Introduction
Reaching your target audience on Instagram requires short-form video, such as Stories or Reels. Scaling your Instagram video approach is not exactly as simple, despite the fact that starting to produce short-form video is fairly easy. Not sure how to upload short-form video on Instagram? When should you do it? Where should you share it?
You will be able to utilize your video assets to achieve the best outcomes if you invest in developing a short-form content plan. You need to make your content development schedule more efficient so you can edit fewer videos on the spot. With a scalable Instagram video production strategy, you can create content in bulk and get back a good amount of time every day. Want to stop producing clips that you’re pretty sure you already created all the time? Your team will be able to quickly refer to and reuse clips if you arrange the short-form video content for your business using a robust strategy.
How to create an organized short-form production process?
The tools and procedures you use to create your content are essential for effective Instagram video marketing, even while creative content may produce results. Create a repeatable workflow using the methods listed below to increase your Instagram video production and scale it across additional platforms.
1. Create a calendar for Instagram content
The first step in planning is to create a content calendar, whether you are doing it for a future month or a specific campaign. To begin planning content for all kinds of image posts and Instagram video formats, use the objectives your team has set for the month or campaign. You can use a real calendar, Google Sheets, or a content planning platform to create an Instagram content calendar.
Having trouble deciding whether to make stories or reels? Reels are perfect for more polished content that offers lasting value because they remain permanently on your feed and grid. Team member interviews, lifestyle content, product demonstrations, and highlight reels from events all make excellent Reels content. Given that Stories includes multimedia, it works best when you combine photographs and quick movies. The same clips you used in Reels, reels shared directly, or specific edits used in Stories can all be found in these short-form videos.
2. Instagram Stories and Short videos with storyboard
Each short-form video becomes a unique piece of content once it is published. However, most reels and storylines combine several clips or even a variety of media to create an engaging narrative. Storyboard all of your short-form videos and stories in preparation to organize these narratives.
The process of creating a storyboard can be as informal or structured as you wish. Do you have a creative team that can take plain instructions and produce visually appealing videos? Then a relaxed approach with broad notes will likely be successful. Do you use independent content producers for production? Then, you will probably require storyboards that are more in-depth.
Start by making the short-form video’s overall concept clear. What point do you want the audience to remember? The story’s beginning, middle, and end should then be outlined. Afterward, be clear about specifics like the tone and style of the video. It’s a good idea to indicate each short-form video’s target duration. Reels have an 80 to 90 second duration. But you must keep short-form films to 60 seconds or less if you want to reuse content across Instagram placements.
It’s also useful to make notes for planning purposes about specifics like audio tracks to add, performers to find, and objects to use. This is also a good time to sketch up the cover if you are going to make reels, especially if you need to make a distinct design. It’s simple to use the same tool for storyboarding and noting short-form video requirements if you have previously put up a digital content calendar.
3. Write captions for Instagram Reels and Stories
Next, use the ideas and objectives you listed for each reel and tale to compose the copy. Make a note of the appropriate times for text overlays to appear or vanish from view. The text style you intend to employ should also be noted. Even while it’s a good idea to give your business a recognizable design, experimenting can keep things interesting. Write captions for reels in advance and make sure they have a call to action. While reels allow for up to 30 hashtags, it’s a good idea to include keywords in the caption itself to provide context and increase the likelihood that your material will reach the intended audience.
Do you use dialogue or monologue in your reels or stories? These should be pre-scripted so that team members and performers know exactly what to say and how to say it. When it’s ready to publish, upload the authorized copy to your content planning platform so that you or your team can access it.
4. Instagram short-form video creation in bulk
Plan to develop your short-form video material in batches once you have finished your storyboards. Do you need to make several product films with comparable sets? Do you want to interview multiple team members with the same backdrop? Create a plan to film different videos at the same time.
Batching content can save a significant amount of time. You can not only avoid having to reproduce the same set again and over, but you can also maintain a content development mindset. This means you won’t lose time switching between jobs. In some circumstances, you may not be able to create all of the short-form material you require ahead of time. You will need to film in real time if you want to share footage from live events, for example: If you want to generate remixes in response to current topics, you will need to develop content in real time. Make a note of these chores and add them to your to-do list.
5. Short-form asset storage and management
Even if you are a one-person social media marketing team, organized video storage is critical for increasing your Instagram content. Keep all of your short-form video footage in one location for optimum results, preferably a cloud-based app that is backed up to your local device. This allows you and your team to swiftly identify material and access it across devices.
Use naming conventions to make files searchable and themed folders to make them easier to sort to discover video assets even faster. It is also a good idea to connect your short-form video assets to your content calendar so you know which creative matches with which piece.
6. Modify videos in bulk for Instagram
Create the raw content outside of Instagram to provide your team the most chances for repurposing content across stories and reels and other platforms as well. Then, while editing, apply filters, effects, transitions, and other visual components. Save time by editing short-form footage in bunches whenever possible. Batching edits helps you get in a style groove and create material that gels together, whether you are developing content for a themed campaign or a month-long timeframe.
Depending on the changes you need to make, you may require one, two, or even three apps. Add all text-based features, such as captions and text overlays, using the Instagram app. Instagram suggests including these characteristics in the app for searchability, which can increase visibility and help Instagram deliver your content to the proper audience.
After editing reels, save them in different locations to avoid wasting time on lost work. To begin, save each reel as a draft on the Instagram app. Then, save the drafts to your smartphone and add them to your content management system. Review and spot-check the full video after saving it to your device. Instagram occasionally exports content with distorted text and effects, causing the file to become corrupt.
7. When possible, schedule reels and stories
Publishing all of your Instagram material at once is inefficient in terms of time management. You can save time by scheduling as many Instagram videos as feasible. Instagram is now allowing you to schedule reels straight within the app, which will help you plan out practically all of your feed material. Create a reel and then hit Advanced Options before publishing to use this function. Then, tap to fine-tune the timing and schedule the Reel.
If you do not yet have the in-app scheduling feature, you can use Meta’s desktop tools to schedule Instagram video content. Meta is integrating Business Suite and Creator Studio tools as of January 2023, so you may need to check both for scheduling tools. For example, you may need to use Creator Studio to schedule Instagram reels and Business Suite to schedule Instagram stories.
8. Post remaining content in real time
When you cannot schedule content ahead of time, create time to post it right away. If you want to add interactive stickers and other in-app components to stories, you must complete and publish the material in real time.
If you have previously saved a draft, you may quickly add stickers to stories, audio to reels, and covers to reels before posting the material on Instagram. Alternatively, if you have developed all of the individual pieces including the caption, text elements, and short-form video you will be able to piece together and post reels and stories much more quickly.
9. Repurposing short-form content to increase value
You have now developed a large number of short-form video assets and released each one as a reel or a story. How can you repurpose your material without simply republishing it as-is?
You may simply recycle your short-form video content in either setting if you limit it to 60 seconds or less. The most straightforward method is to upload the draft that you exported previously in the content development process. Then use Instagram’s native editing tools to make the content original. You can, for example, add a voiceover to a reel and use the captions sticker to make the conversation visible. You can also include a Reels poll, an Add your prompt, and a caption with up to 30 hashtags.
If you repurpose Reels content for Stories, you can engage your audience by adding interactive stickers ranging from quizzes to emoji sliders. Link stickers can also be used to direct traffic to external resources. Nevertheless, cross-posting content as part of the same campaign isn’t your only choice. You may also add reels to stories to make them more captivating. You can resurface short-form video content at appropriate times if you have precisely categorized and arranged your content marketing following the methodology outlined above.
10. Analyze data and improve your Instagram video strategy
The more short-form video content you create, the more analytics you’ll have to optimize Instagram placements. Although it is difficult to directly compare Reels and Stories data, it is useful to examine how some key indicators stack up. The stats below, for example, represent the same short-form video broadcast to Stories and Reels.
Identify which goal you are aiming for with each piece of content to maintain refining your short-form Instagram video strategy. Then, within those constraints, determine the content and locations that perform best, and continue to replicate your most effective formulas.
Conclusion
Creating short-form video for Instagram without a well-structured plan can be redundant and time-consuming without providing the desired results. You can produce short-form video more efficiently and obtain more value by reusing it throughout Instagram if you have a well-planned Instagram video strategy, workflow, and an organized content storage system.
