According to a recent article from Sprout Social, video is king when it comes to engagement on Instagram. The report revealed that videos on Instagram receive 49% more engagement than static photo posts.
To help you make the most of video, and boost engagement on your Instagram account, we’ve put together a list of Instagram video ideas. Note that this article is about ideas for using video in the Instagram feed. If you’re interested in learning more about Instagram Stories, check out our Instagram Stories guide. If you're interested in learning more about video on IG in general, check out our full Instagram video guide.
Instagram Video Tips
I know we promised Instagram video ideas, and we’ll get there. But first, we thought it would be beneficial to share a few tips to keep in mind before you jump in and make an Instagram video. These tips come straight from our own Chief Video Officer, Sally Sargood.
Tip #1: Create Self-Contained Content
On some social platforms, like Facebook and Instagram, you may share videos to tease or promote content on your website and encourage people to click through for more information. On Instagram, however, you can’t share a link within a post. Yes, you can refer people to click a link in your bio, but Instagram visitors prefer to consume content within the feed and keep on scrolling.
For this reason, each video you create should stand on its own. Sure, you can still refer people to a link in your bio to learn more, but they shouldn’t always have to leave Instagram to benefit from your content.
Tip #2: Use visually-stunning imagery
Instagram is a visual platform. Aesthetics are important, so be sure to include visually-stunning imagery within your video. If you don’t have stunning imagery of your own, we're here to help.
The Select stock library on our Professional plan features 1 million+ photos and videos from Getty Images, and the Premium library on our Professional Plus plan offers 100 million+ photos and video clips.
You can also check out our article on tools and apps for eye-catching video effects.
Tip #3: Consider your color palette
A consistent color palette can help your Instagram feed and content stand out. Your Instagram feed is an extension of your business or brand, so it’s important to choose a color theme that meshes well with your brand colors.
Use Saved Brands to easily bring your videos on brand. With Saved Brands, you can apply your brand's logo, font, and colors to your entire video with the click of a button. Animoto users on our Professional plan can create one Saved Brand, and Professional Plus users can create multiple Saved Brands.
Instagram Video Ideas
Now that you’re armed with a few tips for creating Instagram videos, it’s time to start adding video to your Instagram strategy. We’ve put together a list of 10 ideas to inspire you and spark your creativity. Let’s dive in!
1. Weekly Hashtag Video Series
If you want to post videos consistently, an easy way to build out a calendar of video content is to create a series where you post a specific type of video on certain days of the week. For instance, you could do a #MondayMotivation, #TipTuesday, or #WellnessWednesday series and share a tip or quote related to your business, industry, niche, or area of expertise on the same day every week.
2. Share a Quote
If you’re looking for a quick and easy Instagram video idea, simply find a quote you find inspiring, and pair it with one of our quote templates. Need quote ideas? Check out our series of quotable quotes, then check out our quote templates below.
3. Celebrate fun social holidays
Look to social holidays for inspiration. Each month there is a slew of fun social holidays to celebrate, like National Puppy Day in March, International Day of Friendship in July, or National Coffee Day in September.
When one of these social holidays fits with the type of content you post on Instagram, add it to your content calendar for a fun and unique post. Start with our Digital Album template, then personalize it to fit the social holiday you're recognizing.
4. Celebrate calendar holidays
Seasonal and calendar holidays are a great source of inspiration as well. Create a video to wish your customers a happy holiday around Christmas time, share what you’re thankful for on Thanksgiving, or spread the love with a Valentine’s Day video.
5. Feature food
Instagram is a major hangout for food lovers, so if it feels relevant to your Instagram brand, try creating a video featuring your favorite food and corresponding recipes. Of course, you’ll want to be sure to include hashtags related to the type of food you’re featuring to reach the broadest audience.
If you need a little help getting started, check out our recipe templates.
6. Feature travel
Travel is big on Instagram too. If your brand involves travel, adventure, or exploration, make sure to shoot some video clips of the most beautiful and intriguing sites possible. It’ll provide ample content for your Instagram feed and spark excitement from followers.
Use our Inspirational Travel Promo template to share some of your most wanderlust-inducing destinations.
7. Share some tips
Create a quick list of tips to share with your followers. And remember to keep your list of tips self-contained so viewers can get value without having to leave their Instagram feed.
Our List of Tips template can be customized to fit nearly any brand or business.
8. Instagram Ad
The ideas we’ve shared so far work well for getting engagement in the feed. But by putting a little spend behind your Instagram posts, you can reach a much wider audience. Ecommerce company Click n Curl increased their online sales on Instagram by 48 percent with video.
Try using our Ad Funnel Awareness, Ad Funnel: Consideration, and Ad Funnel: Conversion templates to create ads to meet your audiences through different stages of their sales journey.
9. Share an instructional video
Teach viewers how to do something you’re an expert in. Like in the tips example, we’ll remind you that this type of video should be self-contained for Instagram, so viewers should get all the information they need without having to leave the feed.
Use our Step-based tutorial template to stop the scroll and catch your audience's eye.
10. Create a recap video
You can recap all sorts of things on Instagram. If you’ve had an event, create a video with some of the best photos and video clips; recap big moments from the past month or year, or even create a compilation recapping some of your best-performing Instagram content to reshare for more engagement.
Have another idea? We’d love to hear it! Join our private Facebook group, the Animoto Social Video Marketing Community, and let us know!
