorter though.

A quick 5-minute video, that is both engaging and entertaining, is a great way to introduce new viewers to your channel.

Probably the Most Famous YouTube Content Creator:

Even world-renowned YouTuber PewDiePie keeps his videos short when posting to his 106 million subscribers.

In fact, most of the videos on his channel fall under the 20-minute mark. Gamers and channels dedicated to video games often have longer posts as fans watch a YouTuber play a video game.

However, for longer types of video content like this, it’s usually best to aim for doing a “live stream” rather than uploading your pre-recorded content. 

4. Twitter

People often feel that Twitter is limiting, simply because you can’t tweet anything longer than 280 characters. But when you consider the fact that Twitter has more than 330 million monthly users, it’s easy to see why it can be extremely effective for a small business’ marketing strategy.

On top of providing you with the potential to reach millions of other users, there are also a few other platform-specific perks that it offers. For example, Twitter is an excellent resource for keeping you or your team up to date on the latest trends in your industry. By following the right accounts and keeping an eye on your feed, you’ll see what other people in your field are talking about. This can go a long way in helping guide your future marketing efforts and content creation decisions.

Twitter can also be used to provide your audience with live coverage of any events you might be hosting. In fact, “live-tweeting” your conferences or webinars is a great way to make your events more accessible to everyone, even those unable to attend, and it will work to keep people engaged at the same time.

Twitter can also be a great tool for providing support to your customers. In fact, today, many brands rely solely on Twitter as their main contact point for customer service. Users are able to tweet or message a business with their questions, comments or complaints. By answering and replying to mentions in a timely and considerate manner, brands can work at building better relationships with their customers.

Plus, by stripping away any unnecessary communication (due to the 280 character limit), your responses will be more focused and direct. In turn, customers will get a better idea of what your brand is like to deal with.
At the same time though, it’s estimated that about 500 million tweets are made on the platform every single day. It’s hard to guarantee that any of your tweets will actually get noticed amongst the millions of others being tweeted at the same time.

However, news stories or news-related tweets tend to get the best reception on Twitter. So if you’re in an industry that has a lot of ongoing developments or is constantly changing, Twitter might just be one of the best platforms for your business.Social Media Content Creator Guide: Twitter

#Twitter Content Creator Pro Tip: Consistency

Most social media platforms value consistent posting and push the most active accounts to the top of people’s timelines. And this is perhaps most applicable for Twitter, however, and you’ll need to be mindful of this if you want to succeed on the platform.

Twitter is filled with people publishing multiple posts a day and the amount of new content posted to the Twitter-sphere every second is mind-boggling.

So to get noticed within this cluttered world, you need to be posting engaging content with regularity. Even the best and most expertly-crafted posts won’t do well if they are published by an account that is typically inactive.

Unfortunately, for many content creators on Twitter, this can be a challenge.

This is where scheduling your Tweets can be an easy way for your account to remain active, consistently posting content, even while you’re unplugged, and off somewhere, relaxing and reading a book.

Twitter Content Creation is Still a Thing

Comedian Sarah Silverman shared an interesting story about how ensuring her Twitter feed was consistently posting content came back to bite her in 2017 while on the Jimmy Fallon show.

Silverman noted that she will craft Tweets and schedule to have them sent out to her 12 million followers at a later time so that the content she posts is spread out.

Although Silverman is already a famous comedian and actress, having her account active, posting content regularly throughout the day, week, and month, she guarantees that she’ll remain at the top of the list when her followers open up to app to check their feeds. And of course, as one of Twitter’s more prolific celebrity content creators, she keeps a steady dose of comedy and sarcasm for her fans.

5. Pinterest

Pinterest allows you to easily share “Pins” and create “Boards” containing all sorts of visual media. But beyond being a photo-sharing platform, Pinterest is one of the most powerful social platforms for driving traffic to websites, and gives a ton of opportunity for any content creator in 2021.

In fact, according to Hootsuite, Pinterest is capable of driving 3x times more traffic than other platforms, saving advertisers about 80% less on marketing. Pinterest outranks both Twitter and YouTube when it comes to providing websites with referral traffic.

If you’re looking for one the best ways to generate traffic and grow your online presence, Pinterest is the way to go. Another neat fact about Pinterest, according to SocialMarketingWriting, is that the lifetime of a pin is roughly 1,680x longer than a Facebook post. This means that instead of only being active for a few days, your Pins will be shown to other Pinterest users for weeks, possibly even months, after being published. For somewhat of a snowball effect, you can even repin your old pins every now and again to ensure that you continue to generate traffic for months on end.

On top of this, Pinterest also comes with in-built SEO, since the platform creates a stored link each time a user pins an image to a Pinterest board. These “stored links” function just like inbound links and will help boost your profile and your Pins in the search engine results pages (SERPs).

Just like Instagram, Pinterest is another highly visual social network, making it ideal for sharing images, short videos or infographics. Video Pins are a big trend at the moment – check out our guild all-about them here. If you’re already using a lot of visual content in your marketing, using Pinterest should be an easy addition to your strategy.
Finally, it’s estimated that about 85% of all Pinterest-driven traffic is by women. So if you’re targeting a female demographic, being on Pinterest is a must!

On the downside, there’s been quite a bit of controversy surrounding copyright issues on Pinterest. As with most social media platforms, this is mostly due to users sharing other people’s content without permission. Of course, if you’re sharing your own content, you won’t have to worry about this – but if you’re sharing other people’s content, know that you could get yourself into trouble if you’re not careful.

Finally, marketers can also choose to advertise on Pinterest, which if done properly, can be extremely effective at generating traffic and helping you grow your brand.

#Pinterest Creator Pro Tip: Rich Pins

Pinterest has become almost like its own search engine, which means that, today, rich pins are an easy and effective way to add more context to your posts.

Many brands and companies have begun using Rich Pins on Pinterest, which is something that requires a process to set up. For starters, you’ll need to have a website for the pin to pull its data from, and you’ll also need to apply for permission to use them on your account.

Rich Pins work by using metadata from your website. Once you’ve been granted access to use Rich Pins, any posts on your site that contain metadata will automatically be turned into a Rich Pin on Pinterest after a user saves it.

Essentially, this is an easy way to automate for any Pinterest creator to move content between their website and Pinterest.

Example Of Rich Pins In Action

Whole Foods uses Rich Pins to inform its potential customers, and some 492,000 followers about both its products, as well as recipes.

The health-focused superstore’s Rich Pins are tied to its website and provide information on the various healthy, organic, and/or ethically sourced food available in its brick and mortar locations.

Additionally, recipes that utilize products found in Whole Foods are also a focus of the brand’s Rich Pins on Pinterest, making them extra valuable to other users since they get the benefit of learning how to cook a new meal, while the brand gains the benefit of being able to display its products in a non-intrusive way. 

6. TikTok

Initially launched back in 2017, it wasn’t until a year later, in 2018, that Tik Tok was officially launched on the full global app market. But since then, the app has quickly grown to become one of the most popular social media platforms of all time. 

social media content creation tiktok dance video

In fact, it’s currently estimated that Tik Tok boasts some 800 million active users, placing it as one of the top 10 most popular social media platforms to have ever hit the markets. 

Essentially, Tik Tok is a social media platform that allows its users to create short, one minute videos, which can be edited using a range of audio and visual tools provided within the app itself. 

Additionally, users can also upload (choose your publishing day and time wisely) their own video content, recorded outside of the app, to share on the platform. Although, initially, most people started using Tik Tok to create short lip-sync videos. Today, people are using Tik Tok to create all sorts of short, which tend to be better when they’re comedic or humor-based.  

However, one thing that sets truly Tik Tok apart from other competing social media platforms is that it’s most often used by a significantly younger population. In fact, about half of the platform’s global users are thought to be below the age of 34, with another 26% of the platform’s users expected to be between the ages of 18 and 24.

Therefore, especially for brands that are looking to target younger audience demographics, marketing, and promoting themselves on Tik Tok is a must in today’s extremely competitive business environment. 

One other interesting facet of marketing on TikTok is that videos are generally limited to only being one minute in length

Although users can string multiple videos together to create longer stories using Tik Tok, this time constraint makes it a bit more challenging for content creators to create good-quality content, without it being long or drawn out. 

Additionally, Tik Tok’s global audience is known for being notoriously picky about who actually gains popularity and makes it big on the platform. In other words, there are far fewer fake accounts with massive followings that don’t actually create any good quality, valuable content. 

While this is great at reducing spammy content on the platform itself, it also means that if your content isn’t genuinely interesting, funny, valuable, or entertaining in any way, shape, or form, it’s not likely going to gain much traction amongst Tik Tok users. 

On the other hand, brands that are actually able to successfully create genuinely valuable content on Tik Tok can easily reach a massive global audience of some 800 million active users. Check out Boosted’s TikTok video maker to create sleek videos with professional templates.

So, although Tik Tok may not be the largest or most popular social media network currently available, it certainly can be a powerful social channel for some brands, especially those that are targeting younger demographics below the age of 34.

#TikTok Content Creator Pro Tip: Create TikTok Challenges

There is something about TikTok that makes challenges a particularly successful way to engage with followers. Perhaps it’s that the platform is dedicated to short videos, and is famous for its viral video challenges that generally only take 15 seconds.

The short nature of TikTok content creator videos ensure that videos won’t including any unnecessary content.

Be sure to include hashtags in with your challenge as well. Hashtags are what get TikTok videos trending, and can help your posts go viral.

If the Ice Bucket Challenge hadn’t attached #IceBucketChallenge to its posts, it would have ended after the first person took part. TikTok wasn’t around back then when that challenge was going on, but it seems the platform’s founders were paying close attention on how to get their platform’s videos noticed.

TikTok Creators Include Major Companies

The popular restaurant chain, Chipotle, has 1.2 million followers on the platform. And with tag lines such as “Less Tok, More Guac” their success on TikTok is perhaps not surprising.

But this brand really does know just how to get its TikToks to get noticed.

They challenged their followers to showcase their #GuacDance for National Avocado Day..

Users were encouraged to send in a dance video inspired by the infamous dip, and people did just that in droves. In fact, over a quarter of a million people sent in a TikTok of their GuacDance.

That’s a lot of Guacamole fans! And a whole lot of brand exposure for Chipotle!

https://www.tiktok.com/@chipotle/video/6871750201963498757?lang=en

7. LinkedIn 

Although people often overlook it as a social media platform, those who do take advantage of LinkedIn’s powerful network of business professionals and organizations can easily reach massive new audiences. 

In fact, LinkedIn is estimated to have a total of about 675 million users, of which, 310 million are active on a monthly basis. Additionally, roughly 24% of millennials between the ages of 18 and 24 are currently present on the platform, with an estimated 46 million of them being either students or recent graduates. 

And not only that, but LinkedIn also makes up approximately half of all social media traffic to business-to-business (B2B) blogs and websites. In fact, a whopping 92% of B2B marketing professionals say that LinkedIn plays an important role in their marketing mix. 

In other words, LinkedIn is another ideal platform for both brands that are looking at younger demographics, brands that are looking to sell to other businesses, or a combination of both. 

Want to know one more, in my opinion, even more important reason why you, your personal brand, and your business need to be active on LinkedIn? 

Well, let me tell ya’, roughly 75% of all LinkedIn users have an average income above $50,000 per year, and an estimated 41% of all millionaires of thought to be professionally active on the platform. 

So, for individuals or businesses that are looking to earn a higher income, or those that want to interact with, network with, and build relationships with a ton of highly successful individuals, there’s no better social platform than LinkedIn. 

Finally, one other interesting statistic about LinkedIn is that roughly one out of every six users actively seeks out industry insights on the platform. In other words, LinkedIn isn’t only a great platform for creating and distributing content, but it’s also a great place to look at trending information about your industry, which can help you create better, more poignant, industry-leading content in the future. 

#LinkedIn Content Creators Pro Tip: Photo Editing

A wise businessperson once said that no matter what field you are in, you are actually in sales. The reason for this is that we all have to sell ourselves at some point, which is exactly where LinkedIn comes into play.

The purpose of LinkedIn as a professional social media platform is for us to showcase our knowledge, experience, and expertise, and to allow us to advertise this to the people who may one day hire us for those very things. So, in a sense, anyone with a profile is effectively a LinkedIn content creator.

With that said, both your photo and your background photo are a chance for you to advertise your skills, while helping to make a better first impression to potential employers.

They say you should dress for the job you want and not the job you have, and this philosophy applies to your images on LinkedIn as well. So make sure to dress well and to make sure your image looks professional and friendly.

You can also fill your background photo on LinkedIn with evidence of your skills as well.

For instance, if you were a freelance writer, images with clips of your work could fill your background photo. Or, if you’re an expert in your field, you might fill your background photo with images of you speaking at events, which displays both your experience and expertise.

A strong background photo will jump out at anyone who looks at your profile, giving you an edge over anyone just utilizing the basic blue background.

Example Of High-Quality Imagery In Action

There are numerous examples of brands utilizing their background photo on LinkedIn, but one that stands out in its simplicity is from The Lego Group, which boasts an impressive 664,857 followers.

In fact, this is one of the most recognizable brands in the world, and seemingly, really shouldn’t have to do very much to inform people about its products.

Yet with a simple tag line reading “Inspiring and developing the builders of tomorrow” and a background photo of young kids building with Legos, the brand instills the idea of Legos being an educational activity for growing children and adults, all within the confines of the image on their LinkedIn profile.

8. Snapchat

Although Snapchat may not be quite as popular as it was when it was first launched back in 2011, there’s no doubting the fact that it can still be a versatile, and powerful marketing platform for content creators who use it appropriately. 

In fact, even today, Snapchat is still considered as one of the top social media platforms out there, especially amongst younger, teenage demographics. Acording to Hootsuite, at the beginning of 2020, there are approximately 218 million active Snapchat users every single day. 

And additionally, it’s estimated that roughly 82% of Snapchat users are under the age of 34. 

So, although Snapchat marketing might not be right for every brand out there, those that are targeting millennials would be hard-done-by to not to be using this extremely popular social platform. 

In fact, while the platform is mainly designed for its users to interact and exchange snaps with their friends, Snapchat users are thought to be about 60% more likely to make an impulse purchase from a brand while using the app. 

Therefore, brands that are able to get themselves featured on Snapchat’s Discover page can easily reach a rather vast audience of younger consumers, while also increasing their odds of successfully selling their products or services on the platform. 

However, unlike LinkedIn, Snapchat is meant to be more fun and a bit more of a playful social network. In other words, Snapchat is a great platform to use for brands that are looking to show a more casual side of their business. 

It’s also good to note that the platform offers specific accounts for brands and businesses that want to be active on the platform. When using a Snapchat Business account, users get access to more features, which cannot be accessed when using a basic Snapchat account. 

In essence, these extra features allow brands to support their marketing strategies and gain deeper insights into their performance on the platform. 

For instance, Business accounts will gain access to being able to advertise on the platform using the Snapchat Ads Manager, as well as being able to target content specifically based on either age or location in order to reach a more targeted audience. 

#Snapchat Content Creator Pro Tip: Filters

Snapchat is all about filters, and as a social media content creation expert, you’ll need to make use of them if you want to attain success on this platform.

In fact, filters can do much more than you likely realize, and are being developed and evolving every day. Filters can add images, animation, and text to your posts, and these visuals can go a long way in improving your post’s reach.

In fact, a good Snapchat influencer will learn how to tell a story by using their filters.

For instance, if you are sharing pictures about a trip you went on, a filter can be used to display the date, time, and even the temperature of that location.

These help to provide a little bit of context to your photos and this will help your followers feel connected with you.

Using filters in multiple photos as part of a story chain can help you tell a full story through images in a way that’s not really possible on other platforms. The more creative you are with your filters, the more your posts will stand out.

Snapchat Content Creators are Still Making Waves:

According to some followers, famous snapchat influencer, CyreneQ, is more filter than human at this point. In fact, she is a young graphic artist that has really found her niche in the realm of Snapchat.

Also active on other social platforms, there is something about CyreneQ’s Snapchat stories that just fits with her creative knack.

In fact, today, her net worth is estimated at between $1 million and $5 million, and much of her social media fame is related to her use of Snapchat content creation to connect with and engage her fans.

But her fans engage with her because of the countlessly creative ways that she uses the artistic options and filters made available in Snapchat.

3 Of The Top Social Media Content Creators Worth Checking Out: 

Wondering who the biggest names are in social media content creation? By studying the biggest names in social media, content creators can easily gain a much better understanding of how to lead successful social campaigns, as well as how to simply market themselves properly online.

The idea is simple: study the things that the world’s best content creators are doing, and then learn to create similar content as a reflection of your own brand and the products or services that you offer.  

But today, there are literally thousands upon thousands of people out there who are earning a living by creating content on social media. 

1. Jordyn Jones

After gaining well over 6.1 million Instagram followers in only a few short years, most people are reluctant to believe that Jordyn Jones is only 20 years old. 

However, despite her age, Jones has already worked with hundreds of large and small brands alike, creating and publishing content on her social media accounts, and has earned herself millions of dollars while doing it.

Jones’ name first came to the limelight when she starred as on competitor on the famous dance reality TV series, Abby’s Ultimate Dance Competition. She then started gaining a bit more popularity after covering the Iggy Azalea song “Fancy” and then launching her own Snapchat show called Throwback Toys. 

Last year, in 2019, it was estimated that Jordyn Jones had a net worth of somewhere between $1 and $5 million. 

2. Raymond Braun

Originally based out of Los Angeles, Raymond Braun is much more than just a social media personality. In fact, he’s a famous social media content creator who also fights for good causes as well. 

In fact, a few years ago, Braun was named All-Star on the Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list after designing, pioneering, and managing the wildly popular #ProudToLove hashtag campaign across multiple social media platforms. 

Today, Braun is known for his continued support of the LGBT community, as well as advocating for a wide range of youth-related issues. In 2019, Braun’s net worth was estimated at somewhere between $1 and $5 million. 

3. Lo Bosworth

Don’t underestimate Lo simply because she was on an MTV reality show a few years ago; she has parlayed her initial fame into a legitimate social media content creation career. After wrapping up the TV series The Hills, followed by Laguna Beach, Bosworth turned to social media and found herself a new, even larger audience as a blogger and content creator. 

Today, Bosworth has built a massive home and lifestyle brand that has often been referred to as a more modernized version of the Martha Stewart Show. Based on virtually everything there is to know about simple, everyday life, Bosworth’s brand primarily promotes the homemade/handmade DIY lifestyle. 

In fact, when you check out her on her social media channels, Lo keeps things down-to-earth, which makes it hard to believe that she was once a reality TV starlet. 

In other words, her content is real and feels human. And this helps it connect to average, everyday type of people, which is probably why she currently boasts a following of about 850,000 on Instagram alone, and her net worth is estimated at well over $3 million. 

Choosing The Right Social Media Content Creation Platform For Your Brand in 2021

Overall, each social media platform comes with its own unique set of strengths and weaknesses. Although they can all be powerful marketing tools, not all of them are going to be the right fit for your brand. Facebook is excellent if you want to target a broader age group, or even if you want to hyper-focus your targeting.

While other platforms, like YouTube, are ideal if you will mainly be creating video content. Take the time to focus on your brand’s marketing priorities and then decide which social media platform best suits your needs, to help you become the ultimate content creator in 2021.

Featured image source: Unsplash


Subscribe to our social media tips and get a FREE Instagram checklist for your business.

By subscribing, I agree to the Lightricks Privacy Policy.

The Ultimate Promo Video Marketing Guide for 2021

As marketers, it can be difficult to determine the right style of promo video to gain the most from your budget. This is why you need the best promo video maker available, and a ton of promo video ideas to put to work to succeed at promo video marketing in 2021.

While they’re great tools for driving engagement, longer promo video ads tend to have a big problem—they’re not designed for quick, effective communication.

Instead, one of the more popular videos types for this fast-paced style is the promotional video ad.

In 2021, promo video ads are incredibly popular since they can communicate ample information rapidly to even the most distracted viewer.

What Exactly Are Promo Videos?

While it may seem like any short video can be a promo, or that any promo is an ad, there’s a little more that goes into this video format.

Promotional videos can definitely be advertisements, but the objectives can range from informing customers and simply showing off your cool products in a fun format to launching events or undertaking new initiatives.

Promo video makers are designed to make your life easier when producing a promo.

Instead of having to drop half your budget on editing, you can download a quick video maker app and use your smartphone’s amazing camera to do the trick.

With promo video makers, you can swiftly put together a great quality clip that highlights your best features and attributes.

Why Do I Need a Promo Video for Marketing?

There are several excellent reasons behind why you should consider downloading a promo video maker and trying your own hand. Promo videos let you do the following for marketing:

  • Make your brand relatable. Promos are a great way to highlight not just your products, but your team. Show your CEO talking passionately about your company or provide your employees with the chance to shine by giving a tour of your offices.
  • Give visitors something to draw them in. A short, engaging video can help set the tone and get viewers interested in what you’re selling.
  • Introduce your products in a fun way. Articles and ads are great for certain purposes, but video gives you a chance to really cut loose. Creating a fun demo can make it easier to sell a product or service and build more hype around it.

How Do I Make a Marketing Promo Video?

While you need a great concept and proper execution to make an awesome video, there are some ways you can make your life easier when filming.

  1. Have the right tools – You don’t need a fancy camera or a $1,000 editing suite. Your smartphone’s camera is powerful enough, especially when used with great promo video makers like VideoBoost, which lets you quickly edit and produce amazing video ads with pre-made or unique footage in under 3 minutes.
  2. Know what your goal is – Promos aren’t necessarily sales-oriented, but you should know exactly what you’re going for. Having a goal in mind helps you make better decisions about the type of footage you need to capture.
  3. Keep it short and simple – Promo videos are meant to be short, so get to the point, and make it a good one at that. Focus on the most important messaging and remove excessive explanations that can distract or detract from your goals.

As for an example easy to use template from a promo video maker such as our Boosted app, watch the clip below to see how you can make your own promo video ad in less than 3 minutes. Below is a basic but professional promo video advertisement template for a yoga business. Watch how easy it is to make:

5 Marketing Tips to Make a Good Promo Video

In theory, creating a promo video for your business may seem fairly straightforward. And while making a video isn’t the most complicated thing in the world, there certainly are a couple of key elements that you won’t want to forget when it comes to making your own promo videos. 

Below, we’ll go over a few quick tips to help you understand what exactly goes into making a good promotional video for businesses. 

  1. Keep it focused – No matter what you plan on promoting in your video, you need to ensure that the topic is clear and focused, surrounding only the relevant details of your promotion. So, for instance, if you’re creating a promo video for an event, you’ll want to make sure your video covers only relevant topics, such as where and when the event will be held, and what your guests can expect to experience. 
  2. Make it a teaser – When creating effective promotional videos, the goal is never to take a deep, insightful look into a product or service. Instead, the goal is to provide its viewers with a short, attention-grabbing trailer, which highlights a certain event or topic, in order to get the viewer interested in learning more. A good promo video should always use fast cut scenes, sound bites, and titles that make the information catchy and easy to remember. 
  3. Keep it scripted – Especially if you’re somewhat of a goofy or fun-loving person, you might be tempted to use improvised content for your promotional videos. While there’s nothing wrong with doing this, we highly recommend that you stick to using planned, scripted content for your videos. Keeping your video’s dialogue scripted ensures that you’ll be discussing the right information at all times, without ever straying too far from the point. 
  4. Create multiple edits – You’re obviously going to want to make the most out of your promotional videos, which means using them on as many different channels as possible. Therefore, it’s a good idea to try and make multiple different versions of your videos, so that you’ll be able to use them on different channels, and you’ll be able to keep your feeds from getting to be too repetitive. 
  5. Graphics are key – When making promotional videos, it’s vital that you use some type of visual graphics, be it logos, banners, discount codes, or dates and times, to help add a bit of an attention-grabbing, visual appeal. Using visual graphics can help make the viewer aware of the key facts that you want/need them to remember. 

The main things to remember are that the video needs to clearly focus on a single topic or event, which helps convey the most important information. And, that you can use flashy, memorable graphics to get your viewers to remember certain key details conveyed in your videos. 

So by focusing on the information you want your viewers to retain, and by trying to add a visually appealing edge to your videos, you should easily be able to create promotional videos that will entice consumers to want to learn more about your brand. 

10 Awesome Promo Video Ads to Inspire in 2021:

Now that we understand the qualities needed in order to make a standout video, it’s time to put your promo video maker skills to the test.

One of the best ways to do this is taking inspiration from other brands, here we take a look at five standout promotional video over the years to inspire your promo video marketing for 2021.

  • Marks and Spencers

To the backdrop of a popular track, Marks and Spencers created a lively and vibrant promotion video to show off their healthy food range. Already known for their indulgent and upmarket food choices, the British brand uses a choice of uplifting colours with ever-changing graphics, to highlight the freshness of their product range.

Their promo video maker obviously knows a thing or two about synchronicity as the soundtrack is times to the graphics, helping to keep viewers engaged throughout. Cleverly, it keeps text to a minimum, instead letting the video do the talking.

  • Dollar Shave Club

Bringing fun and humour to an otherwise dry subject, Dollar Shave Club clearly gets its key messages across right from the get go. Pushing their value for money message, it’s clear what their USP is straight away.

In terms of user engagement, it draws you in with its direct approach and great script.

Facing an already well-established market, they take the ‘disruptor brand’ approach, and as you can see, it pays off.

Proving that you don’t have to spend a fortune to create a much-talked about video, they paid $4,500 to promo video maker to produce this, and to date, it’s had 11 million views!

  • Sealy Hybrid Mattress

Deviating from the usual promo video maker route, Sealy opt for bright happy graphics to sell their hybrid mattress. This dovetails into its investment in innovation and technology, showing that it’s a forward-thinking brand.

Using vibrant colours and their product as the ‘hero’, they clearly demonstrate why you need their hybrid mattress in your life. It’s hard to not feel enriched after watching it!

The animations draws in the viewer throughout the video, making it a compelling watch in a fun way. If you look back at the key targets we talk about in the intro, you’ll see this ticks all boxes.

  • Listerine

It’s not easy to make mouthwash videos sexy. However, Listerine have developed a well-produced promo video, that explains the journey of their brand.

Like all good promo videos, it answers your questions and incentivises you with reasons to buy their product. With a nod to well-proven advertising techniques, the promo video maker has also given you reasons why you need Listerine, playing on the ‘fear’ of bacteria.

Produced to a high-standard, it sets the benchmark for other animated promo videos.

  • Blendtec

Going down the ‘shock and awe’ route with a handful of comedy thrown in, Blendtec have raised smiles and over 300 million views with their ‘will it blend video’.

In this simple demonstration, they dump an iPad in their blender, and yes – blend it up! It’s one in a long line of promo videos made by the company that showcases their blending prowess in a fun and entertaining way. Much like the Million Dollar Shave campaign, they’ve also opted for using their own CEO, giving it a personal touch that makes you like the brand even more.

 

  • Starbucks

In this promo video, which is no longer than 60 seconds in length, Starbucks takes us through a full year of positivity and kindness, by depicting videos of customers and employees celebrating a range of charitable acts. 

By using basic human emotions like happiness and kindness, Starbucks truly attempts to resonate with its customers. 

After all, who doesn’t want to deal with brands that are happy and kind, right? 

  • Samsung:

In order to promote its newly released VR technology, Samsung created this fun and captivating promo video, where viewers are taken along on a fully-immersive, 3D ride with Santa and his sleigh. 

The fact is that most virtual reality videos are extremely visually appealing, but, they lack any sort of narrative. 

That’s why Samsung decided to use something relevant and memorable, i.e. Santa and his sleigh; which helps make the video more relatable and immersive to its viewers. 

Plus, who doesn’t love the idea of going for a ride with Santa Claus?

  • Hostel World

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ8ecrT0KA8&feature=youtu.be

Sometimes, there are simply no better ways to connect with your audience than by using a bit of clever, tongue-in-cheek humor. 

And that’s exactly what Hostelworld did when they teamed up with the world-famous, Charlie Sheen, in order to make this short 16-second promo video. 

In the video, you simply see Charlie Sheen cooking for a group of youths in a seemingly civilized kitchen, which is used as an ironic reminder to viewers that staying in hostels (and that even Charlie Sheen himself) doesn’t have to be uncivilized. 

This clever use of humor not only makes the viewer laugh or smile when they see the clip, but it also works to help make the video (and the brand) more memorable. 

  • Google

When Google initially launched its Virtual Assistant promo video, they made sure to use a combination of visual appealing, single-shot, zoom in/out graphics, and a bit of clever dialogue to depict the problems that their product is meant to resolve.

By the time you’re done watching the video, you have a very clear idea of what the product is, as well as what it’s capable of doing. 

Google also does an excellent job of adding a touch of humor to their video, which helps make the clip that much more memorable.

  • Slack 

Slack is an online platform that makes it easier for teams of freelancers and remote workers to collaborate together on projects. 

In order to drum up a bit of buzz surrounding the company’s launch, the company decided to release this quirky video, which is reminiscent of an episode of a TV comedy show. 

Once again, the effective use of humor is used in order to depict the problems that the company and its product solve. And by keeping things light-hearted and funny, the video is significantly more enjoyable and more memorable to anyone who sees it. 

20 Awesome Business Promo Video Ideas

In today’s digital business environment, consumers prefer video to virtually all others forms of content. 

In fact, if your brand isn’t already creating video content, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity to attract, engage and delight your potential customers. 

In the following article, we’ll go over 20 effective and powerful ideas for promo videos that you can use for your brand. 

Some of these promo video ideas include introductory videos, products unboxings, and even simple tips and tricks videos – all of which are ideal videos to help build trust with your audience and promote your brand online. 

Our 20 Favorite Promo Video Ideas for Small Business Owners:

Without further ado, here are our 20 favorite promo video ideas that you can implement immediately to boost your business:

1) Business Introduction Videos

When launching your business, you only have one chance to make a first impression. This is why having a good introduction video is so important. 

There are a number of ways to create an engaging intro video, but the most successful have these 3 characteristics in common:

  • They are concise – With so much stimulating content on the internet, holding a potential customer’s attention is harder than ever. Grab their attention and then communicate your message simply and quickly.
  • They tell a story – Even if your video is only about 3 seconds long, it should still have a storyline. Seeing stories progress is something that holds the audience’s attention more than anything else. 
  • They include a call-to-action (CTA) – Inspire your audience to take action, whether that’s connecting with you on social media, asking a question about a product or service, entering a competition or even making a purchase. 

Using these three factors, there are a number of successful formulas you can take inspiration from for your intro video. For example, check out this company profile video for a digital art production company called Cinematic

One popular approach is telling a company story, i.e. the humbling tale of how the company itself came to be. 

Calling on your company’s legacy can be a powerful tool in attracting and engaging potential customers. In addition, demonstrating that the company has survived and grown over a number of years will reflect endurance and reliability.

Another creative way of introducing the company is by interviewing actual customers and have them make the introduction for you. This immediately communicates trustworthiness as it features real, authentic customer satisfaction.

Alternatively, mimicking a short, famous film or any other popular video can be very effective too, as the viewer becomes engaged in the story since they already know it! 

2) Promotional Product Videos

Product videos come in different shapes and sizes. Depending on your target market, customers will be attracted to very different kinds of content.

Nonetheless, they, once again, share 3 key attributes:

  • They tell a story – Like with introductory videos, the best product videos will get an audience invested in the unravelling of a story. But beyond just making the video engaging, a story gives you the opportunity to show your product being used. 
  • They are short and snappy – As a general rule, product videos shouldn’t exceed 30 seconds — especially if it’s for sharing around social media. Conciseness gives you an opportunity to be innovative. After all, it’s challenging to tell a story and portray your brand values in such a short space of time. There are a few occasions where product videos can go on a bit longer, but these usually have a strong emotional message which can keep the audience attentive for an extended duration.
  • They connect on a human level – A product exposé should relate to the customer, and videos with a story are far better at doing this than a series of images and text. You want the video to communicate honesty and relate-ability, with customers leaving feeling as though the video struck a chord with them.

For example, check out this short, snappy product sample video, which is only 30 seconds but manages to show the product and its features in a variety of dazzling HD shots. 

3) Customer/User Testimonials

A customer testimonial is a previous user of your product or service sharing their personal experience of the company. Video testimonials tend to be more effective than written ones as they provide a face and voice, adding personality and authenticity to the words the customer is saying.

Honesty and believability are the keys to video testimonials. Check out this short Customer Testimonial Video for a better idea of what this looks like. 

You want to tell a customer’s story in their own words to really transmit that authenticity factor and make a big impact.

4) How-To Promo Videos

How-to videos are a useful and entertaining way to learn how to do something online, and especially more effective as they rely on demonstration as well as words. Customers respond very well to this kind of video, as it doesn’t immediately spell out “ad”.

For a great example, check out this How-To video about creating an awesome product video. 

Let’s take a look at a few important tips on making a successful how-to video.

  • Make it human – As we’ve already established, viewers respond well to sincerity and authenticity, which means incorporating some honest, light humor can be a great way to make the video much more enjoyable and relate-able to your audience. 
  • Speed up footage – Again, audiences prefer shorter video content and will get bored watching someone repeat a task many times. Use hyperlapse to speed up some of the footage and make your video more entertaining to watch.
  • Include subtitles – When scrolling through social media, videos are usually on mute when they auto-play. Having subtitles means viewers can get hooked on the content just by sight.
  • Make it memorable – If you want to use a how-to video to generate publicity, then you need to make it original, yet easily memorable and recognizable. 

5) Repurposing Video Content

While we often create video content with one platform in mind, for example Facebook, it’s a good idea to consider repurposing any of your existing content and optimizing it for other channels. 

This is a cost-effective way of getting your content more mileage from your content and having it reach a larger audience.

However, not all video content will work well across all channels so you need to be mindful about what will work where.

For example, very short how-to videos may perform well on TikTok, they’re not going to be as effective on platforms like Facebook or Youtube, where people are usually looking for more in-depth information. 

But by familiarizing yourself with the preference of your users on all the different social media platforms, you’ll be able to repurpose your content effectively for each. In turn, helping maximize the usage and potential reach of each piece of content.

6) Listicles/Roundup Videos

Listicles are the incredibly popular and shareable top 10 lists that we pretty much all love to read. In videos, they usually take the form of a “roundup video”, but the concept is the same, listing off any number of the best products, services, etc. in a certain category. 

This kind of content is so popular because the sparse text and segmentation makes them very quick and easy to digest. Plus, these videos often work as good “click bait”, so they’re a great way to get your name in front of a larger audience.

For a great example, check out this roundup video of the top 10 best selling retail products. 

7) Virtual Tour

People love knowing the more intimate details about brands and people they look up to, just think how many behind the scenes and morning routine videos there are on Youtube. 

Giving audiences a look at your offices or factories will intrigue them and help them to get a more comprehensive picture of your company. 

It all comes down to portraying that human experience and allowing customers in to see the real, unscripted stuff. In other words, virtual tours and real behind the scenes footage can make your videos seem considerably more human and relatable. 

8) Funny Promo Videos

Humour is a great promo video marketing tool, and when done effectively, will win over customers almost every time. 

People love when brands don’t take themselves too seriously, and they’re much more likely to share content they think will amuse others too. 

A little bit of lightheartedness can go a long way, like this video from a company called Conductor, which instead of advertising their marketing prowess, created a video titled How To Fail At Marketing. 

9) Case Study Promo Video Ideas

Case study videos focus on the collective customer experience, often with references to statistics and numbers about a company’s previous work experience. 

They can either concentrate on a group of customers or clients who all achieved success with a product or service.

For a great example, check out this Case Study by Nurture Digital. 

These kinds of videos tend to be very figure-oriented, and generally speaking, the more technical and factual, the better. 

10) Live-Streams and Event Coverage

Live streaming is an excellent way to make customers feel connected to you in the present moment, especially when it involves a Q&A and live customer interactions. 

Event coverages are a great opportunity to stream live too and you can generate a lot of publicity over social media beforehand to get people to join in. But the key is really to ensure you include exclusive content that viewers can’t get just by watching your usual promotional material.

With that being said, live streaming can be a bit more stressful than other types of videos, especially since it’s very important that there aren’t major hiccups while you’re on air. Customers can easily be put off by technical issues or swear words slipping out, for example. 

11) Employee Greetings/Recruitment Videos

Creating videos tailored to welcoming new employees to your company is the perfect way to educate them on the brand values and expectations while making them feel personally bonded to the company.

These videos help new recruits to get to know the culture of your company, know who they can talk to and the procedures for getting things accomplished internally. 

For a great example, check out this Recruitment Video from Listrak.

12) Webinar Videos

A webinar is a live online meeting, conference or presentation. 

They tend to be interactive, with customers able to participate via a chat function or even with their voice in a dedicated Q&A portion of the seminar.

Companies use webinars as a way of reaching out to new customers, establishing their expertise on a certain topic, building their brand awareness, or as a means to promote the launch of a new product or service. 

Sometimes they are aimed purely at existing customers, or for training new recruits. However, a webinar can be targeted at virtually any audience, and is a great way to help get them involved and interacting with your brand. 

13) Tips and Tricks

Similar to how-to videos and humorous content, tips and tricks are a great way to produce digestible content for your audience, without seeming overly ad-like. 

Check like this short video on woodworking tips by a company called Handicrafts. 

14) FAQ Videos

When it comes to promoting your brand as a reliable source, there’s almost no better way to do so than by answering your customers’ most pressing questions. 

In fact, FAQ video can benefit your brand for two main reasons. 

For starters, an FAQ video will provide valuable information to your audience, which they’re already likely looking for, and at the same time, it’ll help establish your brand as being knowledgeable on the given subject matter. 

For instance, check out this FAQ video by The Institute of Personal Care Science, which answers their audience’s most pressing questions about cosmetic formulas. 

15) Current Events

Typically, current event videos are used by larger news and media outlets. However, there’s no reason that your brand can’t capitalize on current events in the world to make your videos more up-to-date and relatable. 

For instance, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of businesses around the world started making videos to highlight their response and reaction to the news. 

16) Solutions

Similar to How-to videos or FAQ videos, a solutions video is all about offering a solution to your customers’ problems. 

In content marketing, when a brand wants to create content that’s going to be effective with their audience, they first work to learn about their potential customers, i.e. who they are, what they do, and more importantly, what they’re problems and pain points are. 

In turn, by focusing on creating content that addresses and offers solutions these pain points, you can be sure that your videos will actually be valuable to your viewers. 

17) Press Releases

Often created by larger agencies, firms or corporations, a video press release will be made to resemble a news report, announcing some type of news from the company. 

Maybe your brand has recently launched and succeeded in meetings its goals for Q1 of the year, or maybe the company is being bought out by a much larger company, either way, any internal company happenings are ideal opportunities to create a good piece of video content. 

18) Holiday Videos

Every holiday on the calendar is a potential opportunity to create a good promo video for your brand. 

Whether we’re talking about Christmas, Hanukkah, Easter, or even Halloween, creating topical videos about current happenings is a sure-fire way to have your videos resonate with viewers. 

19) Ask Questions

A company promo video can also be a great opportunity to get to know your audience better. 

For instance, you might create a video where you ask questions or conduct a poll for your audience. This gives the audience an easy and helpful way to interact with you, while you get the benefit of learning even more about your potential customers. 

20) Thank You Videos

Finally, this list wouldn’t be complete without mentioning that it’s important to empower your audience and ensure that they know how important they are to your brand or business. 

Thank you videos, for example, make great follow-ups after company events, conferences, or meetings. 

Promo Video Ideas: What’s Next?

We listed 20 ideas for your next promo video to support your brand. What are you waiting for?

For additional resources, check out these promo video guides:


Subscribe to our social media tips and get a FREE Instagram checklist for your business.

By subscribing, I agree to the Lightricks Privacy Policy.

IGTV vs. YouTube

Which is Better for Your Business and Influencer Marketing?

Everywhere you look in 2020, video is taking over the web. From six-second TikToks to YouTube channels with over 100 million subscribers, people just want video. According to a recently updated survey of over 3,000 consumers by HubSpot, 54% of consumers want more video content from the brands they love. You just can’t beat video for engagement, conversions, and brand awareness!

But where should you be sharing your videos? IGTV or YouTube? With all the social media available these days and all of them following the consumer trends, you have several choices when it comes to posting your video content. We’ll take a look at the pros and cons between two of the top video platforms, YouTube vs. IGTV, to help you make your choice. 

Video Length

Your second consideration should be the length of your videos. (We’ll talk about your first consideration in a moment.) IGTV limits your videos to 10 minutes, so if you’re going for a lengthy instructional type or a feature-length entertainment piece, you’re going to want to go with YouTube.

If your account is verified, you can post videos that are up to 12 hours long (Upload Videos Longer Than 15 Minutes). However, if your aim is to fish followers and leads with fun and informative shorts, IGTV might be your best bet. 

Sharing Capability

You’ve probably seen YouTube videos scattered all over the web, shared on social media and embedded in blog posts. Google isn’t worried about losing its position as the world’s biggest video platform, so they’ll let you share your videos all over the place.

IGTV, on the other hand, isn’t as interested in losing control of the content. They also don’t allow you to share YouTube videos to their platform. When it comes to sharing, Google FTW!

Searchability

Because Google owns YouTube, YouTube videos more frequently appear on the first page of search results and it’s easy to search YouTube itself for practically anything. You’ll never see any Instagram TV on Google’s search results, but that’s actually not because of Google!

IGTV only allows their content to be accessed on Instagram, so you can only be discovered or find new content when searching on Instagram itself. This makes searching IGTV for content more difficult than searching YouTube. You can’t just type in keywords or topics. You have to search specific users or hashtags to find related videos. 

Analytics

When it comes to analytics, it’s another no-brainer. Google has entire products dedicated to providing accurate analytics to help you adjust and improve your marketing.

The same goes for YouTube. They show you the in-depth engagement stats you can use to tailor your campaigns. IGTV provides enough analytics to show trends, but they don’t go much deeper. Depending on how much insight you need, either one could work for you. 

Audience

Your first consideration should be your audience. Where are they? What do they do? Who is your target audience? The other factors don’t matter nearly as much as making sure your content gets to the people you need to see it. Before you make any decisions, find your niche audience and build a home there. It’s always possible to branch out in the future.

All of these together will help you understand which video marketing tool is best for you and for your business! Check them all out now!


Subscribe to our social media tips and get a FREE Instagram checklist for your business.

By subscribing, I agree to the Lightricks Privacy Policy.

4 Best TikTok Alternatives

As the world’s sixth-largest social media platform, TikTok is a serious competitor in the branding and marketing sector. Their 800 million monthly users provide the perfect audience for a lot of brands. The problem is that they can be a bit limited.

If your audience isn’t under 20 years old, TikTok might not deliver the best returns on your ad spend and branding campaigns. There’s no linking, tracking, or any kind of useful monitoring to speak of. These limitations have a lot of marketers looking for TikTok alternatives, and there are plenty to choose from. 

Clash

Clash is a platform created by former Vine star Brendon McNerney. It combines the best of Vine and TikTok with an emphasis on creator monetization. You can share looping videos that are up to 21 seconds long and popular content is delivered on the “Now Serving” page, the same type of effortless content feed that made TikTok so successful. Clash doesn’t provide sound bites, so creators are responsible for their audio. As of August 2020, Clash had over 200k users

Byte

Speaking of Vine, meet Byte. Six-second, looping videos and creators you can follow. If it sounds familiar, that’s because it was created by Dominik Hofmann, the creator of Vine. The fall of our beloved Vine can be mostly attributed to a failure to compete with the features other leading social media platforms were offering. The stars went elsewhere. Byte is making an obvious effort to reward creators with monetization and rich features, but since it’s so similar to TikTok, it will have a hard time gaining market share now that we’ve already replaced Vine.

Triller

Triller has carved out its own niche as an AI-assisted music video platform. It was the most downloaded app in the App Store in a record-breaking 50 countries as of August 2020, according to their press release. Triller allows you to record several takes of yourself performing a song and then uses patented AI and editing technology to combine the best takes into a professional-quality music video in seconds.

Funimate

Funimate makes you pay for advanced features, which, off-the-bat, is an issue for most consumers and creators. The incredibly versatile editing software for the looping videos and the extensive audio library have some serious potential. You can even collab with other users on Funimate just like TikTok’s Duet. At the moment, however, it’s performing about as well as any other pay-to-play product with less than 900k downloads.

The Obvious TikTok Alternative Choices

We’ve gone over some of the underdogs, but there are also a few obvious alternatives to TikTok as well. Snapchat has a larger over-30 audience, a ton of great editing features, an advertising mechanism, and still boasts 210 million daily active users.

YouTube is used by 73% of U.S. adults and we know it’s not going anywhere anytime soon (perks of being run by Google). Instagram has three video content formats (Reels, IGTV, and Stories) that are all continuing to perform well.

TikTok is still the king of short, looping videos, there are plenty of platforms out there serving your audience with the features you need!


Subscribe to our social media tips and get a FREE Instagram checklist for your business.

By subscribing, I agree to the Lightricks Privacy Policy.

IGTV vs. Reels vs. Instagram Stories

Is Instagram Taking Over the Online Video Market? The IGTV vs Reels Vs Stories debate gets real.

Large social media platforms can’t stand to see each other create, develop, and launch new ideas without immediately releasing their own version of the tool, feed, or platform. As social media everywhere becomes more video-centric, Instagram seems to have established a solid corner of the market with IGTV, Stories, and Reels. But what’s the purpose of having three video content formats on one platform and how are they different?

Instagram TV (IGTV)

IGTV is the YouTube of Instagram. It’s a place where people can post their edited, high-quality videos in long format, up to 10 minutes. The app can be accessed directly or through your Instagram account. One key difference between YouTube vs IGTV is IGTV’s vertical orientation as the selfie culture seems to prefer the vertical format. Another big difference is that verified accounts on YouTube can take up to 12 hours to upload, while it is much faster to upload a video to IGTV on Instagram.

Marketing on IGTV

While IGTV isn’t exactly a competitor to YouTube, it is a pretty solid video platform in its own right. If you can create content that appeals to your audience, make sure to keep the content short, and remember to include links that advance your marketing goals. Additionally, with tons of awesome video creation apps, like Boosted available to download, it’s easier than ever to make professional IGTV videos. You can also always repurpose the IGTV content and share these videos to Instagram Stories and other channels as well. Check out our guide to IGTV for your business here.

Instagram Stories

Instagram Stories are temporary posts that are either pictures or short videos, usually accompanied with text or other special effects. Ring any bells? That’s right! Snapchat. Stories is Instagram’s response to Snapchat. Hashtags, polls, and countdowns make IG Stories an interactive and effective platform for video marketing and engaging with your audience. 

Marketing on IG Stories

Stories make it easy to engage your audience with just the tiniest bit of creativity. You only have to hold people’s attention for 15 seconds. Throw in a fun poll or a catchy hashtag and you’ve got brand visibility and an engaged following! Still debating whether to use Instagram Stories in your marketing strategy? Check out this pros and cons list of Instagram Stories for your business here.

Reels

Once you recognize the trends of copying Snapchat and YouTube, you could have guessed that the next platform to emulate would be TikTok! Instagram Reels is a short-format video feed where users can post 15-second clips to make people laugh, show off a skill, or market their brand. While Reels is relatively new, it hasn’t made the same splash into the video marketing social media arena as TikTok, in fact, most of Reels videos are simply mostly TikTok reposts. 

Marketing on IG Reels

While Reels will probably never achieve the success that TikTok achieved, it still presents a great marketing opportunity. Reels allows its user to create content that quickly highlights a product, shows some behind-the-scenes of your company culture, or illustrates the benefit your customers and clients have received. They’re really simple to create on the platform itself or you can use video creation apps, like Boosted, to create something a bit different! You can just make entertaining content that gets your brand in front of the right people! Need more Instagram Reels information? Check out this business owner’s guide to Instagram Reels

Summary

When it comes to IGTV vs Reels vs Stories, each platform offers something a little different, so you should take your audience and your preference into consideration, but if you’re going for marketing impact, your best bet is going to be Instagram Stories.

According to the 2019 Social Media Marketing Report, 38% of marketers are using Instagram Stories while only 26% are using IGTV. Reels is too new to be on the 2019 report, but we know Instagram’s existing reach will most likely make Reels into yet another considerable platform, judging by the millions of views already claimed by NBA channels, Louis Vuitton, and others!


Subscribe to our social media tips and get a FREE Instagram checklist for your business.

By subscribing, I agree to the Lightricks Privacy Policy.

10 Video Marketing Quotes You Need to Read

Video marketing is one of the biggest and most rapidly expanding fields in video advertisement creation, but that doesn’t make it any easier to succeed. Occasionally, you might need some video marketing quotes to serve as inspiration.

We went ahead and organized 10 classic video marketing quotes which can and will undoubtedly help your video marketing efforts.

Our 10 Favorite Quotes Related to Video Marketing:

  1. “The best strategy ever: care.” –Gary Veynerchuk

Video marketing today is about much more than simply selling products. Consumers are looking to connect with the brands they buy from and showing that you care about them as more than just walking wallets will help you build a friendlier, more accessible brand.

  1. “Marketing is no longer about the stuff that you make but about the stories you tell.” –Seth Godin

The beauty of video marketing is that it gives you a broader canvas to work on. Instead of focusing on just selling a product, creating a story will give your brand a more defined personality, and will help you reach more consumers looking for companies that aren’t forcing products on them.

  1. “Nothing says ‘yawn’ more than an interminable text-based email or 50 slide attachment. Including a video within a brief email and delivering content in multimedia formats can help drive response rates, improve information retention, and make your company or offer more memorable” –Andy Zimmerman

When you have so many avenues to reach your customers, relying on the oldest and most time-consuming ones is a poor start. Instead, focus on doing more with less. Cut down on your text and turn it into a short, snappy video with tools like Boosted’s corporate video maker, to make awesome promo videos for your company social media page.

  1. “What really decides consumers to buy or not to buy is the content of your advertising, not its form.” –David Ogilvy

It’s easy to get tempted into doing more of everything—flashier graphics, 3D videos, and more—but at the end of the day, what consumers need to connect with is your content. Focus on not just creating a good video, but making sure the content within it is well-designed, engaging, and connects with your audience.

  1. “Stop thinking of ‘video marketing’ as this separate entity that is optional for your business. Video is an effective form of communication that needs to be integrated into each and every aspect of your existing marketing efforts.” –James Wedmore

We’re well past the days when companies could choose to not include video in their marketing strategies. Instead of looking at it as some “extra” tool, focus on using video and content to enhance parts of a broader campaign.

  1. “People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.” –Simon Sinek

Today’s consumers have higher standards for the brands they buy from. Instead of products, they’re looking to purchase from brands that share their values, that present a clear identity, and that can relate to them beyond their wallets.

  1. “Content is king.” –Bill Gates

No matter what you think of video, it’s hard to argue that the days of banner ads and paid TV spots are past us. Today, a strong marketing strategy that includes video should also feature relevant and engaging content that attracts consumers with value instead of a hard sell.

  1. “Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing about” –Benjamin Franklin

It’s easy to get stuck in the trap of doing the same thing that’s worked in the past, but it’s also a quick way to fall behind and be forgotten. Your video marketing should always aim to be memorable, appealing, and strong enough to start a conversation.

  1. You can’t sell anything if you can’t tell anything.” –Beth Comstock

You should always focus on how you’re saying things as much as what you’re saying. Selling a great product isn’t just about the product, but about how well you can describe it and demonstrate its value with a compelling story.

  1. “Stop selling. Start Helping.” –Zig Ziglar

In the end, you should focus on telling stories and creating videos that help people including demos, Q&As, and other clips that highlight your brand as more willing to help than trying to wring every dollar out of you. Emphasize helping, and not selling, and you’ll start delivering better conversion rates.


Subscribe to our social media tips and get a FREE Instagram checklist for your business.

By subscribing, I agree to the Lightricks Privacy Policy.

Real Estate Video Marketing Guide for 2021

Real estate video marketing is hotter than ever, and the industry isn’t showing any signs of slowing down in 2021.

If you’re a seller or real estate agent/realtor and/or marketer looking to boost your real estate business and build a stronger connection with your potential buyers – the time is now to develop a real estate video marketing strategy for your brand. Check out our real estate video maker and see how you can create awesome marketing videos right now.

With this real estate video marketing guide for 2021 – you’re going to learn:

Why Use Video Marketing For Your Real Estate Business?

How can video marketing benefit small business real estate agents and brokers?

Tell Your Story

For starters, video marketing will give your real estate business the opportunity to make your operation seem more personable. With video, you can tell your business’s story directly to your consumer: what made you originally want to pursue real estate, how your business got started, what your favorite part of the industry is etc. Real estate involves trust and intuition – a personal video will help you seem more likeable, which can increase the amount of trust your customer has in you.

Here’s a great video example from real estate investor Kris Krohn about how he got started out in real estate:

Read up on the concept of digital storytelling here for further insights.

Position Yourself as a Real Estate Expert

You’ve worked hard to get to where you are in the industry – share your real estate expertise in a video! This works great as a listicle video (i.e. “My Top 5 Tips & Tricks for Buying Your First Home.”) Here’s some inspiration from real estate agent Loida Velasquez:

Show Your Properties, with Promo Videos

Real estate video marketing makes it possible for you to show off your properties to potential clients. You can use the videos to give potential buyers a tour of your properties, as well as discuss relevant details about it (price, location etc). The remote aspect of being able to show off homes and properties is a game changer for brokers and clients who don’t live in the same area.

Real Estate Video Marketing Statistics in 2021

When it comes down to it, video marketing has proven to be immensely successful across all industries. In 2021, research shows that:

  1. Video marketers get 66% more qualified leads per year, and a 54% increase in brand awareness.
  2. At the same time, marketers who rely on video will be able to grow their revenue nearly 50% faster than those who do not.
  3. Videos excel on social media, since they are more engaging and more easily shareable than images alone. Video content can help generate 1200% more social shares than images and text combined.

Here are some unique real estate video marketing statistics (source):

  1. 50% of buyers find their new home online.
  2. Almost 51% of shoppers use YouTube as their number one destination for research.
  3. 84% of new homebuyers say the information they found online was crucial for their research.

The numbers don’t lie: it is 100% crucial for real estate businesses to improve their video marketing in this day and age. Potential buyers are spending more and more time on digital and their phones are likely to be their first destination when researching a potential home. Create videos to ensure that your content shows up (and hopefully catches their eye!) as they scroll.

Real Estate Video Marketing Services

If you’re a real estate professional who’s just getting started out with video content creation and doesn’t have a lot of experience with video editing tools – don’t worry! Here are two routes that you can take for improving your video marketing:

  • Outsourcing – If it’s within your budget, there are plenty of video marketing services out there that will take care of every aspect of the video content creation process for you. Before choosing a company to handle your video marketing, be sure to do your research. Focus on finding out whether the company is reputable and worth your time and money.
  • Use a Video Marketing Tool – If your plan is to create videos in-house, check out Boosted – a promo video maker app that enables you to create professionally-designed real estate videos, in minutes. You can use your own footage or select stock footage, and then add text and other elements to customize. It’s free to download and use (you can upgrade to access all video templates), which is always a plus for any bootstrapped real estate agent trying to grow his or her business.

12 Tips For Creating Awesome Real Estate Marketing Videos in 2021

1. Create promotional real estate videos

Boosted makes the otherwise daunting experience of creating a promo video simple and fast.

There’s a dedicated category within the app for real estate video templates:

real estate video marketing template

Here are some examples of real estate marketing videos that you can create with Boosted’s real estate video maker app:

2.  Create a real estate video script

Every good piece of content starts with a plan. A video script will give your real estate marketing video framework and direction. Here are 8 steps to writing an effective video script, according to HubSpot:

  • Start with a brief.
  • Use your brief to write an outline.
  • Introduce yourself and/or the topic at the beginning of your script.
  • Start writing your script, section by section.
  • Support any B-roll with the proper callouts in your main narrative.
  • Be as concise as you can.
  • Use this video script template (see HubSpot article).
  • Do a verbal run-through off-camera.

3. Make sure your real estate marketing video is high-quality

Nowadays, you don’t need professional, expensive video equipment to create HQ video content – smartphones make shooting impressive video content accessible to  everyone. Be conscious of which way you hold your phone when shooting (horizontal vs. vertical). Knowing which social media platform the content is for will help inform this decision (i.e. you would film a video vertically for Instagram Stories).

4. Niche Down & Analyze Audience

You’re in real estate. We all know that. But what are your specialties? What helps set you apart from any other real estate professional on the market? Who exactly are you trying to sell to? 

If you don’t know the answers to these questions, then I strongly suggest that you sit down and think about it before you begin planning out any type of video content that you’re going to create. 

In fact, knowing the answers to these questions is crucial is you plan on being in sales. Period!

Essentially, by focusing on your unique selling points (USPs), specialties, and everything else that sets you apart, it’ll be much easier to attract the right type of consumers to your brand. 

And, at the same time, it’s also important to perform a thorough analysis of your target audience and ideal buyers. By understanding who you want to sell to you, again, it’ll be easier to create video content that speaks to the right type of consumer. 

So, for instance, if you were a realtor that primarily sold family homes, you wouldn’t want to create videos showing rich people in lavish homes with luxurious interior designs simply because of the fact that the people you want to sell to (the average family) can’t typically afford lavish homes or luxury interiors. 

On the other hand, if you were to create videos based on family life, showing modest homes, but focusing on wholesome family values, then you might have a video idea that speaks to your target audience. 

Knowing what makes you unique, as well as what your target audience wants, is crucial for creating effective real estate marketing videos. 

5. Analyze Your Competitors

Before nailing down any specific plans as to what type of real estate videos to make, it’s a good idea to take a look at your competitors to see what type of video content they’re currently making. 

Obviously, the idea here isn’t to steal their video idea or to copy them. Instead, it’s important to truly examine what they are doing that’s being well-received by their audience. 

By doing this, you’ll get a much better idea of what type of real estate videos are currently popular, and that should give you plenty of ideas for video content to create for yourself. 

At the same time, instead of solely looking at what they’re doing, it’s also a good idea to try and spot any content gaps that your competitors aren’t currently offering, which your target audience might be interested in. 

For example, maybe there’s a large number of consumers that are looking for information on home inspection in Iowa. However, out of all the realtors and real estate agencies in the state, none of them are currently offering any information on home inspections. 

In this case, if you were able to create real estate videos that focus on this topic, there’d be virtually no competing content, and you could easily generate a large amount of traffic for you or agency. 

Plus, at the same time, by providing information video content that your competitors aren’t currently offering, you easily make yourself stand out as a leader in your industry. 

6. Perform Keyword Research

Keywords are very specific terms that internet users enter into search engines like Google and YouTube to find relevant content. 

Keyword research analyzes the most popular keywords used by your audience, which you can then use to base your video content on. Essentially, performing keyword research will allow you to identify keywords that are frequently searched by consumers. 

By optimizing their videos and blog content for these keywords, realtors, and agencies can work towards having their videos’ rank on search engines like Google. Once video content begins to rank well, hopefully on the first page of results, it can easily generate consistent traffic to your website or real estate listings. 

7. Play On Human Emotions

While I’m not advocating that you try to trick people into watching or liking your real estate videos, it can be extremely beneficial to create video content that plays on positive human emotions like joy, happiness, and love. 

Not only do videos that elicit an emotional response get better reactions from viewers, but they’re also considerably more memorable as well. And this is especially true when we’re talking about selling real estate, since consumers tend to relate better to other warm humans rather than cold property listings. 

In fact, whether we’re talking about sales, marketing, or any other type of human relations, emotional appeal is one of the most powerful tools that can be used to win over other people. 

8. Focus On The Highlights

When it comes to niching down and focusing on your target audience, focusing on your or your agency’s strong points is essential. And this same principle should also be applied whether you’re creating videos to promote yourself, your agency, or your property listings 

In other words, when it comes to creating videos for property listings, don’t simply think about the property itself; think about how you can sell the lifestyle and locations that go hand-in-hand with the property. 

For instance, maybe you’re selling a property that backs on a beach. 

Instead of only showing the property itself, it might be a good idea to create a video that shows the beach lifestyle, maybe even including shots of people swimming or sunbathing. While these shots aren’t necessarily about the house, they work to sell the beach lifestyle that potential buyers will get when they purchase the house. 

The point here is that real estate videos don’t only need to focus on real estate, they can focus on positive human emotions, lifestyles, and location benefits rather than specific things about a property or real estate agency. 

And when you keep these tips in mind, there’s truly no limit to the type of video content that you can create. Just make sure to keep it fresh, relevant, human, and fun, and you’re already well on your way to create that your audience will love.

9. Keep Your Real Estate Videos Short & Concise

People’s attention spans are decreasing rapidly. Therefore, you’ll want to make sure to keep your real estate video marketing short and sweet, but still engaging.

The problem with this is that you still want to present all the necessary information in your video, but you need to do it in as efficient a manner as possible.

In general, keeping your videos to 5-minutes and under will ensure that you lose fewer viewers, and potential clients, before the video is over. This means you will need to evaluate what information is essential and what information can be scrapped.

It’s always good to include as much information as possible, but do your very best to condense as much as possible.

When people view your video, they won’t be in the same headspace as if they when sitting down to a watch movie. In other words, you only have a very short window of time to capture their attention and engage with them.

Present the most compelling information you have as soon as you can in your videos. Don’t leave the good stuff until the end! Get it out there as soon as possible. Doing so will lead to more viewers sticking with your video until the end.

Keeping your videos short is also essential if you want them to rank well on platforms, such as YouTube.

While algorithms are changing constantly, they currently favor shorter videos that have high rates of viewers watching all the way through. Therefore, the more your video can fit into that mold, the more it’ll be visible by people and search engines.

10. Create a Budget

There’s no sugar-coating the fact that your real estate video marketing is going to cost some money to make.

Sure, you’ve got a camera on your phone and some software installed on your computer to edit your footage, but you’ll still require a budget, especially if you want to create videos that are compelling enough to sell homes.

Real estate really isn’t an industry where you can get away with an unpolished or poorly put together video.

 In fact, real estate is a field based on aesthetics. People need to have confidence in the people they are purchasing their homes from, and unfortunately, publishing videos that look like they were made in an amateur’s basement does not spark such feelings.

The properties you’re showing need to look appealing and this is always going to require certain lighting tools. 

As much as cameras on smartphones have advanced, they still can’t do much about a poorly lit location.

So with that in mind, you’ll want to create a budget that includes proper lighting materials, as well as leaving a bit of extra play for some professional editing if possible.

If you don’t set aside a budget for your video before you begin to shoot, it’ll show.

On the other hand, if you take the time to carefully plan your budget, not only can you save yourself money, but you’ll be much better equipped to get things filmed properly and on schedule when the time comes to shoot your footage.

11. Spotlight Yourself  

This tip might sound a little intimidating to some, but as a public facing realtor should always try to feature yourself in your real estate video marketing promotions.

Of course, you don’t want to distract from the property. But you do want to make sure that whoever watches the video is going to remember the name and face of the realtor they might want to deal with in the future.

For some, this idea is exciting. For others, however, it’s terrifying.

The idea of starring in a real estate promo video that will be seen by many people, including potential clients, can invoke fear, stress, anxiety, and the works.

However, to put this in perspective, there is nothing that you would be saying or doing in a marketing video that you wouldn’t be saying or doing with a prospective client. Therefore, you really shouldn’t worry too much about having yourself filmed in a video.

People relate to other people, not necessarily to a house or piece of property.

In other words, you’re the person your prospective client needs to relate to.

Use your video as an opportunity to share with people the feelings that you’ve gone through when buying a home, what made you feel confident about your purchase, what made you nervous, etc.

The more your viewers can relate and connect with you, the more they will see you as a credible expert in the field and as someone they may want to work with in the future.

Obviously, you don’t have to come off as a movie star, nor do you need to buy new clothes or get a makeover.

Just be yourself, be relatable, and people will naturally want to connect with you.  

12. Don’t Just Sell The Home, Sell The Location

As a real estate professional, you know that a person doesn’t just purchase a house, they purchase a home. And that home doesn’t just include the structure itself, but also the location it sits in and the lifestyle that’s possible by living there.

In other words, when creating your videos, don’t just focus on the homes that your selling.

Instead, give your viewer a glimpse into the world that surrounds it. In fact, images of the city, town, or area where your property is located should almost always be used to fill a prospective client’s imagination with ideas about the kind of life they might one day lead if they lived there.

Is the house you’re selling near the beach?

Then make sure your video showcases not only the home and beach, but the surrounding restaurants, shops, and all the other things to do in the area as well.

Real estate marketing videos should always include footage of happy people enjoying their lives.

You can even ask local business owners if they would like to be featured in the video. It’s free advertising for them, and it goes a long way to showing potential clients what life is really like in the community.

Alternatively, a few testimonials from locals could go a long way toward bringing you new clients, and the footage you shoot can be reused in the future for multiple videos on homes or properties in that same area.

7 Best Real Estate Marketing Video Examples in 2021:

Get inspired to create stellar real estate marketing videos by watching successful videos that have already received a lot of views, engagement and subsequently, real estate leads. Here are some videos that will get your creative juices flowing:

1. How to Shoot Drone Commercial Real Estate, Property Videos | BTS – Discover a way to show off your properties from (literally) a whole new perspective using drones. Watch for tips on how to record real estate videos using a drone, as well as insights into different angles and shots you can record from. Incorporating aerial footage into your real estate marketing video is a surefire way to make your video stand out.

2. Realtor Commercial Video | Real Estate Agent Profile Commercial | Chicago – This video provides an in-depth look into an individual real estate agent’s services. It tells the realtor’s story in a personal and engaging fashion, and includes a customer testimonial as well which adds a level of trustworthiness to the video.

3. Jennifer Skoff Realtor – Profile Introduction Video In this very basic profile video by Jennifer Skoff, she makes a perfect example of how to get your message out there by being curt and to the point, all while looking stylish and professional at the same time. 

Because this is a profile video, Skoff gets straight to the point, introducing herself as a realtor and explaining how she understands that each of her clients is unique and that she does her best to cater to their specific needs. 

When creating these types of profile videos, always remember to stick to your main point, and try to keep your videos short so that there’s a better chance viewers will watch them in their entirety. 

4. Real Service Luxury Real Estate – Promo Video This next promotional real estate video is a prime example of how a real estate agency can make use of modern technology to display their home and property listings. In fact, by using drone footage, Real Service Luxury Real Estate is able to show their property from angles that aren’t even possible when visiting a location in person. 

By doing so, this video adds an extra touch of value to potential buyers that are interested in learning about the property. 

In the end, if you want to successfully sell homes and properties in today’s competitive marketplace, you need to be offering as much value as possible, telling potential buyers as much as you possibly can, which is exactly what this quick real estate promo video has done by showing the property from both the inside and out. 

5. EVIA Real Estate – Promo Video EVIA truly did a fantastic job when creating this short, one minute promotional real estate video

One thing that you’ll notice within the first few scenes of the video is that it doesn’t really seem to be about real estate or realtors at all. 

In fact, the narrator goes on about “lines on paper”, “raw materials”, and “elegant interiors”, which might lead you to think he’s talking about anything other than real estate. 

However, the voiceover then ties things together by talking about how EVIA builds spaces. The video then shifts to displaying the many different property types offered and owned by EVIA, as well as explaining many of the values held by the company. 

In turn, this video hardly focuses on real estate at all. 

But instead, it focuses on establishing a positive image for the company and building a better, deeper connection with its audience. 

6. Renderforest – Real Estate Video Template Although this next video is only a template idea, it’s still an excellent example of a powerful, effective, and engaging real estate video. 

In this Real Estate Video Template, the video creators made sure to keep two things in mind: powerful, vivid imagery of homes, as well as the benefits viewers will get when interacting with the company. 

In turn, by keeping the imagery relevant to the topic at-hand, and by keeping the customer’s best interest in mind, a video like this one should easily be able to generate some buzz for your listings. 

7. Tom Ferry – Tips And Advice For New Real Estate Agents. Finally, in this last example of an effective real estate marketing video, Tom Ferry’s Tips and Advice Video reminds us yet again that a good, engaging video speaks directly to its audience, and keeps their best interest in mind at all times. 

Of course, this real estate marketing video isn’t intended to sell homes or to promote a real estate agency. But instead, it’s focused on offering tips and advice specifically to other realtors in the industry. In fact, this video is so targeted that Ferry mentions that it’s only for real estate agents who have less than 5 years experience selling homes. 

By doing this, he’s literally narrowing down his audience, ensuring that only the right people will follow through with watching his video. 

In the end, the point is that real estate marketing videos don’t always have to be about selling homes or properties, so long as the end customer and target audience are always kept in mind.

4 Must-Know Real Estate Video Marketing Terms for 2021

As with any industry, when it comes to real estate, there’s a wide range of industry-specific terminologies and jargon that every marketer needs to know. Knowing these terms is only important for your own marketing and promotional purposes, but understanding them will also help you impress potential partners, sellers, and buyers in the future. 

Below, we’ll take a look at some of the most important real estate marketing terms to know and understand in 2021. 

1. Real Estate Videography

As implied, real estate videography is a very specific type of videography that focuses primarily on displaying and showing real estate. 

When it comes to real estate videography, there are many different avenues that real estate professionals can take to either introduce themselves or their agencies or to promote and market their residential or commercial property listings.

However, in today’s highly competitive digital real estate markets, it’s more important than ever for realtors to fully understand real estate videography, what it is, and how it can be used to get their names in front of the right audience, at the right time. 

With that said, let’s take a look at a few different video marketing terms that every real estate professional should know in 2020. 

2. Property Video Marketing

When a person is shopping around for a new home, I think it’s safe to say they’re going to make most of their observation by visually inspecting the home or property. 

Therefore, property video marketing has one extremely beneficial advantage in the fact that realtors can easily display their listings in a visual manner that their clients are used to and prefer. 

For instance, creating a walkthrough video of a home for sale is a great way to show potential buyers what the inside of the home looks like, even if they’re unable to visit the location in person. 

As opposed to traditional property listings and images, property video marketing is a much more effective method for showing homes and properties. Essentially, potential buyers are able to tour the home themselves, making property video marketing a much more personal and immersive experience. 

When done right, property video marketing can easily put your properties in front of the right audience, literally bringing them into the bigger picture to see what their future home really has to offer. 

3. Realtor Video Marketing

As a realtor, although homes and properties are the main products that you offer, it’s truly the personal connections and the relationships between you and your clients that allow you to sell. 

However, when potential clients don’t know who you are, they’re often leery to consult or hire you to help them sell or purchase their home. Therefore, realtor video marketing is essential for any real estate professional looking to grow their clientele, and in turn, their career to heights they’ve never dreamed of before. 

The purpose behind realtor video marketing is to promote realtors on a more personal, human level than what you’d typically see advertised at an agency level. In fact, creating videos gives realtors far more options as to how they want to present themselves to their potential clients. 

For instance, realtors might decide to create a series of videos that introduce themselves to their audience, while explaining all the different services they offer. Or, alternatively, they might decide to create a series of videos about the benefits of homeownership. 

Either way, the point is that real estate videography isn’t solely about displaying and highlighting properties. It can also be about realtors themselves, their values, and their current and potential customers as well. 

In the end, realtor video marketing is quickly becoming the best way for real estate pros to get their names out there, to network with potential sellers and buyers, and to grow their businesses like never before. 

4. Commercial Real Estate Video Marketing

Just like residential properties, commercial properties and real estate opportunities also need to be marketed in a way that’s easy and accessible to potential buyers. 

And because video is one of the single fastest-growing mediums out there, commercial real estate video marketing can be an extremely lucrative endeavor for real estate professionals everywhere.

Especially when it’s accomplished with the help of a professional real estate videographer, creating videos that showcase your commercial properties inside and out is one of the best ways to get your listings in front of the right people. 

Plus, when combined with the right strategy, commercial real estate videos can easily be promoted on multiple marketing channels, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Tik Tok, and more. 

real estate video marketing home for sale

Using Video For Real Estate Listings As A Strategy

Creating a strong real estate marketing video strategy will give your real estate business a leg up in an already-crowded market. Even with amazing videos though – you need to ensure that other components of your  business are updated digitally: namely, your real estate listings.

Consider this: One of your videos catches a potential buyer’s eye and they are inspired to learn more about your properties. They scroll for a bit, looking for your listings – and cannot find them. Because the relevant links and information about your business were hard to find, you just lost yourself a potential client and subsequently, a potential sale.

3 final real estate video marketing tips to ensure that a situation like this one does not take place:

  • Make sure your listings are easy to find on your website.
  • Link to your listings in all the proper places on your social media pages – both in the bio/description, as well as within the captions of the content itself.
  • Update your real estate listings continually on all of the proper online real estate listing sites. Here are the top 5 real estate sites that every real estate agent should keep in mind:
    1. Home Finder
    2. Multiple Listing Service
    3. Red Fin
    4. Zillow
    5. Trulia

No matter which type of video you’re creating, use our Ultimate Guide to Ideal Video Size for Every Social Platform as a resource for your real estate promo videos!


Subscribe to our social media tips and get a FREE Instagram checklist for your business.

By subscribing, I agree to the Lightricks Privacy Policy.

7 Creative Ways to Use Video on Social Media

Does your social media strategy include video marketing? If not, your small business should get started with video ASAP! Videos are on the rise in 2021 with the average person spending 100 minutes EVERY DAY watching videos online. People are also looking for more video content from their favorite brands 66% of people said they would actually prefer to watch a video about a product instead of reading about it.

We know consumers love video content and are spending tons of time consuming videos, but is it really worth it for your small business to start creating videos for social media? Definitely. In fact, 88% of marketers have said video marketing resulted in positive ROI.

If you’re thinking, “video is just too hard and time-consuming to create for my small business!” you may have been right a few years back, but things have changed! Now, you can easily create stunning videos in 3 minutes or less with beautiful, ready-to-go templates from Boosted. Plus, with access to Getty stock photos and videos and easy to customize fonts and colors, it’s never been simpler for small businesses to begin posting videos that will instantly elevate their social media accounts.

So what types of video should you be creating? Here are 7 creative ways for small businesses to use video on social media:

1. Customer Testimonials

Get your customers involved in your videos! Ask a few of your biggest fans to send you a short video about why they love your small business and create a video featuring their testimonials to share to your social accounts.

Here’s some IGTV inspiration from Australian-based real estate brand @watt_realty:

2. Celebrate Fun Holidays

Who doesn’t love all of the just-for-fun holidays that are out there? Check out this site to see all of the engaging, and sometimes out-of-the-box holidays that are coming up in 2021. Pick out a few relevant holidays to celebrate on social media and create a video for each occasion.

Boosted even has a few templates ready to go, from Mother’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day to National Dog Day:

3. Video Introduction

It’s great to re-introduce yourself on social media every once in a while, but just writing a long caption about yourself isn’t very engaging for your customers. If your social media accounts have recently grown and you haven’t introduced yourself to your new followers yet, create a video to tell them more about yourself! Not only will this be an easy video to create, but video content shows off more of your personality than a photo ever could.

Here’s a great way to re-introduce yourself on TikTok (video and sound by small biz @tasselamor):

If you’d like to recreate this video for your brand, simply check out the sound here and then select ‘use this sound’ to create your own content.

4. Motivational Monday

Inspirational quotes are already super popular on social media why not test out a video with some motivational quotes? You can search for quotes easily online (be sure to always give proper credit to the original author of the quote!) Then, check out the Boosted app to find inspiring ways to bring the motivational quote to life, like this template achieves:

5. Q&A Vlog

We already know videos are engaging and personable, which is why we love the idea of asking your customers what questions they have for you and then creating a vlog-style video to answer all of their questions.

This type of social media video would be great to save to your Instagram Story Highlights for your customers to easily access, anytime. Check out this blog post for tips on how to use Story Highlights strategically as a small business owner.

6. Advertise Your Upcoming Events

Have a virtual class or event coming up? Tell your followers everything they’ll need to know about it, in a video! Be sure to include: the value that they’ll gain by attending, where and when the event is taking place, as well as how they can participate or sign up.

Pilates Teacher @meno_pausing recently shared a video (created with Boosted!) to let her audience know about her upcoming virtual classes:

7. Photo Compilation

Don’t have any video content yet? Compile a few of your favorite videos to create a GIF-style video! Be sure to add fun music, pops of color and interesting fonts to help the video look more dynamic. And no worries if you don’t have many photos, you can access a huge Getty stock image library on the Boosted app.

Check out our other video marketing blogs for further inspiration and guidance:

Social Media Video Ideas

Subscribe to our social media tips and get a FREE Instagram checklist for your business.

By subscribing, I agree to the Lightricks Privacy Policy.