Utilising video on social media is how thousands of businesses are capturing and growing an organic online audience across social networks such as TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and even LinkedIn. The proof is in the pudding, too – 87% of video marketers reported that video gives them a positive ROI. Furthermore, the development of functional, easy-to-use social media video features means you don’t need to be a pro anymore in order to create something worth watching.
However, if you’re wanting to delve into the immersive world of video marketing on social media, you need to ensure that the content you’re creating is going to generate engagement and grow your business. If done well, a video can generate 12x more engagement than still formats.
Dull, inauthentic videos that lack value (and bore their audience) will do your business more harm than good on social media. So what types of fun, engaging video content can you produce? Here are our best ideas.
14 video content ideas for social media
- A day in the life
People are nosy by nature, so create a montage (Instagram Reels is a fantastic tool for doing this) documenting the daily running of you and your business. Ensure it serves a purpose (such as to entertain, inspire, educate, relate to, etc.) to build a connection with your audience.
Create this on one of your more varied, interesting days. It doesn’t require as much work as you’d think, simply take a 15-second video whenever you embark on something during a given working day, such as your morning cappuccino, posting out orders, finalising products, conducting meetings, or choosing what to have for lunch.
- Process videos
If you provide a brilliant product or an innovative service, people will love to see how you deliver this. Using the 15-second video clip tactic to create a reel or a montage, or a timelapse video feature, you can showcase how you bring your amazing products and services to life.
Showing off how something is created from nothing is inspiring, interesting and educational, thus adding value to your audience. It also builds authenticity as it breaks down barriers between your business and your audience (people lap up transparency and knowing how something is made is intriguing) and will generate engagement as your follower’s marvel at how your product is made or your service is delivered. This is a particularly great video idea if you run a creative business, such as a floristry company, a cooking school, an events company, and so on.
- Tutorials and how-to’s
People love to learn, so teach them how to do something and create a video that is both memorable and saveable! As well as adding enormous value to your audience (social media users follow accounts they deem to add value to them in some way, whether they realise it or not) and being evergreen content, sharing video tutorials on social media will build your authority, reputation, and credibility within your business niche and establish you as an expert in your field.
A restaurant could share a tutorial on how to present a pudding like a pro (yum), a dentist could create a how-to on correct flossing techniques… a tutorial is something any business can create, no matter what their vertical is.
- Webinar and workshop previews
If you have recorded workshop or webinar previews, break them down into valuable snippets so you can upload them across a time period as a mini-series. This could encourage website traffic and downloads from online users who become your business leads. It’ll show your audience your expertise and just how much benefit you provide.
- Reviews and testimonials
To generate social proof, create an engaging, visually appealing montage of your greatest reviews and testimonials. Layering it with music will help it stop scrollers in their tracks. This also shows your customers how much you value and appreciate their feedback.
- Interviews
Collaborate with another company, ask an employee, or involve a creator within your industry and construct an interview. For your social video, mix and upload the most interesting extracts from your interview and upload the full interview on your website or another channel to drive traffic across platform.
- Sneak previews
If there’s something you’re working on behind the scenes, offer a video preview of it. Not only is this a tool for social listening through the generation of feedback and engagement, it’s a great way to build momentum and anticipation ahead of launching a new product or service.
- Tours
Offering a tour of a location relevant to your business is fun, immersive, and interesting for your audience. It develops inclusivity and connection as it constructs your social media audience to feel closer and more involved with your business. You could start with a tour of your office, or showroom. This is a great social media marketing strategy for estate agents, as they can upload tours of homes, which not only provide great content for their audience, but help them to flog houses!
- A montage of user-generated content
Merge your favourite user-generated images and videos together and show your customers some love and appreciation. UGC is unique to you and your company and is absolute gold-dust for building your reputation and trust in your company – find out more about user-generated content and how you can generate more of it.
- FAQs
Use video formats to make FAQs fun (because let’s face it, they’re usually rather tedious). Create a video of common questions asked by your audience for an evergreen piece detailing anything your potential customers want to know.
- Company culture videos
Showcase your employees, offer meet the team profiles and share your company culture to provide insight and personability to your audience. Not only does this show your staff that you value and appreciate them, but it also communicates that you are people-focused, which will help people to favour your company a lot more.
- Takeovers
Give your audience something refreshing and new by producing a takeover! Ask a creator, influencer, or another company within your business vertical to add value by allowing them to do a takeover on your account.
- Advice videos
Utilise employees, yourself or industry experts and offer advice to your audience within your field. Starting with and writing a compelling caption and an intro along the lines of, ‘so, you want to know about…’ to spark attention. Again, this is evergreen content and because it is adding a benefit to your audience, it is going to generate engagement which builds brand awareness on social media.
- An explainer
Sometimes it is necessary to go back to basics and introduce yourself, your business, and explain what you do and why you do it. Tell your audience a compelling, interesting story to build relationships with them and create a fan base. This also shows your most recent followers that you are thankful to be on their radar.
If you’d like more tactics for creative content generation and social media ideas, read our 19 imaginative ways to generate new content ideas for social media.
