Posted by On a platform like Instagram, being able to reach your audience without bothering them is key.
After all, most people use social media to have fun, interact with friends, and learn about the latest news. Not to get bombarded by brands and content creators trying to sell something.
That’s one of the main reasons videos have grown so popular on the initially photo-only platform. They allow you to say your piece or present your message and do so in a way your audience can get hooked on.
But making Instagram videos that people actually like is anything but simple. The platform is complex, and it’s constantly incorporating new features and formats for brands and creators that users quickly grow to expect from the content they share!
So, to help you make more effective content marketing decisions on the platform, we’ll break down the main Instagram videos out there, go over some of the essential elements to consider with each, and give you some tips on how to get the most out of them!
Three Different Types of Instagram Video Delivery Channels You Should Focus On!
If you’re aiming to create high-quality videos that stand up to what experienced production agencies and world-renowned brands regularly upload to the platform, you need to understand how video, as a medium, works on Instagram.
Beyond the technical differences in resolution or length, different Instagram video formats have different purposes tied to how they are meant to engage users.
So, let’s go over the three most important formats individually and provide some advice on how to take advantage of each.
Instagram Feed Videos
Any video you post on your Instagram Feed can last up to 10 minutes in length. For portraits, the best size is 1080 by 608 pixels, and for landscapes, use 1080 by 1350 pixels.
Your Feed is usually the best place to share your most professional and well-produced videos. What you post here will stay visible for any visitor who checks your profile until you delete it, acting like a presentation page for your whole account. So, it stands to reason to reserve this space for high-quality content you want to remain available to both existing and new followers.
Feed Videos are one of the longest Instagram video formats the platform offers. This makes them great for sharing important information you may need more time to explain or to tackle topics that shorter videos wouldn’t do justice to.
To make the best videos for your feed, here are a few crucial things you need to keep in mind:
1. Draw the viewers’ attention with a hook (Always!)
If you don’t want your viewers to scroll through your videos, catch their attention within the first three seconds.
Instagram videos begin playing automatically as users scroll through their feeds. So, if you start your video with an eye-catching scene and state your value proposition clearly and simply, users will be likelier to keep watching.
Lacking a clear value proposition at the start can be one of the reasons why your content fails on Instagram. Users don’t want to waste time watching confusing content. Before recording, set clear goals. Do I want viewers to have fun watching this video? Do I want them to learn something?
Whatever you choose should be communicated to viewers upfront.
2. Tell a story
Since Feeds videos can last up to ten minutes, they give you an ideal space to tell a story. Storytelling can be a great tool for keeping viewers invested in your Instagram videos.
If you are unsure how to add narrative storytelling to your videos, start by dividing your initial idea into three parts: a beginning, a middle, and an end. Use this structure when recording or producing your videos, and make sure you create something that tells viewers a tale as you move from one part to the next.
Following a simple yet clear structure like that can make it easier to engage users and make them more inclined to share your content once they are done watching.
3. Don’t forget to add captions
Many viewers watch Instagram videos in public places or quiet locations and often do so without turning the sound on. Any Feed Videos you post should have captions to avoid losing that significant portion of those potential viewers.
Moreover, while Feed videos are set to auto-play by default, Instagram mutes videos until users manually activate the sound. You’ll need subtitles to catch your audience’s attention and ensure that they follow along with the content you’re uploading.
Instagram Stories
Stories refer to videos you can upload to your Instagram profile, lasting between 15 and 60 seconds. After 24 hours, they disappear from your profile. The best size for this type of content is 1080 x 1920 pixels.
When it comes to producing effective Instagram Stories, you should aim to upload daily, informal, and conversational videos. Posting Stories aims to grow engagement and build a community around your profile, so uploading content that feels a bit more personal, informal, and approachable is often the best approach.
Here are a few crucial things to keep in mind when working on your Instagram videos for Stories:
1. Plan ahead
Just because Stories are more informal, it doesn’t mean your approach to them should be improvised. Creators often prioritize simply getting content uploaded over making a plan for their stories, which can lessen their overall effectiveness.
If you’re carelessly uploading Stories, your audience will notice. Follow a smart, organized approach for your content marketing strategy and plan ahead of time what topics or ideas your Story (or series of Stories) will tackle. Then, make sure your Stories revolve around those ideas in a way your audience will likely agree or identify with.
This will help you deliver great content no matter the circumstances. On busy days, the last thing you’ll think about is posting a video story for your followers. So plan what you’ll share, and offer your followers quality videos worth watching, even if they remain there for just 24 hours!
2. Avoid getting lost in the ocean of accounts
When making a Story, branding is a big deal.
Now, that sort of applies to any type of video nowadays. TV shows need to clearly and quickly differentiate themselves from the competition, and the best product ads go to great lengths to stand out.
But within the context of Instagram videos, branding your Stories is vital.
Your videos appeared mixed in with the Stories from other people your viewers also follow on Instagram. If they aren’t paying attention, they might not even realize whose video they are watching… unless you make sure of it 😉
Customize the style of your stories with the elements that define your brand to ensure recognition: a particular color, logo, jingle, or even your expressive face at the start! That way, even if your followers don’t read your username, they’ll know it’s you.
3. Use Stickers to interact with your community
As we mentioned before, Stories are about providing short, regular content that engages your audience. A great feature this format offers to increase said engagement is Stickers.
Stickers are tiny buttons you can add to your Stories to encourage viewers to interact and take action. Poll stickers allow you to ask your audience their opinion between two or more options. It’s a useful tool to gain viewers’ insight while also increasing your engagement.
Emoji-Slider Stickers let your audience express their appreciation for what you’re showing in your video. They can be great for gaining meaningful insights about changes you want to make. Through their reactions, you can get the viewer’s opinion before launching new products or adding changes to your brands.
With Question Stickers, you can answer your followers’ doubts. Expired Stories can be saved to the Highlights section of your Instagram profile, positioned just under your description.
When producing a video, decide what type of Sticker you’ll add, and leave a space open to place it. Using these tools will allow you to increase engagement without big efforts.
Instagram Video Reels
Reels are vertical videos that have been growing in popularity lately. Similar to stories, they can last between 15 to 60 seconds, and the best size for them is 1080 by 1920 pixels. Unlike Stories, they don’t disappear after 24 hours.
Reels are meant to be quick and entertaining videos where you can use different editing tools, like filters, text, and music, to generate more interesting content. In practical terms, they can be a huge reach booster, as they are the type of content that’s easy to watch and share — the type of content Instagram users love most.
Here’s what you ought to keep in mind to get the most out of your Instagram Reels:
1. Remember to make it fun
Users go through the Reels Tab when they are bored, looking for some quick entertainment during breaks in their day. The best Reels are often funny or satisfying short videos.
However, that’s not to say that all of your reels should be jokes. Just keep in mind that this isn’t the place to share complex pieces of information with your viewers, but rather short content with high shareability.
Most importantly, when people share your Reels on Instagram, not only does it increase your individual video’s reach, but Instagram’s algorithm also senses your content is popular. Making it more likely it will start recommending your video more on the Reels Tab.
2. Keep your eyes open for trends
Popular Reels are constantly changing with new topics and trends. This is because Reels are all about jumping on the bandwagon of what’s “in” at the time.
Popular trends have better chances of going viral and helping you grow your digital brand recognition. When a Reel has at least 1 million users, Instagram perceives it as engaging and preferred by content creators. Thus, they extend the Reel’s reach.
There are other similar sources — like TikTok — you can visit to see what’s trending. Look at Instagram hashtags or go to Google Trends to find some good ideas you might want to follow through with.
3. Choose the perfect thumbnail
When you aren’t scrolling on the Reels Tab, these short videos can also appear on the Discover Tab. If you want to make your Reels stand out above other videos, create the perfect thumbnails for them!
You can choose a scene from your video as its cover or design a different image and add it as a thumbnail. This option is great because you can add keywords to your Reel’s thumbnails to better catch the viewer’s attention.
Use good-quality visuals with some color, glam, and relatable text. It will encourage your viewers to stop and give your video a chance.
Wrapping Up
We decided to focus on Feed, Stories, and Reel because they offer some of the biggest opportunities for growth on the platform right now. However, keep in mind that many of these tips can also be applied to the other formats Instagram offers!
Instagram is constantly evolving and adding new features and formats. It can be overwhelming to stay up-to-date. A way to avoid it is to understand the basic approach you should keep in mind with every format.
Hopefully, after reading this, you are much more geared to produce the types of videos your audience will love and share. So, it’s time to get to work and get those regular uploads going!