If you’re reading this, fear not. This is a safe space. As someone who has lived through social media’s many firsts (miss you Vine) and is still learning and adjusting to breakthrough platforms like TikTok, you are not behind. Social media is simply an art of adapting. So, if you’re still unsure how vertical videos work or just want to know more, here are some tips that will help your brand stand out and make you feel confident about what you’re doing!

Use Trending Sounds

In the days when static images dominated social media, hashtags were used to categorize content and detect trends. Now with the boom in video content, we use trending sounds.

Using trending sounds will deliver your content to a wider audience beyond your existing audience. Anyone who has interacted with the sound previously (i.e. saved, liked, shared, etc.) will now be delivered your content along with your current viewers.

Instagram

An easy way to find trending sounds for Instagram Reels is by going to your Reels page and keeping an eye out for the arrow in the bottom left corner!

TikTok

Business accounts on TikTok have a more limited library of available sounds due to copyright reasons. Lean on trending voiceovers and sounds; you can find these in the TikTok sounds library.

Additionally, check in on popular creators among your audience. What sounds are they using? Do they have a current favorite? There is a higher chance that your audience will stay and consume your content if they just saw their favorite creator make a video with the same sound.

Be Aware of User Experience

The like, share, and comment buttons must live somewhere, so be aware of the gray spaces in your video that your audience won’t be able to see so well. More specifically, the right side and bottom of your screen which is where your caption and engagement capabilities will show up for users. Make sure to capture the main focus of your content in the center of your vertical video.

Additionally, TikTok and Instagram tend to prefer natural lighting over artificial lighting so keep this in mind when planning your content creation. This does not mean throwing away your ring lights! Artificial lighting still works but make sure it does not look too harsh or overly produced and staged. Inauthenticity does not sit well in today’s social media landscape.

Speaking of landscape, let’s stray away from using landscape orientation when sharing video content. This sizing is deprioritized on social platforms so get ahead of the game by shooting vertically. If you can’t acquire vertical footage, ensure that the entire video is in the same orientation.

Keep It Brief

Unless you have a storytime video or are sharing a how-to video, then you want to keep your video rather short. In today’s social media atmosphere, bite-sized and digestible content is crucial to have users engage or you run the risk of losing the audience’s attention.

The recommended length of a TikTok video is 9 – 16 seconds while the recommended length of an Instagram Reel is 7 – 15 seconds. Trending sounds are a big factor in allowing businesses to tell their story and/or message within a small window of time while attracting a high volume of engagement and awareness. This brings the vertical video content crash course to an end. Implementing video content into your social media strategy is imperative but luckily simple. Keep your videos engaging, authentic, and short with these quick tips – you’ll be dominating video content in no time. Need help or have questions? Reach out to us!