I am just so grateful that you are here reading through this article.
This just makes my heart so full. So I just wanna say thanks.
And today we’re talking about how to create engaging short form videos for marketing.
As we all know, short form video isn’t going anywhere because short form video is everywhere right now.
So let’s count, we’ve got TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter, Clapper, Triller and then Lemon8.
So you have ten social platforms. And so it’s not going anywhere anytime soon.
And I have 8 things you can do to create engaging short form videos.
So the first thing you wanna do in order to create great engaging videos is you gotta have good energy.
You have to have good energy because nobody likes to sit around and watch paint dry.
Let’s just be honest.
If somebody is boring in their videos, you’re not enjoying them, and you’re not gonna watch, right?
We don’t do that on Netflix, on Hulu, on HBO.
We don’t like doing that on a date.
Okay, so number one, you wanna have some great energy.
This doesn’t mean you have to be just like me. I have a lot of energy. I’ve always had, and so it’s just what I have.
And so everybody is not like me, but they’re not boring.
So remember, you’ve got one to two seconds to capture somebody’s attention, and so you need to have some level of good energy in your videos.
Number two of the things you wanna do in your videos, let’s just say that you are teaching, right now.
I’m sitting up, I’m looking into the camera and I’m talking.
If I was creating a short form video and I’m teaching on these eight points.
What I would do is I would have a bullet point text going over each point.
So what does that mean?
So when I first started out and I said whatever I said, once I got to point number one, good energy above my head, I would have the number one good energy.
And so it would appear and then it would disappear as I go over the point, good energy, and now we’re talking about bullet point text.
So then it would change to number two over top of my head and they would say bullet point text.
And so that way people are able to follow along with each bullet point, right?
Because if you say, I’ve got eight amazing tips you need to know, then they’re gonna wanna write them down.
Not everybody will write them down, but if it’s really good, people are gonna say, “wait, what?”
And they’re gonna pause and they’re gonna wanna write down the bullet points.
Some people will also put it in the comments section, just so you know.
The third thing you wanna do to create great short form videos is captions.
Captions are everything.
First, because not everyone can hear as well as you do. It’s called accessibility. I believe it is on Instagram where you can turn on certain things, where it will read certain things to people.
For example, on Instagram, if you put an image post and you’re writing something in the caption, you can take that caption and you can put it in accessibility.
And a person that may have a hard time hearing can tap a button and it will read the words that you put in accessibility, right?
And so the same thing goes for your captions.
If you have the captions on screen, meaning you click the button on TikTok, Instagram, or you have used an app like CapCut or captions to actually write the captions on screen.
Then you make it easy for people that need that for accessibility.
The second thing is that 80% of people actually watch videos muted.
Think about it, the next time you’re on social media, you’re probably not gonna let every single thing you see play, you’re gonna unmute the thing that you wanna actually hear.
Why? Because it’s a lot of stuff happening on social media and we don’t wanna scroll in here and there.
No, it’s on mute.
And if they can see what you’re talking about, they can see the captions and it’s what they actually wanna experience.
Then they are more likely to actually unmute your video and actually watch it because now they’re like, “oh, this seems like something I will be interested in. Let me unmute”
So you wanna add captions.
And then number four is you wanna give people a reason to say “wow or nod their head”
So when you are teaching a thing, when you’re showing a thing, or when you’re displaying whatever it is you’re doing, you wanna give people these moments of “Wow, or Oh my god, or Oh, really?”
You want them to go “Yes”.
So you may have someone that’s doing a get ready with me. And I see how she or he put an outfit together and I’m like, “oh wow. Oh, I really like that”
Or they’re given a fact about how you can cook something in the kitchen that you never thought that you could do or whatever, right?
Like I watched a video the other day where I did not know this was a thing about Trader Joe’s.
And apparently you can go to Trader Joe’s and if you wanna taste something, you can go to an employee and say, “Hey, I’m interested, I wanna taste this. I wanna see what this tastes like”
An employee will then open up whatever the package is and let you taste it.
And if you like it, then you can buy it.
If you don’t, then you don’t have to.
And I was just like, “I don’t understand.”
Well, because when you open it then if you like it, you’re gonna buy it.
Otherwise they would just give it to the employees to be able to have it in the back.
And I was just like, “Wow” while watching that video.
Now let’s get to number five. Number five is to give them a reason to want to share the content, which is very similar to number four, which is nodding and like wowing.
You want people to share your content, but the reason why people are going to share your content is because it was so good that they feel like other people need what it is you just said.
They need to see what is happening in your videos. And when people share your content, that is how you are gonna reach new people.
And so when you’re creating pieces of content, you don’t have to make it like everybody wants to share everything, but the more of your content that people will want to share or save with other people, then the more likely you are to have repeat offenders watching your content.
Also, the more likely you are to potentially go viral and the more likely you are to reach new people that may be interested in what it is that you have to offer.
Number six is you can add B-roll.
Now this is if you are shooting content and your camera roll and you have an editor editing your videos.
So for me, for the longest time when I was doing short form videos and I had an editor, we were adding B-roll and some of the videos we continue to add B-roll and then some that we don’t like.
I know in our podcast and on our YouTube channel, we add little means and all that to make our videos a lot more engaging.
And so you can do that if you want to.
It’s not a requirement, but this is something that people enjoy as they’re watching your videos.
They see something else cut in like B-roll into your video.
So that’s something that you can do if you can know if you know how to do it or if you have an editor, which brings me to my next point is number seven, add a joke or two.
So if you’re listening to me in my podcast and you hear me talk about what I’m talking about.
I’m also adding in a little bit of humor.
And that is me honestly, having fun.
And so if you’re wanting people to enjoy your content, the best way is for you to actually enjoy your content.
Because if you are enjoying it, other people are gonna enjoy it.
I follow a guy on TikTok. His name is Keith. He’s a food critic.
And he was reviewing this hot chicken in Houston, Texas.
And it was going from like each level to like super hot.
And I have watched tons and tons of Keith’s videos.
I really enjoy his content.
And I was just really curious, like, “is this really gonna be really hot? What’s gonna happen?”
And so as I watched him with that final piece, I was like, “I think this is gonna be bad.”
We all just love Keith.
You are just like watching his demise with this chicken and him like adding ice cream to make it not be as hot. It was very enjoyable.
But not only was he like eating the chicken, but he edited the video so well in a way that it just made it even more fun for us to watch.
I have watched it now multiple times already because I really enjoyed it.
And so he adds humor and all that, and so, when it’s appropriate.
I would encourage you to add a joke or two because if you’re enjoying your content, then that means other people will as well.
And my final tip is use trends, but make them relatable.
You don’t have to use trends, but it is a way to create engaging videos on short form video because when you think about some of these sounds or some of these things that people do online. Typically, you would never take this sound or this thing and add it to this over here.
But doing so has caused people to experience videos in a way that they never have before.
It’s just giving you this different type of experience.
So there was this little boy on TikTok where I think he went to a state there or something and he really liked corn and somebody interviewed him.
He has a really country accent and he’s like, “it’s corn.”
He kept calling it corn like he just loves corn.
And he just went viral.
But then people started adding music to the little boy. Another guy started singing with it like it became this whole thing on TikTok.
And so people started using that sound around something that had nothing to do with corn, nothing to do with little kids.
And even Delta Airlines. They use that sound to talk about their planes.
And so every time it’s said, it’s corn on screen. You saw the words, it’s planes and that’s just them bragging about their planes having a good time with their planes on TikTok.
And it just made us just love Delta in a way that we just never could have experienced him that way.
And so the same thing goes for you. You can use humor and trends on TikTok or any other vertical video platform and talk about your business, talk about your product or service.
And just in these creative ways because we all wanna be entertained.
It’s just what life is and what we’re all used to.
And you’re getting this huge opportunity to learn how to basically make Super Bowl commercials in 30 seconds or less.
And you don’t have to pay a production crew a model or whatever.
You can learn this through the art of short form video.
But the fastest and easiest way to learn this is by watching other people’s content.
And so if you haven’t been binge watching content in the way as a marketer, as someone who can create content for their business, then I would strongly encourage you to think about that.
To start looking at content in a way that is more engaging.
That will just cause your audience to just love what they’re watching and be curious with you, aware of you and want more from you.
I hope that you found these tips very valuable and that you choose to do them.
And if you are saying to yourself that you need help with your business.
I do one-on-one consulting. Just click here for more information about this program. You can book a one-on-one call with me and I can help you with all the things that we have talked about in this article.