Remember way back to 2015 when we are all told to “pivot to video” for social media marketing? At the time, video platforms were limited to YouTube and a bit of Facebook. Today, video is everywhere. And if you’re a small to mid-sized business owner like we are at Morning Squeeze, the challenge of incorporating video into your social routine can be intimidating.
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Here are a few tips we learned along the way.
TikTok vs. Reels
If you’re new to social videos, you might feel like you have to be on every platform right now. But don’t let that FOMO stop you from even starting at all. While we have both TikTok and Instagram, we decided to put our effort into Instagram Reels first. Why? We already had a strong and active base of followers on Instagram and Reels let us reach them in new ways.
Reels also had a quicker learning curve. While it doesn’t have as many features as TikTok, this actually helped us from getting overwhelmed or discouraged with the platform.
Start A Song Library
Business accounts have a smaller music library on Reels, so creating a library of songs was key. We always have our ears open when scanning other videos and when we hear a tune we like, we save it.
Video Before Pix
When shooting content, pictures were the priority. Now, it’s all about the videos. We’ve created a habit of grabbing videos of the ‘during’ instead of only getting photos of the finished product. We get clips as food is being made, as bartenders shake drinks and even as we walk through the restaurant on a busy Saturday morning. We even let the staff have fun diving into a meal for some fun action shots. Camera orientation is also critical. We film everything vertical so clips string together seamlessly when we’re ready to edit.
Don’t Sweat The Caption
There’s not a lot of real estate on a Reel for a long cutline. While every phone is different, a viewer will only see about 10 words before they need to click the “More” button. Because of that, we keep it to a short headline.
But Do Use Hashtags
Instead, we put more effort into hashtags that will help Instagram push the video out to people who don’t necessarily follow the account yet.
Social media videos can take a bit of time and practice, but the effort is worth it. When we upped our Reels game at Squeeze, we saw an 18% increase in followers in just one quarter.
Shea Neill is the Director of Marketing and Business Development for Morning Squeeze, an Arizona-owned breakfast and lunch spot with locations in Scottsdale, Tempe and Phoenix. Find Morning Squeeze on Instagram and TikTok @morningsqueeze.
