It’s almost 2023. You don’t need fancy video equipment or editing tools to produce quality video content for social media anymore–an iPhone will suffice.

By now, we all know that video content is taking over social media. Projections indicate that by 2023, adults will spend 80 minutes per day watching digital video. There’s no question that video content has become imperative for brands to continue expanding their audiences and growing engagement on social media.

That being said, it’s important to consider how the video production process can be streamlined to produce content that will performs across multiple social media channels.

In this guide, we’ve outlined strategies step-by-step to help you optimize your social media video content across platforms.

When planning

It’s important to start planning video content with a clear purpose in mind.

• Establish brand guidelines. Outline your goals, identify your target audiences, and establish your brand tone on individual platforms to create a clear starting point for interpreting video content across channels.
• Identify opportunities for cross-platform videos. Analyze your video content ideas and consider which concepts could be used for multiple platforms. For example, a video to promote hiring may work well on both a company’s LinkedIn and TikTok accounts.

When filming 

• Ensure standard video production best practices are followed. This includes checking audio quality (use a mic if possible) and ensuring front-on, diffused lighting
• Optimize framing dimensions. Determine which platforms each video will be used for and capture video footage accordingly. Will the video be shot in a 9:16, 1:1 or 16:9 frame? Take this into consideration when establishing framing, filming angles and whether more than 1 camera will be needed.

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When editing

• Ensure videos are optimal specs. Ensure videos are produced in the right aspect ratios to optimize content for each platform and mobile viewership.

Tip: use these recommended aspect ratios for video content on each platform to ensure your video content is also optimized for mobile viewing:

Facebook: 16:9 (landscape) or 9:16 (portrait and reels)
Instagram: 9:16 (reels)
Twitter: 1:1
LinkedIn: 1:2.4 to 2.4:1 (1:1 recommended)
TikTok: 9:16
YouTube: 16:9 (standard video), 9:16 (shorts)
Snapchat: 9:16

• Consider audience and brand tone on each platform. It’s important to keep in mind that your video content may have different audiences depending on which platform it lands on. Perhaps reporting indicated that your TikTok audience prefers 30 second videos with upbeat music, dynamic cuts and punchy sound effects, while data shows that 60 second videos with a professional aesthetic resonate more with your LinkedIn audience. When editing the same video for different platforms, the LinkedIn version may instead be best paired with smoother transitions, a more soothing sound, and formal copy on-screen and in the caption.

Tip: small edits to alter the feel of video content for each platform may include editing music into or out of your video, adding soundboard bits or quick cuts to make a professional video look more off-the-cuff, adjusting aspect ratios, or adding in a thumbnail to align with your feed.

When posting

• Adapt post copy for each platform. Modify the caption copy for your video to cater to your audience and align with your specific brand tone on each platform. This can include adjusting copywriting, hashtags and/or emojis for each channel.
• Use captions. Including captions or SRT files when posting video content to social media not only makes your content more accessible to a wider audience, but it can also boost your social media discoverability and help more viewers find your content by linking key words to your content. Take accessibility a step further by adding video descriptions on platforms that enable this feature.

After posting

• Engage, engage, engage! You’ve worked so hard on your cross-platform video content strategy, now optimize your overall reach and engagement by liking responses, interacting with comments, and replying to messages about your video on all channels.
• Don’t be afraid to experiment! Is a video performing particularly well on Instagram or TikTok and you think it may resonate with your LinkedIn audience? Don’t hesitate to circle back and adapt video content that’s a hit for viewers on other channels.

Best of luck!