15 Seconds of Instagram Video Fame

Instagram has had a meteoric rise in popularity since it was founded in 2010. More than 300 million people use the social media app every month! Maintaining an Instagram account for your salon is a great way to showcase your talent, and even drum up some new business. It’s a visual platform, which makes it perfect for the salon industry. While the majority of content shared on the app is photos, videos are becoming more and more popular.

Instagram launched its video-sharing update in 2013 to compete against Vine, a popular app that allows users to upload and share 6-second videos. Instagram offers some great features that help make sharing videos easy and fun. The first is a trim feature. The maximum Instagram video length is 15 seconds, but if your video is longer than that, don’t worry! You can trim your video right in Instagram. There’s no need to use a third-party editing app.

Instagram also offers a collection of video filters. Just like with photos, several filters are available to enhance the look of your videos, and you can double tap on the filter to adjust its strength. (But remember! Be careful with those filters – your showcasing your work after all, and showing true color is key.)

And finally, Instagram lets you choose your cover picture from anywhere in your video. First impressions are really important in Instagram. You want to capture the viewer’s attention right away, so this is a great tool to use.

Avoid posting a video just for the sake of posting. Make sure that everything you share from your salon’s account is engaging, adds to your business’s reputation, and captures the viewer’s interest. Listen to your target audience, and share content that you think would be interesting and beneficial to them.

Five Instagram Video Ideas

Customer Testimonial: 15 seconds is just enough time for a happy client to share a quick testimonial. Testimonials go a long way toward convincing potential new clients to give your salon a try. Share your Instagram video testimonial across all your salon’s social platforms for maximum impact.

Helpful Tutorial: Post a quick tip, or easy tutorial that your audience will want to share. It could be something as simple as teaching the viewer how to backcomb or how apply eye cream properly. Just remember that you only have 15 seconds, so make them count.

Product Explanation: Product sales are great for your bottom line. But your customers won’t buy a new product if they don’t know why they should. Explain the benefits of a product or how to use it in informational videos, and make sure you tag the product’s manufacturer in the caption. Your video might get re-grammed by the manufacturer, which would put your content in front of a whole new audience. 

Behind-the-Scenes Look: Whether you just re-decorated your salon or you’re at a fun, energetic hair show, videos give you the ability to share a more in-depth behind-the-scenes look than a still photograph. Utilize all 15 seconds to give a quick tour, but pay attention to background noise. If the background noise in your video is too distracting but the footage looks good, you can always share your video without audio, too.

Burst of Inspiration: Share a favorite quote, a quick thought, or even just a smile and a wave. Value added content can be as simple as something that helps put a smile on a viewer’s face. 

Like with photos, be sure to include relevant and popular hashtags in your video’s caption, so it can be easily searched and shared.