You’ve been tasked with creating a corporate video for your company. You’ve sat through meetings discussing the messages that absolutely HAVE to go into it. It’s tempting to get bogged down in the detail and decide to make just one video. When, in truth, you should be thinking about social media video as well.

Here we explain why that isn’t the answer in today’s digital age. If your video content is externally facing, thinking about how it will be seen on social is a must. You need high-quality, tailored content, that is focused and with the end viewer in mind.

Below are 4 specific reasons why creating social cuts are a must when planning your next video production:

1. People’s attention spans are SUPER short

This is particularly true whilst in and amongst social platforms. Viewer attention is at a premium. Everyone is saturated with choice. Our feeds are overflowing with content all fighting for our attention.

You need to get in quickly and make sure to peak someone’s interest so they hear what you have to say before they scroll away and that moment is lost.  Appeal to your audience upfront in the first few seconds, ask them a question, make them engage, make them care.

2. Your audience is watching without the sound

Whether on their commute, in front of the telly or working on their PC, a lot of people these days are on social media without the sound turned on so if your video has a voiceover, or people talking, for example, all that content will get missed. This means bold, eye-catching text that stands out can be an effective method to capture and retain your audiences attention. 

The human brain is compelled to read words when they are put in front of it. It will automatically start reading the subtitles which will help pique their interest, draw their attention and encourage them to find out more.

3. You get more collateral to use

By cutting things up into small social cuts, instead of getting 1 video clip, you perhaps get 5,6,7 +. You can drip feed these out, put them into a playlist, choose a specific one for a specific purpose. Keep each one nice and simple and tackle one message at a time. You could have a whole series of videos as part of a campaign, based on each individual message rather than just the one.

This also means you can use them over a longer period of time, to refresh or spruce up your social feeds. We can also provide edits that are optimised for different applications, for use on Instagram (square versions or for Instagram stories), embedded in a tweet or to YouTube, where a full-resolution version can be displayed.

4. Edits specifically targeted to your chosen platform/audience

Think big bold text, fast-moving images and clickable content. The majority of social media videos play automatically as you scroll through a timeline or feed, which means audiences are more likely to stop and look as they’re passing through.

Also, think about who is watching: if your video is being hosted on LinkedIn, for example, audiences are more likely to have an interest in business and its inner-workings; whilst Instagram, on the other hand, is much more diverse, with a mixture of stories, adverts and personal posts competing for the interest of your audience. If you can target or tailor each social post to a specific app or audience, this will result in much higher engagement.

Social versions of videos don’t cost the earth, but they’re incredibly effective. It won’t break the bank and it will hugely increase the effectiveness of your next video production.