6 Tips For Creating Engaging Social Media Content Videos With Your iPhone ~ Fresno/Clovis Brand Photographer Tonya Riggs

Can I be honest with you?

I started shooting BTS content videos earlier last year with clients as a way to show what I do and how I work with clients. I quickly realized…it’s harder that it looks! I mean wowza! Talk about juggling. However, I also acknowledge how incredibly important b-roll content is these days for marketing. Now more than ever, people are turning to video to demonstrate WHAT THEY DO and HOW THEY SERVE. It’s not just a trend either. It is here to stay and if you aren’t leaning into some of it as part of your marketing game plan, then you could be missing out on connecting with potential clients. With that said, I want encourage you to take the baby steps you need to start implementing this into your plan. With just a little practice and the proper tools, you too can lasso this powerful marketing medium.

Here are my 6 tips for creating engaging social media videos on your iPhone.

1. Buy a good tripod. I have two sizes right now. A counter height one that I use for table top projects and a larger one I tend to use more with my BTS (Behind The Scenes) branding projects. I found both on Amazon HERE & HERE. If you already have a large tripod, you will also need one of THESE to stabilize and secure your iPhone to it.

2. Use a variety of video modes on your iPhone like time-lapse (my personal favorite!.), slow motion, and regular static video. I love using the time-lapse mode especially in my IG stories because you can concentrate on your task while moving your tripod around while keeping the video going. You can also see some examples of how I spliced and used them in some of my recent Reels HERE & HERE. I’ve also learned that the time-lapse format seems to engage my audience more because they have to stop and slow down the videos so they can see more of what I am doing. This in turn, triggers the social media gods that my content is being more engaged with and that also allows more of my audience to view it. Try changing up the formats to see which one engages your audience the most. Play with it and just have fun!

3. If you forget to shut off your video off (like me…all the time), you can always cut and splice the video into sections and save them as a new video without having to delete the entire original version. I find this most useful when I’m creating reels where I only need 6-8 seconds of something for content.

4. Storage. How do you organize all this content on your phones without driving yourself MAD? While I’m still learning, I am experimenting with storing them on Google Drive. However this can fill up quickly and you have to pay for more storage. If it’s something more important like a client’s session, I also use my Dropbox app for peace of mind and safety. On my phone, all videos get stored in a folder called video, slo-mos and time-lapse which makes it a little easier to get to after you create them. As with anything, you have to play with a system that makes the most sense for your organizational style.

5. Keep it simple. While I’m sure there are a ton of apps to that you can edit your video with, I find it one less step to crop my videos within the social media site. I find that Instagram is where I live socially with my business and this is where I feel most comfortable using. I can save my reels and posts as drafts and schedule them right within the app itself. There is no need to add another step to my video editing process. If you are looking to be more polished and want the ease of using pre-made social media templates for your videos, I highly recommend using Canva. I use and pay for the Pro version. This of course involves more steps but if staying on brand colors and fonts is important in your marketing, you will find an abundance of ideas and templates there that are easy to customize.

6. Still not sure? Hire a friend to help take short 6-8 second videos clips of you working. Make sure they move around you. Movement in videos creates more interest than static ones. One of the things I like to do is to observe how professional videographers approach videoing their subjects doing something. Do they pan the room sideways? Do they start closeup and then zoom out? You can instruct your friend to use some of these techniques while videotaping you. Disclaimer here for all my professional videographer friends out there…Although iPhone videography is a fun and cool tool you can use for daily content, it does not replace the need for a professional. If you are needing a more polished video production for your website or promo campaign you should definitely reach out to one and invest in their expertise and service.

Did you know that I offer social media content video as an upgrade to any of my brand experiences? This upgrade ties up your entire branding session experience with one giant bow; offering you the best of still imagery and video content that you can use to create a more engaging brand story for social media. It takes a village! Although I dabble with video content for my own business, when it comes to doing it right for my clients, I have a wonderful team who specializes in taking iPhone video and preparing short form content videos. Together, we will create the branding session of your dreams! If you are wanting to learn more about this add on service, it all starts with a chat. You can schedule your call HERE or get all the deets about my Brand Experiences delivered to your inbox HERE. Your DREAM BRANDING TEAM AWAITS!

Are you looking for a personal / brand / headshot photographer in Fresno or Clovis? Tonya Riggs has been a professional photographer for over 15 years. She specializes in providing brand photography for entrepreneurs and small business owners in the Clovis and Fresno, and Central Valley California Area.