🎬 Social Media Video Best Practices You Haven’t Heard a Million Times Already
- Federico Perez
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
You already know your video needs to hook people fast, look good on a phone, and end with a CTA. Blah blah blah. Let’s skip the surface stuff and go deeper.
Here are the less obvious, wildly effective best practices that will actually make your videos stand out — with real-world examples and a bit of creative chaos. 🚀
🎭 1. Be a Character (Literally)
Forget brand voice — give your brand a face. Better yet, a character.
🔹 Instead of: “Here’s how our product works.”🔸 Try: A talking coffee mug explaining how your productivity tool helps humans focus.
People don’t scroll past personalities. Add a quirky mascot, an animated character, or even just a team member playing a role. It adds entertainment value.
👉 Example: Duolingo’s TikTok-famous owl. It’s chaotic. It’s weird. It works.
⏱ 2. Play with Time (Literally)
Slow things down. Or speed them up. But do it on purpose.
Speed-ramp key moments. Freeze frames. Play in reverse. Cut mid-sentence to spark curiosity. Time is a storytelling tool — not just a limit.
🎯 What to avoid: Constant cuts with no rhythm. Chaos ≠ creativity.
👉 Example: A whiteboard explainer that freezes every time a key stat appears, with animated doodles moving in slo-mo behind it. Keeps the brain engaged.
🧩 3. Add Easter Eggs for Rewatch Value
Hide stuff. Not everything has to be obvious. Give viewers a reason to watch again.
🎥 Add visual jokes in the background. Flash a quick QR code. Change a small detail in each frame. Gamify it.
👉 Example: A training video with tiny cartoon mascots hiding behind elements in each scene. Watchers start spotting them, and engagement spikes.
📢 4. Use Wrong Subtitles (Strategically)
Subtitles don’t have to match word-for-word. Let them comment on the video, add humor, or even contradict the voiceover.
🧠 You’re activating two parts of the brain at once — visuals and reading — in a playful way.
👉 Example:VO: “It’s really simple.”Subtitles: (Narrator voice: It wasn’t simple.)
🧪 5. Drop “Silent” Posts (Yes, no VO, no music)
Try the occasional video with zero sound. Subvert expectations.
Make it visual-first. Add strong captions. Let the silence be the hook.
🎯 Why it works: 85% of videos on Facebook are watched without sound. Silence cuts through the noise — literally.
👉 Example: A looping animation of a problem and solution with bold text only. Perfect for subway scrollers or office sneak-watchers.
🧼 6. Don’t Polish the Life Out of It
Perfect lighting, flawless motion graphics, overly corporate voiceover = 📉 engagement.
👀 We’re in the era of authentic imperfection. Mix in rawness. Add texture. Use hand-drawn elements. Leave a “whoops” moment.
👉 What to avoid: Looking like a stock template. That vibe is dead.
🚧 7. Avoid These (Common but Killer) Mistakes
🚫 Long intros with branding before the hook🚫 Cramming every feature into one video🚫 Using auto-captions without proofreading🚫 Ignoring vertical formats (9:16 is king)🚫 Ending with “Let us know what you think in the comments” (No one ever does.)
🎁 Bonus: Micro-Story Formats You Can Steal Today
Need inspo? Try these plug-and-play formats:
“POV: You're our customer” (roleplay sketch)
“3 Lies You’ve Been Told About…” (myth-busting with drama)
“Before & After – But Not What You Think” (visual twist)
“We Made This Video Just for 3 People” (hyper-niche = highly shareable)
“The Customer Complaint That Changed Everything” (narrative gold)
⚙️ Final Pro Tip: Systemize the Weird Stuff
Build a swipe file of unusual video ideas. Not just trends — but quirky visual techniques, editing tricks, or niche jokes that worked. Then rotate them like seasoning.
Your content should be 70% expected, 30% “Wait, what did I just watch?”
Want help cooking up videos like this?
🎨 At TheVideoCrafters, we don’t do cookie-cutter. We design custom animated videos with just the right amount of weird, wonderful, and scroll-stopping.
👋 Let’s craft something you won’t find in a template.
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