How to create engaging video content
Summary
Short-form video is the most engaging thing a venue can post. A practical guide to setup, lighting, editing and content ideas, with free tools to do it.
A practical guide to making short-form video for your venue, from setup and lighting to editing apps and content ideas.
Short-form video is one of the most engaging things a venue can post. Done well, it gets watched, shared and acted on far more than a static post. And you do not need a production team: a phone, some daylight and a bit of planning will get you most of the way.
Here is what to know, from setup to editing to content.
1. The setup
Think about format before you press record. Most short-form video is filmed vertically so it fits Instagram Reels and TikTok properly.
Short-form means anything between 30 seconds and two minutes. Keep it short and sweet: one idea per video, made obvious in the first couple of seconds.
Getting the lighting right
Light does most of the work. This guide to lighting food video in a busy working restaurant walks through how different setups behave in a real service environment, which is the hardest place to film.
If you want to showcase individual dishes and avoid distracting shadows, a light box is the cheap fix. A cardboard box, some tracing paper and a desk lamp get you surprisingly close to studio light.
Presenting food well
It is all about putting your dishes in the right spotlight and making mouths water. The principles of food photography carry straight over to film. This short video from Andrew Scrivani, a well-known food photographer, covers the basics worth copying.
2. The editing
You want to stand out in your customers' feeds, so get creative with the edit. Sticking to a consistent theme makes your videos recognisable at a glance. Free, ready-to-use TikTok and Instagram templates on Canva are a quick way in.
This Hootsuite reel editing tutorial is easy to follow and covers everything from adding music, filters and green screens to time-lapses and remixing.
Filters and effects
The choice of filters and effects is close to endless, which is the problem. These tips on finding and saving the filters that perform help you build a shortlist instead of scrolling.
The green screen effect is worth knowing: it swaps your background for anything you like, which is handy when the real background is a stack of crates.
Sound
Missing the right background track? This article on choosing the right TikTok sound explains how sound choice affects reach, and how to pick one that fits the video rather than the other way round.
Free editing apps
An editing app makes the job quicker and easier. Three worth a look, all free:
3. The content
When looking for content ideas, stay authentic and true to your brand. That is what makes video such an engaging format: people can tell when it is really you.
Formats that work for venues:
Introduce your venue and the people in it
Showcase a dish, a drink or a new menu
Flag seasonal moments and promote upcoming events
Show how a favourite dish is made
Go behind the scenes of a service
A day in the life of the head chef, the bartender, the duty manager
Share customer stories, with their permission
Kitchen and cocktail-mixing tricks
Introduce your loyalty scheme and what members actually get
Want to start turning social media fans into loyal customers? See how the digital stamp card works, or book a demo to find out more.
See it running on your venues
One unified guest record across Wi-Fi, bookings, reviews and loyalty, and the marketing that acts on it.