Tips for Creating Attention-Grabbing Short-Form Video, the Easy Way

In Trend #3: Tips & Tools to Master Short-Form Videos, the 4th segment of her six-part series on The 5 Social Media Trends That Will Shape the Industry in 2023, Zoetica Media founder Kami Huyse shared her process and tools for creating quality, attention-grabbing short-form videos. 

Plan, Produce, and Promote

Plan

The planning phase is where ideas for upcoming recordings are created, enticing viewers with great content and encouraging them to come back for more. Appealing to viewers’ interests is important, but coming up with great ideas when feeling under pressure can be hard. 

“Part of [planning] is setting up ideas and then setting up templates to create them, a two-part process,” Kami explains. That way “you’re not having to think about it every time and reinvent the wheel and figure it out.”

She recommends using her free content generation tool, the 6 Month Content Planner,  to help create strategic content, stay on track, and save an incredible amount of time. “It’s an easy way for you to immediately create content.”  

Produce

Coming up with ideas is one thing, but producing “is where a lot of people get stuck,” Kami warns. To prevent that from happening, “time blocking is hugely important. You need to set aside 1-3 hours a week or set aside a whole day on a less frequent basis. You can create 3-5 videos if you’re prepared.”

When it comes to using templates, remember this useful format: 

Hook, 

Introduction, 

Body, and 

Call to Action. 

Build all of these into a 60-second video, Kami’s recommended length for shorts. ”Especially in short-form videos, you need something that gets people’s attention [and] draws them in.” 

The HOOK lets people know “what they [are] going to get out of this video,” while the INTRO “is what you’re actually going to talk about.” 

The video’s BODY, meanwhile, is where you delve into more substantive content, and the call to action or CTA is where you ask viewers to do something.

The CTA is often a call for engagement, such as asking viewers to leave a comment, or like or share the video, although it can also be where you ask people to take action outside the platform (like downloading Kami’s 6 Month Content Planner). 

See what I did there? 😉

You’ll want to have a few tools on board to assist in the creation and sharing process. 

Here are some Kami uses in her own work: 

• Pictory for video editing 
• Filmora for video editing 
• Wave.video for online video editing and multi-streaming
• chopcast and Repurpose for content repurposing
• BIGVU for teleprompter support  
• Video recording gear – see Kami’s recommendations here 

 
But don’t get too hung up on finding the ‘perfect’ tool. “At the end of the day, the tool that makes you get it done is the best tool for the job,” she advises. 

Promote

After creating amazing videos, you’ll of course want to make sure as many people as possible see them, which is where the promotion part comes in.

“You want to schedule those videos to drop on a weekly basis [at a minimum] and you want to see if you can create some immediate likes and comments,” Kami explains. “Part of that is being active on the platform where you are posting.”  

After scheduling your video, extend its impact by turning it into longer-form video or writing a blog post highlighting the video’s main points, and then creating social media posts on your main social platforms to help get the word out.  

Check out more of Kami’s insights in her livestream, such as the list of 20 content ideas she shares to get you started!

Six-part Series on The 5 Social Media Trends That Will Shape the Industry in 2023

• Overview: The 5 Social Media Trends
• Trend 1: Creative Professionals, Get Ready For the Artificial Intelligence Takeover
• Trend 2: Niche Social Media Platforms Multiply
• Trend 3: Tips for Creating Attention-Grabbing Short-Form Videos the Easy Way
• Trend 4: Virtual Social Shopping – Coming next