Instagram Videos For Your Business

How often do you use video for marketing purposes on your Instagram business account? Also, do you tend to stick to just one video format or alternate it with others? Before you answer the last question, try to recall what Instagram tools you use for managing video content on your account. If you can’t think of more than one or two, you might probably want to look deeper into this. You’d be surprised at the variety of video-related assets that you can utilize for building a unique brand and promoting it. 

What are the formats of videos on Instagram? 

Instagram Stories 

Instagram stories are short snippets of videos that appear at the top of the user's home feed. The maximum length for one story is 15 seconds. If an uploaded video is longer than that, Instagram will split it into equal parts. The whole thing should be no longer than 60 seconds (1 minute). Brevity is everything! Finally, the stories are visible to your audience for 24 hours. 

Despite the given limitations, Instagram stories offer some valuable assets that you can use to interact with your audience. Add some music to the story, create a poll for your clients or ask them a question. Play around with funny stickers or include a link to your website to showcase your brand. It’s all about creativity! You choose how to get your customers’ attention and keep building on their trust in your business.

Reels 

The Instagram reel is a 15-30 seconds video that is supposed to be shot in portrait mode. Unlike the stories format, reels have some extra editing options. For instance, there is a Timer and Countdown function that allows you to set the time for the piece you are going to shoot. In reels, you can also control the video speed and create a slow-motion or time-lapse effect, so your video will have a nice cinematic look. Not to mention the collection of multiple visual effects and filters that are available for this format. It might be an especially good fit for your business if you want to keep your brand casual and not too formal. 

Live videos

Live streaming is the best way to directly interact with your customers in real-time. That’s where the “Live Video” option becomes an invaluable tool on your Instagram business account. With this one, time limitations should not be a problem: you can go live for 4 hours maximum, although one hour is often more than enough. Some people might think that choosing this option is quite a bold move. Obviously, things tend not to always go according to the script. However, that’s the beauty of it! Live videos are about authenticity which should make your brand look more attractive. Some of the most popular suggestions for live videos are workshops, interviews, or maybe Q&A sessions about your product/service/event, etc. Start with something small to explore this format and develop confidence for going live more. 

Feed Instagram Videos

When you write a post for your Instagram feed, you can add either an image or a video from your library. Just like stories and reels, feed Instagram videos have time limitations too: the uploaded video can’t be longer than 1 minute. The good news is that it’s not going to disappear in 24 hours like the stories do (unless you choose to delete the post). You can use the filter function, include location in your post, and tag people. You know the rules. This format is probably the easiest to handle and the most conventional too. While you might have many more one-to-one interactions with clients via live video, remember that the conversation can continue in the comments of your post. 

What can I use for all these formats? 

Here, the sky's the limit for your imagination. You can probably start with reviewing your library and picking something that might catch clients’ attention. It might be anything - a short capture from the corporate event or conference that your company recently had. Or it might be a random video that you made at your workplace featuring your company culture. To help you brainstorm ideas for your videos, we wrote a blog post about different types of corporate videos. Make sure to check it out - it might be very helpful. 

Finally, we suggest that you would think carefully about what kind of Instagram profile you want to have for your business. Do you want your marketing campaign to look corporate and strict? Or casual and playful? Or maybe the combination of both? Take your time to decide what style will suit your business and don’t hesitate to look at other companies’ profiles as examples to get some inspiration.