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How to Capture a Goldfish’s Attention

How to Capture a Goldfish’s Attention

June 20, 2013 — the day that Instagram released its video feature — cries of “They’re trying to be like Vine” or “What does YouTube have to say about this?” ricocheted around the internet. Concerned tweets and ALL-CAPS Facebook posts were the order of the day. Not soon after, brands started to jump on the bandwagon and create Instagram videos. But, with great ability comes great responsibility: responsibility to produce great content. Which begs the question, how can brands use Instagram videos effectively? 

D custom instagram tips

Keep it short.

While Instagram has extended their video option to 60 seconds, it’s good to know the right length. Your videos should be long enough to create some type of narrative or tutorial, but not so long that the viewer loses interest. People have shorter attention spans than a goldfish — you literally have eight seconds until the average viewer will return to binge-watching Netflix or get distracted by some other social media.

Keep it visual.

Using Instagram video won’t be effective if your actual content isn’t engaging. Use music, graphics, stop-motion videos, or any other creative way to capture the viewer’s attention. Wrangle the art directors for some help and inspiration — anyone can create an Instagram video, even an intern …

Use other features sparingly.

With every hot new craze comes a slew of companies and apps jumping on the bandwagon. Musical.ly, Boomerang, and now even Instagram’s very Snapchat-like stories are all interesting apps that you can incorporate in your posts. But while they can be assets, there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. I’m looking at you, chocolate.

Give behind-the-scene peeks.

I may be biased because I grew up in a small town, but there’s one trait most people share, and that is nosiness. But brands can use this nosiness to their advantage by including behind-the-scenes peeks in the office, video shoots, profiles on their employees, or any other insider info.

Caption! Caption! Caption!

We’ve all encountered it before. A movie trailer gives away every plot twist in the first 10 seconds, or a synopsis of a book makes you feel like you don’t even have to read it to know what happens. The same goes with captions. Tease the viewer a little bit so they are more inclined to watch your content but don’t give up the goods.

Instagram videos are great if used judiciously — watch your length, make it purty, don’t overload with accessories, cater to everyone’s inner nosy neighbor, and be a tease — while bearing in mind the demographic you are trying to reach. To that end, here are some stats about Instagram:

  • Instagram has more than 300 million daily active users
  • 90 percent of users are under 35
  • More than 60 percent log in daily
  • Almost 30 percent of internet users are now on it
  • Engagement with brands on Instagram is 10 times higher than on Facebook, 54 times higher than on Pinterest, and 84 times higher than on Twitter

Clearly, not using Instagram is a missed opportunity to reach millions of passionate and engaged consumers. But since you’re shooting for people and not goldfish, make sure you keep it at eight seconds and more interesting than someone’s cat or a slice of pizza. For help fine-tuning your social media strategy, contact us, and check out our social media feeds hereherehere, and here.

 This blog was written by our super talented and much missed account services intern Carson Reibe who brought so much to the D Custom team during her summer 2016 internship.