Social media has a hold on the global population; it has been transformative for businesses and even the way in which people communicate with each other. However, it has also had an effect on the attention span and preferences of its users. A picture today is simply not enough to really drive any engagement on your profile.
Today’s users prefer videos, and they are effective regardless of the platform on which they are posted. If you want to build a following and increase engagement on your socials, then posting more videos is a great way to start. Let’s get started.
Creating the Videos
Video creation, one of the best winter side hustles, requires a significant amount of coordination between developing a posting schedule, coming up with concepts, creating loose scripts, filming the videos, and then editing them; it is a lengthy process. As an aspiring influencer, you are often responsible for this process in its entirety.
You are unlikely to have help. This can make it seem daunting. However, one of the best things that you can do is to just get started.
While it might seem counterproductive, try not to strive for perfection because this can actually derail your efforts. Planning ahead is key, as is using tools like adobe to edit a video; it is incredibly accessible regardless of your knowledge or skill level.
Banking content in advance is great because it allows you to get ahead, which does give you more breathing room in the future between filming and posting. If you are struggling to plan the videos, then it might be beneficial to strip it back to basics. Think about how long the video is going to be and what you want to say.
Becoming a Storyteller
Think about successful influencers today; what do they have in common? They all know how to spin a yarn and tell a great story. A story helps to reel in the audience, capture their attention and make them more memorable too. You need to be thinking about this when coming up with content ideas.
What purpose will your videos serve? Are they designed to build your following, broaden your reach, increase engagement or even sell things?
Having a better idea of the purpose is beneficial to ensure that you know what approach you need to take. Every decision made in the pursuit of creating a video should help or further the delivery of the story and not distract from it. If you can’t describe the purpose of something to this end, you should rethink whether or not you really need it.
Relatability is at the Heart of it All
As mentioned above, all of the most popular influencers today are great storytellers, and this is often due to the reliability of either their content or their delivery. They have managed to master the art of creating a video that makes the audience feel like they are listening to a friend tell some outrageous story of something that happened to them lately.
If you cannot make yourself seem relatable to viewers, then they will tune out, they will not care about your message, and they likely won’t feel as though they have forged a connection with you. This is why you should think about your delivery; emphasising emotion and highlighting your humanity are vital.
Reusing Content
Reusing content is a popular approach, and it can be beneficial; however, it can also turn your audience off if approached incorrectly. You really do not want to just copy and paste content across channels unless you are sure that they have enough of a variety in their following; otherwise, you will be bombarding your audience with the same video however many times across each of your social media accounts. You can also transform your content a little to make them seem fresher and better tailored for each avenue too.
When reusing content, make sure you switch up the captions and hashtags. For example, if reposting photos of flowers always use different flower captions for Instagram to mix things up a little.
Depending on the type of content that you post, you could also repurpose your blog content – if you have a blog, or elaborate in your captions.
Carving out your niche as an influencer is important, but experimenting is not a bad thing. Think about what tools you have at your disposal. Maybe you simply build a following by being relatable and personable to your audience, but if you also have an interest in makeup or fashion or whatever it is, then you can use this in your videos to provide more variety in your content. Obviously, you should measure the reception that these types of videos get to see whether they are helping or hindering you.
The Bottom Line
Videos are an important tool in an aspiring influencer’s arsenal; they help you to capture the attention of your audience, perhaps better than photos or blog posts. This is because they are simply more engaging and interactive, and they really allow your personality to shine.
Think about your approach to video creation and how you can use it to further your goals using the tips above as a jumping-off point.
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