Anatomy of a Social Media Video Post
Video communications has become the champion of online dialogue. The collective myriad of digital Social Media platforms now focus their SEO, audience attraction, sharing options, rendering protocals and algorythms prioritizing video communications. My recent video based Social Media post involved so many moving pieces and decisions that I thought it appropriate to share the experience with my online community. I’m calling this reflection the “Anatomy of a Social Media Video Post”…or in other words, details, details, details…
So right out of the gate, do I use the phone application editing application, e.g., Instagram & TikTok, or do I take the video on my camera phone and edit using my desktop video editing software (in my case, Camtasia 2021 & Wondershare Filmora X)? I have never been comfortable editing on a phone screen…fingers too big, LOL…screen too small…so I regularly choose Desktop editing software. Also, consider taking your story telling video in the appropriate alignment, i.e., portrait for Instagram & TikTok, landscape for YouTube & Facebook. However, should you initially record in landscape and then wish to switch styles, the editing can be completed in Camtasia (although you lose some optics integrity)…nonetheless, it’s best to pick the correct alignment before you record (therefore several videos could be considered with the same messaging).
Next to consider…how long should I record for? Instagram Reels (which enables you to cross-post in Instagram Feed) allows for posts in 15/30/60 second videos, so perfect your elevator pitch…if your video message is much longer, then publish to Instagram IGTV (15 minute maximum from a cell phone…60 minutes when uploading from the web, i.e., using a desktop browser with at least 1 minute minimum length)…TikTok’s maximum video size is 3 minutes.
Now it’s time to publish, quite possibly utilizing all of the following: Facebook Feed, Story & Page…Twitter page(s)…LinkedIn personal & corporate page…Instagram Feed, Reels, IGTV…TikTok feed…each post option allows you to cross post…this can get tricky, e.g., a Facebook Story post does not allow a video post from a Desktop application but will from the phone application (plus the video can only be 20 seconds long).
If posting a link from a WordPress site or Podcast website, one must consider the video thumbnail cover…these WYSIWYG sites can pull odd pictures and/or covers into the post…if not careful, the incorrectly themed thumbnail will pull from the “default featured image” as opposed to a thumbnail cover that you were hoping for in your video post.
It’s possible (without cross-posting) that you’ll be posting your video 12 times (FB X 3, Insta X 4, LinkedIn X 2, Twitter X 2, TikTok X 1). Place your post content into a handy cut & paste area for easy access, e.g, I use Google Keep so that I can virtually access my post content via cell phone & desktop applications.
Tags, hashtags and keywords are an essential component of any Social Media post, including video based posts. Engage in some digital homework prior to posting to maximixe optimization & SEO advantages. There is considerable research and instruction regarding hashtag strategies (check out Social Media Camp)… it’s well worth the time taking advantage of these online resources.
I’ve given you a top of the iceberg view of the background activity behind a successful, engaging Social Media video post. Stay tuned for more reflections soon. 🙂