How to Make Videos for Social Media Without the Hassle: 4 Easy Strategies

Have you ever started developing a video for your organization, but stopped short of creating it? If you’ve explored how to make videos for social media but haven’t produced one yet, we know what you’re feeling.

Maybe you’re a small business owner. You want to get into video, but you don’t have the luxury of hiring a production team. You might try to take on the task by yourself, but all the logistics – finding the best camera, sourcing background music, and a hundred other details – can be so overwhelming.

Before all that minutiae becomes too much to handle, we want to remind you of two key facts:

• First, video is becoming a vital social media tool for small businesses and organizations. The fact is that videos often get more engagement than other types of posts: in a recent study, Sprout Social found that Tweets containing a video receive 10 times the engagement garnered by other content. This level of interaction could bring you more followers, customers, or volunteers.

• The second (and most important) thing to remember is that there are ways to make creating great videos easy. In this blog, we’ll share four tips with you in the hopes that they’ll help you dive into video.

Tip #1: Motion Graphics Are Videos Too!

Everyone recognizes that they should be using videos in email marketing and social media to grab attention, but it’s easy to forget that “video” has a broad definition. In fact, one of the best ways to bring video into your content plan is to create some simple motion graphics.

We recommend adding a little motion to your graphics, as it’s a proven, low-effort way to generate more engagement. For instance, a 2019 Twitter study found Tweets containing a GIF (animated images) earned 55% more engagements than those without.

Basic graphic design websites like Canva make building motion graphics a breeze. Consider our example above: Everything is stationary except for the truck, which is a pre-built Canva animation that you can search for in the “Elements” tab.

Tip #2: Leverage Each Platform's Built-In Features

 We know that making social media videos can be overwhelming, and so do your favorite social channels. The beauty of platforms like TikTok is that you can leverage their free, built-in features to make trendy, viral videos without the best equipment or years of experience.

Maybe your organization has a ton of terrific pictures, but lacks video content. In that case, you could leverage TikTok's Templates feature, which places your photos into video slideshows with pre-built music, transitions, and text. If you’re feeling a bit more adventurous, you can create slideshows manually by following examples like this.

Creating audio on TikTok can also be easy. If you don’t feel comfortable recording a voice-over, you can take advantage of the platform’s text-to-speech function (here's a good tutorial). 

@luxehomedecorltd How lovely!! I love spreading kindness□ #fyp #storytime #smallbusiness #smallbusinesscheck ♬ original sound - Luxe Home Decor Ltd

Examples like the one above, which has over 565,000 likes, demonstrate that utilizing text-to-speech can be a good way for businesses to succeed on TikTok.

Tip #3: You Can Attain Quality Video With Minimal Resources

Before we continue, we want to give you a checklist of the bare necessities needed to make a successful video. We think it might surprise you:

• A phone camera, preferably (but not necessarily) an iPhone
  
• A steady surface where you can set up the phone (e.g., tripod, shelf, etc.)
  
• Decent lighting (natural light, lamps, etc.)
  
• Good sound environment (record in a quiet space, or buy a cheap lavalier microphone)
  

That’s it. After all, we’re now living in an era defined by TikTok, with its do-it-yourself nature. TikTok now boasts more than one billion monthly active users, and competitors are scrambling to set up similar formats on their platforms.

​What these channels all have in common is that they are built less for highly produced content and more for videos that feel genuine. That’s why our final tip is…

Tip #4: Videos Need to Be Authentic, Not Perfect

As a business, content creation can feel impossible once you start worrying about making a perfect video. That’s why we’re here to remind you of a vital fact: In 2022, audiences want to see authenticity, not polish. Your video doesn't need a high-powered camera or a team of editors – all it really needs is you.

​We encourage you to forget those pesky technical details and try your hand at video creation. It might not be smooth right away, but we believe that as long as you remain genuine, your videos will find their audience.

Need Some Support?

No matter where you are in the video creation process, we’re here for you! Our agency can help with strategy, coach you on best practices for the most popular video platforms, and even connect you with video designers for more complex projects. Contact us today!

---

Daniel Prohuska

Daniel Prohuska (Strategist) began as Sarah Best Strategy's persistent, perpetual intern while he worked on his B.A. at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. After graduating with degrees in Strategic Communications and History, he jumped at the chance to join the SBS team full time. While he enjoys all sorts of communications tasks, Daniel is most driven by his passion for helping untold stories find their intended audience.