7 Tricks To Make and Edit Your Social Media Videos Perfectly

The video creation process and viewer expectations have evolved tremendously over the past few decades. At the dawn of the millennium, businesses invested thousands in producing high-quality videos for recruitment, sales, and promotion. Now, low-production value isn’t just the norm; it’s preferred for authenticity and human connection with brands.

Even so, creating social media videos should be approached with care and attention. Here are seven impactful tricks to make and edit your social media videos.

Source the Right Tools

While creating videos for social media doesn’t require high-end video production equipment, it’s still beneficial to invest in the right tools. Some key considerations include the following:

• A tripod – stability will have a significant impact on the overall quality of your video. The tripod with remote capabilities will also be useful when creating content alone.
• A Bluetooth mic – if you’re creating audio-based content, having a Bluetooth mic can help remove background noise and improve clarity.
• An editing program – invest in a basic video editing program or search for a service that lets you edit video online.
• A light panel or portable ring light – lighting also impacts the overall quality of the video and ensures even, consistent lighting in indoor settings.

Companies integrating video into a social media content workflow should also consider project management tools and scheduling tools.

Hold Brain Dump Sessions

Many creators argue that the most challenging aspect of creating social media videos is coming up with creative ideas. While scrolling through content and saving inspiration to emulate is valuable, it’s also important to unplug and develop original, brand-relevant content.

Consider working in brain dump or blue sky sessions for content idea generation. The goal is to unplug from external stimuli for a designated time (usually 15–30 minutes) and jot down any ideas that come to mind. These ideas don’t need to be fully formed or relevant — the refining process comes later.

Marketing teams can host both individual and group sessions for this process.

Create Storyboards

Storyboarding is an oft-overlooked opportunity to streamline the video creation and editing process. Many creators omit to use storyboarding to eliminate a step and improve efficiency. However, this typically creates issues in timing and flow during filming and when you edit video online.

Storyboards can be straightforward. A quick sketch of the scenes with time marks and narrative will help creators outline the content and reduce the need for several takes.  

Develop a Flexible Content Calendar

One of the challenges marketers face when creating social media videos is the speed with which viral trends come and go. These trends are opportunities to extend one’s reach but don’t negate the need for a longer-term content calendar.

Consider creating a content calendar that allows flexibility. Create a bank of relevant topics to intersperse between trends for posting consistency.

Create an Aesthetic or Style

Having a defined aesthetic on social media can help a brand stand out on the feed and makes it easier for followers to identify and engage with the business. It also helps to build a consistent look and feel for all your social media marketing efforts (video, photo, and otherwise) and makes your brand look more professional and attractive to potential customers.

Use filters, shooting styles, and color schemes aligned with your overarching brand goals.

Play With Transitions and Timing

Short social media videos perform well, as it’s easier to keep viewers engaged for a short period. However, you can also use transitions and timing to create motion and fluidity to hold the viewer’s attention.

Experiment with transitions, time-lapses, and voiceovers to create dimension in your video and captivate your audience. Use your analytics to determine what effects are the most successful.

Add Captions and CTAs

Finally, adding text elements will help you appeal to a larger audience and reach people who speak other languages, have hearing or learning disabilities, or prefer to watch videos on silent. 

Text elements are also a powerful way to reiterate a call-to-action (CTA) and direct your viewers in what they should do next. Use active language and immediacy to tell viewers to comment, subscribe, or navigate a sales page.

With these seven tips, you can create and edit compelling social media videos to reach your brand’s marketing goals.