Filming video content can be intimidating. It’s tempting to make an animation in Canva, but a silly video featuring your library staff can get a lot more attention from your community. Here’s a list of tips and tricks for getting started!
Helpful apps: CapCut, Canva, Edits (by Instagram), Meta Business Suite (or your scheduling software).
Batch planning:
- Set your goals: What services are you trying to promote, are there big events coming up, are you trying to grow your social media audience, grow cardholders, grow a program, etc.
- Before filming content, I like to browse Instagram Reels for a while and save the ones I think I can adapt to my goals.
- I add the links to my planning spreadsheet in Canva and figure out the different shots needed, the video captions, and the copy in advance of filming.
- *Important note – sometimes the Reels you’ve chosen have sounds that can’t be used on business accounts for copyright. There are workarounds for this – like editing your video in TikTok, saving it to your phone, and then uploading the file to your Instagram account. I don’t have a TikTok account, so when I run into this, I will try to find an alternative sound or do my own voiceover.
Batch Filming: Gather 2-3 enthusiastic staff/volunteers/patrons and get to work!
- Film clips that don’t require lip-syncing/syncing actions with the sound in your camera roll. Lip-syncing videos are best filmed in the Instagram App so everything lines up.
- The clips do not have to be perfect. It’s actually trendy to be a little unpolished these days.
Editing: This will be pretty much done on your phone within the Instagram app, with the occasional Canva assist. I like to download the drafts to my phone to make it easier to schedule them in the scheduling software. I also link them in my planning spreadsheet.
Scheduling: By doing 10 reels/batch, you can get content for several months. Posting 1-2 per month is plenty for most libraries. If you post one of the reels just before you use your social media to make a big announcement or post something important, it will boost engagement for the following posts.
Reach out for help! Parkland’s Marketing Specialist, Hailey, is happy to help with this on an ongoing basis. If you’d like the entire process or certain steps completed for you, reach out to Hailey at hhalberg@prl.ab.ca.