How to Hold Your Viewers Longer on Reels, Stories, & Videos

Is there anything worse than opening up your camera app and seeing THIS?!

Yeah there really isn’t. 😂 Lucky for all of us, there are things we can do to make our videos look SO much better, in almost no time at all. 

Find your angle

1. Stand up! You exude a completely different energy standing vs sitting.
2. Own the frame! Fill the phone with your body or face, right up into the top third.
3. Hold the phone just a smidge above eye level. (Don’t go stupid high because we don’t want to look down on you. Also using this angle makes you look like a granny. 😂)
4. Don’t be shy! Look straight into the lens.
5. Spin around till you find your light. You’ll know when you see it!

You knew that, didn’t you? Checking all the boxes and still not feelin’ it?

A lot of your video presence (just like in real life) has to do with confidence. Your social media videos are the VERY LAST PLACE that you want to dilly dally, because you’re wasting your audience’s precious time and they’re not going to stick around for that.

Here’s how to be more confident on video.

1. Smile! I look back on my first IG stories and cringe because I was always so nervous I forgot to smile. Do a few jumping jacks and wiggle around just before you start filming, then smile and jump in.
2. Speak to one person only. (If you catch yourself saying, “hey everyone” or “hey guys” that’s your alarm bell — you gotta step it up. One. Person.)
3. Use an outline. Do not script your videos word for word, because you want the magic of your personality to come through and that’s not going to happen if you’re reading off of a page. But a strong headline / hook and a few bullet points will work wonders — and you’ll keep your viewer engaged all the way through because you’re not wasting their time.

And that brings us to…

How to keep your video visually engaging (without a hundred cameras or gadgets)

1. Be in motion for the first 2-3 seconds. This doesn’t have to be fancy — just turn or raise your head, or walk into the frame. (Ever see those videos where people are doing their makeup while filming? Don’t even get me started on them… but this is how they’re incorporating motion and holding your eyes.)
2. If you’re creating long-form video, play with your angle or zoom with every subheading. If you’re doing a quick video like a reel or story, do the same thing — but with every bullet point. This trick is super simple and your videos will be a heck of a lot more interesting than a regular talking head.
3. For short form video, take out ALL of the fluff, including spaces where you pause to take a breath.
4. Fun transitions — as long as they’re not overdone — can keep your viewer engaged & interested.
5. Use closed captioning! Even if you don’t care about being inclusive (which you SHOULD, c’mon!) over 80 percent of your audience is watching on silent. If they can’t figure out what’s going on, they’re going to tap right on by.

There is so much that goes into creating successful videos for your business, but the MOST important thing is to just keep practicing. Embarrassment is the cost of entry — you HAVE to do the crappy videos to get to the good ones!

Hop into our monthly workshop for alllll the tips. Access here!

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