When Instagram made its way onto the social media scene, it took the world by storm. It quickly began to creep up on Facebook as the most popular social media platform. The creators of Instagram did everything right – they delivered a simplified social media outlet and drew everyone in with built in filters and the introduction of hashtags. And as if they didn’t already have everyone’s attention, then they made another genius move by adding the video feature. This feature completely set Instagram apart from the rest of the social media world, but do people really know how to optimize the use of this feature? Here are some tips and tricks for using Instagram video to create videos that will knock the socks off of your followers.
Trimming Your Video
This is a basic feature of Instagram video, but also one that a lot of people either don’t know is there or don’t know how to use. This is an important feature because it allows you to clean your video up and trim out any clips that you don’t want in your final cut.
Are you uploading an old video from your phone?
If you are uploading an old video from your camera roll, then the trim feature will allow you to choose which portion of your video you want to post. Without the use of outside apps, your options are more limited than if you are shooting a video from within the Instagram app.
Are you shooting video within the Instagram app?
When you go this route Instagram allows you to shoot video clips, edit them as you go and piece them together to form your final cut, which allows more room for creativity.
Fast & Slow Motion Videos
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Uploading slow motion videos are all the rage right now, but speeding up video clips adds an instant wow factor as well. Some phones have this feature built in to their camera app, but there are other outside apps that will allow you to speed up or slow down individual clips of your video.
DIY Filters for Your Video
Ok, so Instagram already has some pretty great video filters within their app, but have you ever thought about getting creative and creating some hand-made filters? You can do this by placing various transparent objects in front of our phone’s camera lens. Some ideas?
· Use different colored glass to add an interesting colored filter
· Shoot through the lens of your sunglasses
· Use plastic wrap or other forms of plastic
· Try one of these other unique ideas
Storytelling with Hashtags
This tip combines the beauty of the hashtag with the art of storytelling, and we love it! With the use of hashtags, you can create a series of videos that will be linked together in order to tell a story. This is also a great way to keep your followers coming back for more, waiting on pins and needles for the next piece to the storytelling puzzle.
Music Can Set a Video on Fire
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Adding music to your Instagram video can take your video to a whole new level. There is something magical about finding the perfect song or tune to add to your video, and guess what? There’s an app for that. iMovie and WeVideo are both apps that allow you to make the magic happen.
Better Lighting = Better Video
Always, always, always consider lighting when shooting a video, because this can make or break the quality of your video. Unless you are intentionally shooting something that you want to be dark and gloomy, bright lighting will always improve the quality of your video and you can always play with filters to give it the look that you want for the final cut, but it’s better to start out with a clear, bright shot.
The Time-lapse Feature
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This is a really cool feature to experiment with. Some phones have this feature built in to the camera app, but there are apps that you can download if not – shocking, I know. This app allows you to film a particular setting for an extended period of time of your choosing, and then speed it all up and mash it into a 15 or 30 second video clip to upload to Instagram. The potential for creativity with this feature is endless and a quick #timelapse search on Instagram will probably give you some great ideas!
Are you ready to incorporate video into your marketing strategy? Reach out to us at The Storyteller Agency. Call us at 850.267.0931 or send us an email to info@storytelleragency.com. We can fulfill all of your marketing and video production needs and do so in a creative way that will set you apart from your competition.
