How to Make Instagram Videos

Whether you’re a social media influencer, business owner or just an everyday Instagrammer, you know the importance of creating engaging content online that captures the attention of your target audience. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, it’s quickly apparent that the best way to create shareable content is through Instagram videos. 

Since 2017, the time users spent watching videos on Instagram has gone up more than 80% year over year! This isn’t too surprising given the infinite feed full of tutorials and how-to videos. So, how can you make this type of content that people won’t want to scroll past? Learn how in this extensive guide about the different types of Instagram video content, best practices to follow, and tips for making and sharing videos on Instagram.

Instagram Videos: Types, Content & Sharing

Not all Instagram video content is created equally. So before you can start making awesome videos, you need to understand the different Instagram video types and styles. Get a brief overview of each one, learn how to make Instagram videos and then choose a preferred method to post your videos:

Instagram In-Feed Videos

To keep up with their then competitor Vine, Instagram launched a feature that allowed users to post 15-second clips to their feed back in 2013. Little did they know that 7 years later user engagement for online videos would be growing at an even faster rate than photos! Today, Instagram feed videos (aka regular IG videos) can be anywhere from 3 to 60 seconds long. Use IG videos to promote a product or service, tell a brand’s story, or create highly shareable content just for fun. 

Examples of Instagram Video Content

Step-By-Step Recipes

View this post on Instagram

The fluffiest, bounciest pancakes you ever did see ???? Check out the recipe! Link in bio! ✨

A post shared by Tasty (@buzzfeedtasty) on Jan 16, 2020 at 3:01pm PST

@Buzzfeedtasty is notorious for creating easy step-by-step video recipes that are shared all over the internet. 

Makeup Tutorials

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My FAV Winter Makeup & Skin Tips that you NEED to know! @huda These makeup and skincare tips will get you through the cold, dry, winter months! Over the years, I have learned what works best to survive this time of the year! Watch full video on YouTube (link on bio) Love you guys xx.

A post shared by HUDA KATTAN (@hudabeauty) on Nov 13, 2019 at 9:11am PST

Beauty bloggers like Huda Kattan have built an entire beauty empire from sharing her best makeup and skincare tips and tricks! 

Health & Fitness Tips

[https://www.instagram.com/p/B5tiFwZB0Y5/]

Health and fitness influencers know that gym junkies and newbies alike flock to the IG feed to get inspo throughout their fitness journey. Fitness instructor Kayla Itsines is a perfect example of how it’s possible to make a career out of Instagramming. With 12.1M followers, Kayla uses her content to inspire women with approachable workouts. 

How to Post a Video

For posting videos to your Instagram feed, follow this simple guide straight from Instagram’s help page. Note that these steps will also be the basis for IGTV and Story video posting.

IGTV

IGTV made its debut back in 2018 as Instagram’s standalone video platform. Think of IGTV as regular video sharing, but on steroids. You can use it to create your own video channel or connect videos you’ve already posted to your feed. The biggest difference between IGTV and regular videos is the video length. IGTV videos can be up to 10 minutes long or up to 1 full hour for verified IG accounts. 

Examples of IGTV Channels

Accounts like Nat Geo have made the best out of their IGTV channel by uploading full episodes like these:

View this post on Instagram

The sloth is the world’s slowest mammal, so sedentary that algae grows on its furry coat. The plant gives it a greenish tint that is useful camouflage in the trees of its Central and South American rain forest home. | Filipe DeAndrade @filipe_deandrade NatGeo.com/Untamed

A post shared by National Geographic (@natgeo) on Dec 29, 2018 at 7:39am PST

How to Upload IGTV Videos

First, follow the instructions mentioned above for posting videos to Instagram. Then, upload your video to your IGTV channel by following these simple steps:

1. Tap the IGTV icon found in the Explore section of your IG app or simply open the IGTV app (download the app in the App Store or fromGoogle Play) 
2. Use the [+] sign in the right-hand corner to choose a video
3. Add a cover image using the [+] button
4. Add a title and description to your video, which will help users easily find your video
5. Add your video to an IGTV series if you plan on posting weekly videos, though not mandatory
6. Post a preview of your IGTV video to your Instagram or Facebook pages 

Instagram Stories

Instagram stories differ from regular and IGTV videos in that they are only 15 seconds long per clip and disappear from your timeline after 24 hours. They are still published on your feed but are not kept on your profile’s gallery. Since its launch in 2016, daily active story users has risen to 500 million daily active Stories users worldwide.

Examples of Instagram Stories

Although IG stories are only 15 seconds long, they can be used to tell a story (hence the name) by stringing multiple 15-second clips together. Check out this awesome visual of Instagram Stories from Buffer that shows how Airbnb uses IG Stories to do this:

In this example, you can see Airbnb is playing a game with followers that peaks interest and gets users to interact with their brand directly. Stories are a great way to interact with followers in real-time or simply just share day-to-day activities.

How to Post Instagram Stories

Just like IGTV,  follow the instructions mentioned above for posting videos to Instagram. Then, share stories by following these steps:

1. Open your Instagram app and tap the camera icon at the top left corner of the screen, or simply swipe left to start a Story
2. Once the camera is open you can begin recording a video or uploading one from your camera roll 
3. Then, enhance your Story with IG stickers like these, as noted by Buffer:

Time: Add the current time to your story

Temperature: Include the temperature in your story

GIF: Search Giphy and embed a GIF within your story

@Mention: Tag another Instagram user

Questions: Ask your audience a question, responses are sent to you as DMs

Chat: Start conversations with a group of friends right from your story

Music: Share your favorite songs to your story

Quiz: Create multiple choice quiz questions for your audience to answer

Emoji Slider: Ask questions in a fun way. Choose an emoji that represents your question and your audience can just drag the emoji to the left or right to show how they feel

    4. Once you’re satisfied, post your Story to your profile!

Remember, after 24 hours, your story will disappear. However, Instagram Story Highlights allows you to keep your videos and photos archived right on your profile for easy access. Get the lowdown on how to upload Story Highlights from Instagram here:

Instagram Video Best Practices

Besides creating unique attention-grabbing content, there are a few key ground rules to follow when it comes to Instagram videos.

1. Focus on Quality Over Quantity

No matter which type of video you decide to post, they should always be high quality and follow Instagram’s video requirements for uploading. Keep these specs in mind before sharing your Instagram video:

• File type and size
• Video length
• Aspect ratio
• Frame rate
• Resolution

2. Edit Your Instagram Videos

Your videos should draw users in and make them want to press play. To do this, be sure to first pick a good cover photo for your video that captures the message you’re trying to convey to your audience. Then, edit your videos using different filters. You can use a wide range of video editing apps to cut down video length or add background music to your video. Make your videos more appealing is key. Otherwise, all of the hard work put into making the video will go down the drain if no one is actually watching it.

3. Use IG Stickers to Your Advantage

Besides using music or fun filters to edit your videos, there are infinite possibilities when it comes to IG stickers. Before posting to your video, you can add stickers text, GIFs, emojis or even interactive polls to increase video engagement. 

These stickers aren’t just for IG Stories either, you can “save” your stickered-up video before uploading it to your feed or IGTV channel.  

4. Reach a Wider Audience

What you add to your videos is just as important as the content itself. Before sharing a video on Instagram, don’t forget to add a catchy Instagram caption with relevant hashtags to reach a broader audience. 

Another great way to reach more people is to add closed captions to your videos so that they can be enjoyed by as many people as possible. Whether users are watching your videos at work, out in public or on the go, closed captions help them see your story even when turning the volume up isn’t an option.

Now that you know the ins and outs of Instagram videos, it’s time to create and inspire! Use this guide for reference when deciding on what type of video content to create and how to share it online.

Now that you have the rundown of Instagram videos, it’s time to create and inspire! Use this guide for reference when deciding on what type of video content to create and how to share it online.