With around 2 billion monthly active users, 90% of whom show interest in communication with brands in-app, Instagram has proven its potential for businesses of all sizes and niches.
But the days when posting photos was enough to keep your audience engaged are long gone.
In 2024, video is everywhere. Around 90% of Instagrammers watch videos each week and the company head Adam Mosseri has announced the shift to videos, so the era of Instagram videos is here, too.
If you’re still wondering whether having a solid Instagram video marketing strategy is right for you, keep on reading our ultimate guide to learn more about the growing popularity of Instagram video marketing, check out key video formats, and draw inspiration from seven best practices for using Instagram videos.
The growing popularity of Instagram video marketing
Until 2018, Instagram only had regular video and photo post features with some variations in the form of carousel-type posts. Then the app introduced IGTV, which piqued people’s interest in the video capabilities of the platform.
Once the Reels feature was introduced in 2020, Instagram saw a boom in highly engaged daily users. Short-form videos became an instant hit among social media enthusiasts.
Today, Instagram is among the top video marketing platforms, thanks to its solid content algorithm and millions of active creators constantly posting fresh and new content. The numbers speak for themselves:
- Around 85% of all Instagram users watch videos on the platform regularly
- Instagram videos receive 67% more engagement than static posts
- After watching a product video, around 48% of Instagrammers take action like searching for more information or visiting a website
- Instagram shoppable video ads have 47% higher purchase rates than static product posts
About Instagram video types in brief
From video posts to livestreams, Instagram videos have evolved significantly in the last few years. With a strong focus on more video content, the platform now has three main Instagram video types:
- Reels
- Livestream
- Instagram Stories
Let’s walk through each of these Instagram video formats to learn more about them.
1. Reels
Reels have now become synonymous with Insta-scrolling. Back in 2022, Instagram turned all videos under 15 minutes into Reels, so this vertical video format can be suitable for anything from “outfit of the day” inspiration and “get ready with me” montages to “how to” tutorials and viral trends.
The most popular and sensational Reels garner views in billions. Consider, for example, the tie-up between Indian cricketer Hardik Pandya and BGMI. It’s no wonder this Instagram video type is a reigning favorite for social media marketing.
2. Livestream
Livestreams are a way to broadcast live videos to Instagram. You can choose which of your followers can view the livestream. While livestreaming, viewers can comment and react to the video, and the host can interact with them.
Influencers often schedule live streams in advance and cultivate audience interest in posts and Stories around the upcoming event to ensure maximum views and engagement.
Image via Instagram
Turkish broadcaster and entrepreneur Acun Ilicali holds the record for the most-viewed Instagram live video at 3 million views, relating to one of the shows he produces, called Survivor 2020.
3. Instagram Stories
Instagram Stories are short clips users can share with their followers to show bits of their everyday lives. You can add filters, text, and other effects to these mini-videos accessible by clicking on a person’s profile picture.
Stories disappear after 24 hours, so they’re a great way of posting engaging content without crowding up the profile.
Image via Instagram
As an example, check out this story Kylie Jenner posted: A cute little clip showing off her freshly done nails. Brands can further their Instagram marketing by partnering with influencers and tracking stories due to the higher engagement metrics.
Now that you know about the importance of Instagram videos and the video formats you can use in your Instagram video marketing strategy, follow these seven best practices for inspiration.
7 best practices for using Instagram video marketing
With all the video types available on Instagram, it can be hard to narrow down what format and strategy to choose for your Instagram video marketing strategy, especially if you’re just starting out.
Customer-centricity and user preference analytics are at the heart of any good marketing campaign. The first and most important thing you must do is identify your consumer base and learn about their likes, choices, interests, trends, habits, and usage patterns.
Once you have this data, use the following methods to keep users engaged with your marketing videos and content.
1. Leverage the power of video storytelling
By its dynamic nature, any video is an engaging content format that keeps an audience hooked and engaged. Implementing video storytelling is a powerful way to tell engaging stories about your brand or products and therefore create a bond with viewers while keeping them engaged.
Any theme or topic can be treated like a story. You need to choose an approach that makes sense for your brand. For example, you can post behind-the-scenes clips, origin tales, demos of the product or service, and user experience narratives.
Check out this Huda Beauty video which has over 2.6 million views. It’s a video anecdote by the founder and it engages with audiences on a personal level. This type of storytelling helps the brand’s reputation and propels its Instagram marketing.
If you’re not a popular Instagram influencer with over 4 million followers on the platform, you may want to rely on video editing tools that make it easier to turn simple footage into engaging stories. For instance, you can give Videoleap by Lightricks a try and make good use out of its scene swap feature, just like Omar Farook did in the example below:
Videoleap’s features help to push the boundaries of video editing, as the app gives users an opportunity to transport videos to new locations, adding storytelling to the context with ease. Moreover, Videoleap has a wide array of video effects, filters, and transitions which helps to make video editing easy and fun.
2. Launch a video teaser campaign
Nothing piques interest like a good teaser video. Teasers are short clips often including curiosity-building hints at a new product, service, event, or feature.
When posting teaser videos, keep each clip’s duration at a maximum of 20 seconds long. Shoot and prepare a collection of such clips, each revealing some more information about the featured product or event. When your video teaser campaign is ready, launch it across your Instagram accounts and also promote it on external platforms and partner channels.
Nike, for instance, used the real-life event of the solar eclipse to tease an upcoming new logo for San Antonio Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama.
The video, which has over 7.4 million views, has all the hallmarks of a classic teaser aiming to tickle audiences and promote player partnerships.
3. Invite expert guests to join your live stream
Leveraging expert opinions and discussions is a staple in marketing campaigns. Brands and businesses often invite expert guests to collaborate on a podcast or livestream to grab the attention of viewers and reach a wider audience.
This increases public interest in the post and content, and it also establishes your brand as a reputed leader with industry-backed credentials. Moreover, you can always make the most out of affiliate marketing to find partners who are interested in getting more exposure with your live sessions.
You can either go live on Instagram or upload your livestream if you use live streaming platforms for business promotion.
Image via Instagram
The first thing you need to do is research influencers who are experts in your business or service. These could be individuals who work in the same field or who have substantial experience reporting on matters related to the field.
In fact, having influencers join your marketing campaign as experts can give a much-needed boost to growing start-up businesses.
With live streams, audiences and followers can interact with expert guests in Q&A sessions and hear authentic how-to solutions or opinions in real-time, thus drawing them to your brand by extension.
4. Repurpose old video content for Instagram
The magic mantra of “reduce, reuse, recycle” applies to Instagram video marketing as well. You can save on the time and effort spent in creating fresh content each time by repurposing old videos and posts.
However, don’t use your old videos repeatedly. This strategy should be used intentionally and mindfully. Choose snippets of older videos matching current trends. Or do a “then-and-now” style video, with the “then” part taken from an older post.
Above, you can see artist Madara Dusal recently reposted one of his first viral videos, a reel that got over 1.8 million views in less than a day.
Depending on your location, you can reuse reels and posts from public profiles in remixes and sequences. This way, you’ll have fresh and engaging content to market to your audiences without appearing lazy or repetitive.
And Damian Grabarczyk, the co-founder and growth marketer of PetLab Co., proves it:
“We faced the challenge of continuously creating fresh content to keep our Instagram audience engaged. By analyzing our analytics, we identified our top-performing videos and repurposed them as Instagram stories and reels. This simple strategy addressed the issue of content fatigue and kept our nearly half a million followers engaged. Repurposing our informative product videos allowed us to consistently showcase product benefits and address customer questions, enhancing our organic reach and engagement. This approach has not only driven more traffic to our website but has also contributed to sustained business growth.”
Damian Grabarczyk
5. Team up with influencers on creating reels
With 92% of users who pay close attention to influencer endorsements, Instagram influencer marketing is keeping the world by storm. Collaborating with relevant influencers and celebrities is key to your Instagram video strategy. Such partnerships are a two-way street of benefits for you and your influencer of choice.
Find an influencer whose content matches the themes and interests of your brand. A similar voice and vibe will reach the right audiences who would likely respond positively to your video.
To deliver better results, you can also think about original merchandise and send these products out so that influencers can showcase them with mentions in Reels, as another way to promote your business in a natural way.
Most importantly, schedule the posting for these reels using an Instagram scheduler to ensure they go live when the maximum relevant audiences and followers are online and ready to interact. Knowing when to post reels with influencer tie-ups greatly impacts how the algorithm pushes it forward and the level of user engagement.
6. Organize a Q&A series about your products
Brands and companies have used Q&A sessions for decades to promote awareness about their products and services as well as ease the worried minds of interested consumers. When potential prospects know your product inside out, they are more likely to become leads and then turn into paying customers.
When working on Q&A series, you cover frequently asked questions, answer audience questions they put in real-time, or conduct interviews that reveal information about your products, thus generating more interest in them.
Take this fun and informative Reel by Lego, for example. With over 416K views, this Reel is a unique way to spin the Q&A marketing video format into a fresher perspective.
And if you want to get more ideas for your Q&A sessions, consider using social media monitoring tools to analyze brand mentions and understand what people say about you. These insights can help you organize valuable Q&A videos your audience wants to watch.
7. Deliver results with Instagram video ads
If you’re looking for Instagram ad best practices that can deliver better results, keep in mind that Instagram video ads account for over half the ads on the platform.
Instagram video ads can help you better connect with audiences who increasingly prefer video-based content and therefore find more clients on the platform.
Since users are constantly scrolling, your video ad should quickly grab and retain their attention. So, the first 3 seconds are crucial.
Image via Instagram
For example, this sponsored ad for Cover It Up phone cases is immediately attractive and subsequently has users commenting and interacting with it.
Apart from hooking audiences immediately, you should also clearly showcase the product by the end of the video. This helps solidify the purpose of the ad. And you can use Instagram ad benchmarks to track the ad’s performance and reach.
Key takeaway: Instagram video marketing creativity makes a big difference
Instagram video marketing can make a big impact on how successful your brand or business is. The key is to combine different strategies and actively engage with online audiences.
Some quick tips are:
- Collaborate with the right influencers
- Schedule and post at peak traffic times
- Be consistent and interact with audiences
- Employ dynamic formats and storytelling modes
- Stay on top of current trends and events
Are you ready to stake your claim in the creator economy? Discover more helpful tips and resources from the experts at GRIN: Creator Management Learning Center
