On Instagram, videos are runners-up in popularity after single images with a share of 18%. So clearly, this content type should not be ignored by those who take their Instagram page seriously — no matter if this is an eCommerce platform or a personal blog. Here are the video ideas of what you can easily include in your Instagram content plan.
1. Before/After
Such videos are usually shot by businesses where it’s easy to estimate the result and compare it with an initial state. Makeup brands, fashion accounts, beauty businesses like lashes extension, brow makeup, etc. Typically, before/after are showcased with photos, but who said you can’t make a video collage?
2. Testimonials and case studies
Nothing works better as a social proof than video testimonials. Written feedback can be easily forged, so video testimonials look more convincing. The more such videos you have on your business profile, the more trust you gain. You can store such clips in highlights where your customers will easily find them.
To make clear how useful your product is, collect your clients’ success stories. Such case studies are another effective and compelling form of testimonials.
3. How To
Even if you think that your customers know everything about your service or product, it may be far from reality. It never hurts to demonstrate some additional sides of your product, because not all the features or application areas are always obvious for regular clients. Step-by-step tutorials help people learn more about your product and discover insights they could never think of. Such videos are especially relevant with products like software, cosmetics, food (recipes), etc.
4. Lifehacks
Any business or product has small hacks that will make the life of a customer easier. Such videos will show your clients that you care about them once you’re ready to share such value with them. For instance, if you’re an owner of a digital agency, tell your clients how to increase leads or conversions. Beauty artists may share hints on how to conceal some defects with beauty procedures. Or if you’re an owner of a coffeshop chains, reveal on what to add to a morning coffee for a faster wake-up.
5. Process
Literally, show your work. No need to reveal sacred trade secrets, simply demonstrate what steps you take to get the final product. It can be done with timelapse. Such a format is popular among makeup artists or cosmetics brands who show what products they choose to create a particular makeup. Consulting services can also be shown this way — just share a piece of your recommendations on a particular topic or show how you prepare to your working routine. Starbucks, for instance, picks a small topic and explains their nitro cold brew coffee technology.
6. Product reviews and presentations
Your products and services may be valuable and useful by default, but only you know it until you spread the word about them. Make reviews of what you sell by yourself and by any means share reviews made by your clients tagging the people. This will power up the loyalty among your new and potential customers and be a good source of user-generated content. Typically, clients of software development companies, cosmetics, gastronomy, consulting services share their customer experience.
7. Interview
This can be an interview with one of your regular clients, some respected professional in your niche, one of your employees, or with you as a CEO. Such a form of communication tells people about your business and products from different perspectives and develops expertise.
8. FAQ
A pretty much similar format to an interview but a bit more specific — such videos focus only on Q&A. Collect all the frequently (or just typical) questions from your clients and answer them. Put the video in highlights so that people could watch it anytime.
9. Webinars
On Instagram, they are usually conducted live with a possibility to answer any question from the audience instantly. People like such formats but live webinars are often missed because of improper announcements. Warn your followers that you’ll host a live session on a particular day and repeat the post and the Story several times to make sure you reach more people.
10. Brand clips
A short video clip showcasing your values and brand spirit is a widely-used format among famous brands. Of course, to make such a video in high quality, you’ll need a script, actors, the whole camera crew, and equipment. Modern smartphones allow us to get high-resolution videos as well, so you’ll need to think on the screenplay and hire acting stuff. Or brand clips can be entirely made by means of computer graphics. But at the end of the day, this is the level-up for your brand. An example of such a funny brand clip is Oreo’s Game Of Thrones edition.
11. Studies
Time-consuming and demanding videos to make because before actually shooting such vids, you need to make a relevant and valuable study in your niche. Studies results discovered by yourself are not only an idea for a video, it’s a way to form your expertise and let the whole world know about your business. Journalists and niche analysts love numbers, but if you tend to make your goal more prosaic, you can find related studies of someone else and share them with your audience in a video. Referring to the author, of course.
12. Backstage
Show your clients the other side of your business. Formats like one day in your company or office, getting to know with your colleagues, the way you relax or communicate, and so on.
13. Vines
An old school vine format is not that old on Instagram. Vines are something like memes in motion — they showcase awkward moments in life (in our case, business), people relationship, people’s feelings, etc. With regard to business, these can be vines showing your customers’ fears and struggles, or your routine business problems showed in a funny way. Vines easily go viral, so don’t forget to refer to your products in a video.