5 Brilliant Instagram Video Marketing Tips for Business Owners

Can you recall a time, way back when, that Instagram videos were capped at 15 seconds and very few people posted them to the social media platform? Certainly it was a long time ago, and the use of video on Instagram has come a long, long way. It’s now the leading type of content for the social giant, accounting for nearly 15% of all posts and growing rapidly as IGTV videos are now 4x larger than photos on the Explore page and for many brands Reels generate more engagement than normal video posts. For Instagram video marketing tips that will help your business take part in all the fun, keep reading!

Brands that are enjoying the amazing benefits of Instagram know that the success is all part of the strategy. The best Instagram video marketing isn’t just willy nilly thrown together. Big brands, social influencers, and the small businesses that are getting Instagram “right” and banking on reaching the 130M users that tap on shopping posts ever month, are following specific protocols. There’s more to successful Instagram video marketing than just posting to the platform.

If you’re wondering how you’re ever going to be able to surpass your competition on Instagram, or if you’re totally new and just trying to figure out if you’ll ever even be able to build up an Instagram following, these Instagram video marketing tips will help you out!

1. Market All Videos from an Instagram Business Account

First and foremost, before you begin your Instagram video marketing journey, you need to be sure that you’re using an Instagram Business Account. Too often we see new business owners start promoting an account that’s their personal account and is not set up for business. This can get you into some trouble for a number of reasons, but most importantly – if you’re not promoting from an Instagram Business Account you could be missing out on many of the benefits that come along with Instagram for Business Owners such as the ability to create and publish Instagram ads, access analytics, and insights, and allow customers to contact you with the click of a button.

2. Use Eye-Catching Videos Don’t Worry So Much About Sound

As you begin to focus your Instagram video marketing on building up a following for your business, you’ve got to be very consistent. You also must make sure to always use eye-catching videos that are less concerned or focused on sound. The majority of Instagram’s users are not going to use sound while they scroll the content on their feeds. This means that the likelihood of your videos requiring perfect sound is low. What you need to focus most on is eye-catching, easy to follow visuals that tell the story!

Use subtitles so that the 83% of users that will watch without sound can understand exactly what your video is about! This makes Instagram videos easy to follow, with and without sound.

3. Keep IG Videos Short & Focused Unless Posting to IGTV

Instagram videos are predominantly short, you probably already know that, but it’s important to always keep your videos tightly focused and to the point. The sweet spot in terms of length for an Instagram video is about 30 seconds. Certainly, the network allows videos up to 60 seconds long, but the videos with the most interactions and highest engagement are those that are about half that with the majority of the most popular videos being just 30 seconds total length.

Of course, if you’re creating videos for IGTV, you’ve got a bit more to work with. IGTV allows videos up to one hour in total length. This doesn’t mean you need to have hour long videos! Keep in mind that Instagram doesn’t allow links in your descriptions which can make Instagram video marketing tough if you’re stuck on driving traffic to your website or trying to generate organic leads. Keep this in mind as you plan.

4. Use IGTV to Post Links in Descriptions

If you’re set on posting links in the video description on your Instagram then you’re going to have to pivot a little bit so that you can make it work for you. One of the most important Instagram video marketing tips we can provide is that users that wish to generate traffic or sales from their website via Instagram videos should consider using IGTV to share, even short videos, so that they can post links in the description. This essentially bypasses the need to post the link in the bio and results in being able to share your link with your audience more frequently than if you were to only share the standard Instagram video post that doesn’t allow a link in the description.

5. Write Amazing Captions for Your Videos & Use Hashtags

One of the greatest Instagram video marketing tips we can provide is to make sure that you’re always focused on writing great captions and using trending hashtags that align with your content. You can have an amazing video, with great content, but if you don’t have the right wording in your captions, hashtags, and any other areas where written text is available to describe your content, there’s a chance it won’t reach the desired audience or the audience won’t get as closely connected with the content as they should.

There’s a log of information that can be added to video captions. Not only can that, but the hashtags you choose to include play a key role in who sees your video. Use hashtags to promote your video, and any products or services represented in your video. 

These Instagram video marketing tips will help you maximize audience reach, connection, and engagement on the third most popular social media platform. Whether you’re just starting out, or looking for a way to improve your Instagram video marketing game, we hope these tips help you get more out of your efforts on this exciting platform!