The Hardest Lesson To Learn About Social Media

When it comes to creating a brand on social media, many think they can't compete without expensive gear or media experts like photographers, video editors, and graphic designers helping them along. I know I used to think that. And it's still a hard habit to break. Years ago, Instagram convinced us that to succeed on their platform, aesthetic was everything.

But the game has changed.

I started out in photography, videography, and editing, so it's natural for me to go the extra mile to spice up a video or feel the need to over-edit every photo. Now there are tons of benefits to using professional services like these to take your content to the next level, but when building an online following through platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube, you don't need any of that. Especially not at first.

I want to share with you the most important piece of the social media puzzle, and the only thing you need to achieve it is your time and creativity.

Tactics For Generating Social Media Engagement

When a user is scrolling and comes across your content, you have one goal: convince them to stop scrolling, linger on your post, and hopefully interact with it by giving a "like" or "follow."

How you achieve that engagement is an art, but you don't need fancy gear, pre-written scripts, or commercial-esque content to generate the engagement you're looking for.

On TikTok and Instagram Reels, we use a variety of tactics to convince users to stop scrolling.

1. A Great Hook

A great hook comes within the first 3 seconds of a user hovering over your post. This hook can be part of your educational script, immediately addressing a problem the user may face and promising your video can fix it for them, or it could be an intriguing premise to a skit. The possibilities are endless. Just don't start your video without something to captivate the audience. Get creative with it!

2. Cut Dead Air

If it doesn't need to be there, take it out. Social video is all about keeping the shortest attention spans ever and leaving your videos filled with long or awkward pauses hurts. Especially if your viewers don't know you yet and aren't invested in you as a creator. Always get to the point. Don't be redundant and trim your scripts to be concise. Once you've gained a massive following of users invested in YOU, maybe you'll have more room to breathe. But until then, you've got to grab them fast and hold them there. If a viewer feels you aren't getting to the point, rambling, or wandering, they'll swipe off.

Removing dead air from your video may be as simple as cutting pauses in your speech, or choosing not to linger on shots that don't add value or build upon your theme in a meaningful way.

3. Allude To Your Payoff But Don't Give It Away Too Soon

Every viewer lingering on your post stops scrolling for one reason. The first 3 seconds of your video promised them something, and they want to know what it is. That said, if you spoil the surprise too early, or give away the piece of information that serves as the payoff, they might not complete the video. This can be a valuable tip to enhance your life or a punchline to a joke. Whatever it is, don't give it away too early, but allude to it. Use your run time to build up to your payoff in a valuable way.

4. Scene Changes

Simple, right? Never forget the basics of attention retention. It's important to stimulate your viewers visually all the time. There are millions of other accounts vying for that attention, so earn it. A simple way to do this that anyone can employ is scene changes. Change the angle of your video, the room you're recording in, your outfit, or who knows what else? You don't need a fancy video editor to make your videos visually interesting.

Include a cut every 3-5 seconds as a rule of thumb. If you're talking to the camera for an educational video, consider starting the video at your house, but recording short clips as you move about the house, get ready for work, leave the house, get in the car, etc. Create visual traction that stimulates viewers to add another layer of retention to your post.

5. Text

Subtitle your videos. Plain and simple. You don't have to subtitle every word, but frequent text drives watch time. It adds an additional layer of focus to your video and keeps viewers watching longer. TikTok has its own automated subtitle option, and if nothing else, any social video editor allows you to manually add text to your videos. So USE IT! Think about how many users are scrolling with their phone audio turned off? So how are you going to hook them? Put your hook in a text box at the beginning of the video! It can be as simple as summarizing concepts in text boxes every few seconds.

Remember, the goal isn't to be perfect or subtitle every word, but to stimulate the eyes and reach audiences that might miss your valuable video because their audio was off!

You Don't Have Excuses Anymore

Vast knowledge of Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Inshot, or any other media creation software can get you pretty far. Don't get me wrong, it's incredibly useful, but let me reiterate: you just don't need it. You can employ all the tactics listed above with nothing more than a smartphone.

And get this, people don't want polished anymore! Viewers don't want to scroll TikTok or IG Reels and see million-dollar commercials. They want to see people just like them having fun, adding value to their lives.

Relatable sells over everything else in 2022. Bells and whistles mean nothing if viewers don't want what you're offering, and don't connect with it when they see it. So focus on presenting something authentic over everything else. Don't worry about filming videos in a fancy studio. Film them in your bathroom while you're getting ready in the morning! (okay, maybe make sure it's tidied up first, but you get my point.)

If you want to learn more, reach out via the contact form on our website and schedule a consultation with me or one of our digital marketers.