In the vast sea of social media marketing, how can you make your content shine like the California sun? In 2022, the answer is video posts in the form of Instagram Reels and TikToks.
Though the importance of video in social media branding and marketing emerged several years ago, it looks quite a bit different today. Around 2015-2018, top brands spent a lot of time and money investing in professional-quality video production, and although that content looked objectively great, it actually comes off as overproduced to today’s social media audience.
TikTok, and later Instagram Reels, set new standards for what compelling content looks like. The buzzword is “authentic.” Good videos look realistic, like something happening “right now,” something that nearly anyone could capture on a smartphone. They should be in a vertical format, unlike years past, and in most cases, they show a really specific point of view, as though the audience is experiencing the action firsthand. Anything that “looks like an ad” is a no-no.
By our count, this trend toward simple production is a fantastic one for content creators. If you want a successful television commercial, you bet you’re going to need a whole production crew, a script and actors. But for a successful social media video, all you need is a smartphone and a few simple tips.
Enough background. Let’s get to the tips!
Most of Verdin’s tourism clients have been on the Instagram track for years, and several are adding TikTok into their marketing mix since it has skyrocketed in popularity. In Instagram’s effort to stay relevant, it unveiled Reels, a video sharing feature that has very similar functionality to TikTok. Reels are now “weighted” to show up more often in more people’s Instagram feeds, so producing them is critical to staying relevant on the app.
There are a handful of differences between creating Instagram Reels and creating TikToks, but by most practical standards, they are so similar that our tips apply to both. Here are our best tips and tricks for creating great videos for tourism marketing:
Pick a theme for your video.
Two great ideas that come up constantly for tourism clients: event videos and list videos. Event videos are just what they sound like. Head to an event, shoot some video on your phone, and share it! These are an easy way to show off how happening your destination is. We particularly like these for recurring events like monthly marketplaces or a concert series, where you can show off the fun thing that’s happening right now and get your audience interested in finding out how they can be there next time. Event videos are also a nice choice because they require just one trip to one location. Easy peasy! And these don’t have to be large-scale events, either. Maybe your event is simply a visit to a restaurant, a hike at a state park or a tour of a local museum.
List videos might take a bit more work and visits to multiple locations or events in your tourism destination. Here’s a recent example we created called 5 Things to Do for a Fun Weekend in Arroyo Grande. Lists tend to make for compelling content that gets watched all the way through – important to the algorithm gods for getting your video in front of more people – because viewers want to see every choice on the list. Other similar ideas: 10 Shops You Must Visit Downtown, 6 Events You Can’t Miss This Winter, or Our Top 4 Cheesesteaks in Philadelphia. Think of a relevant list for your destination, and start shooting clips!
Of course, event and list videos aren’t the only options. You can also have a lot of success with something more niche, something funny or something a little offbeat. Here’s a recent Reel we made just using photos of Arroyo Grande’s iconic roosters that walk freely around town. Try out some creative ideas and see how they do. You might be surprised!
Take LOTS of short clips.
Once you’ve decided on an idea and are ready to shoot some video, we recommend taking lots and lots of clips. Hold your phone vertically while recording, and move slowly so that things don’t get blurry. Anything that you might have thought to take a photo of in the past, take a video instead. Try moving just a little bit during each clip, usually toward or away from the focus. Err on the side of taking too many clips, because there’s really no such thing!
What should you shoot? Depending on the theme of the video, in general it’s nice to get a mixture of close-up shots and clips that show a wider scale to provide the viewer some context. Take a “point of view” approach, considering what a visitor might be drawn to. Hold up your tasty drink or food for your camera. Get some shots of the live entertainment. Show the whole space, and then some neat details in decor.
Lastly, if it’s appropriate, try to get some shots of people either in action or smiling for your camera. Let them know that you do social media marketing for your city or destination, and ask if they would mind giving you a brief smile for a video. You’ll likely be surprised how many folks are happy to take part! Remember to bring along a release form with multiple signature lines for participants. Share your account handles, and you may very well have earned yourself some new followers, too. If they later comment on your posts, “That’s me!” be sure to respond with a kind thanks for appearing.
Curate your clips.
Now, what do you do with all those clips you’ve shot? It’s time to go through them all, edit them into whatever length works best and set them in an order that makes sense. We recommend using your smartphone to sort all the clips you’re going to use into a new album on your phone. From here, you have a few different options for editing your clips. You can cut them to shorter lengths, duplicate them and adjust sound right on your phone, or you can do that within the Instagram or TikTok app. We recommend doing some editing of individual clips beforehand on your phone so that you have trimmed the fat by the time you upload your clips into the app.
You may also consider bringing in some third-party software at this point. A number of different video editing apps offer enhanced functionality for transitions between clips, audio mixing, visual effects and lots more. For our purposes, we tend to keep it simple with the built-in tools Instagram and TikTok provide. As you create more videos and find you’d like to try more functionality, here are some editing apps for both smartphones and computers to consider.
Set it all to music.
Putting lots of short clips to music sounds easy enough, right? Instagram and TikTok actually make it even easier than you might imagine. Once you upload your clips, both apps will suggest songs to add to the video, even automatically syncing the clips to the rhythm. Poke around among the music selections and find something that fits the vibe of your destination and the content of the video, be it relaxing, upbeat, silly or whatever your tone is. You’ll find that music will really take your content to the next level. What first seems like a mishmash of lots of short clips will suddenly come together as a cohesive video, thanks to a nice backing track.
A couple of extra things to consider on audio:
- Decide whether the recorded sound from your video clips should stay or go. No one wants to hear unpleasant wind sounds, but laughter and voices might be a nice addition. You can mute audio on individual clips as desired.
- Is your music of choice royalty-free or licensed? There are strict rules about copyrighted music for commercial use on Instagram or TikTok, so step lightly and make sure you are following fair use guidelines.
Add a strong caption.
Video looking and sounding good? You’re almost done. It’s time to write a strong caption. If you’ve been doing social media marketing for a while, you know what to do here: Include relevant information about the content, use a fun tone that fits your tourism destination, tag participants or venues, and don’t forget your hashtags. For tourism clients, it’s usually a good idea to provide a “link in bio” for your audience to find out more. Another consideration at this stage before posting is whether you want to add “closed captions” or subtitles onto your video. You can do this within Instagram and TikTok, and we always recommend it if you have a voice over track or people speaking within the video. It’s a best practice for accessibility, and users who view with the volume down appreciate it, too.
Post! You did it!
Once your captions are set, post your video, put your feet up, and watch the views come in. Be sure to do your usual engagement with commenters, and keep an eye on how your video does. As with all social media marketing, you’re likely to see patterns emerge over time on what does well among your audience. Respond in kind, and don’t be afraid to try new approaches. It’s a creative time in the world of video creation, so enjoy!
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