How to Make Short Videos to Keep Viewers Engaged From the First Second?

In the age of social media, short videos are becoming the most popular form of content to convey messages quickly, creatively and easily. Whether you are a content creator, a small business owner or simply want to share interesting moments in life, knowing some tips and tricks when making short videos will be a great advantage. This article will give you tips and tricks to create attractive short videos . Let's get started!

1. Introduction to Short Videos

Short videos are videos that last from a few seconds to a maximum of 1-2 minutes, designed to convey a message quickly and easily reach viewers. With the development of social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts, short videos have become increasingly popular due to their brevity, easy consumption, and ability to immediately engage viewers.

These videos can be of various genres such as entertainment, education, product promotion, sharing tips, or interesting moments in life. The main purpose of short videos is to create a strong impression and capture the attention of viewers from the very first seconds.

1.1 Why Are Short Videos Important?

Convenience: Short videos are easy to share and view on mobile devices, giving viewers quick and convenient access to information.

Engage Viewers: With the trend of decreasing user attention spans on social media platforms, short videos become a great tool to maintain viewer interest for a short period of time.

Easy to Create and Edit: Short videos are easy to shoot and edit with simple tools, even beginners can create quality videos.

1.2 Reasons Why Short Videos Are Popular

Brevity and Efficiency: Time is of the essence, and short videos help convey a message in a short amount of time while still being effective.

High Virality: Short videos have the potential to go viral on social platforms, especially since they are easy to share and attract attention from many people.

Accessibility for All Ages: Short videos can cater to a wide range of audiences, from young people to adults, with easy access and diverse content delivery.

2. Tools and Software to Support Making Short Videos

Creating a quality short video requires not only creative ideas but also the right tools and software. Here are some popular tools that help you shoot, edit, and optimize short videos effectively.

2.1 Video Recording Tools

Smartphones: Smartphones today have high-quality cameras, enough for you to shoot sharp short videos. Apps like Instagram and TikTok also support video recording right in the app.

Dedicated Camcorders: If you need better video quality, a dedicated camcorder like a Canon EOS, Sony Alpha, or GoPro might be the perfect choice. These devices allow you to shoot high-resolution video and have better image stabilization.

2.2 Video Editing Software

Adobe Premiere Pro: As a professional video editing software, Adobe Premiere Pro provides users with powerful features such as video cutting, audio editing, adding special effects and supporting many video formats.

Final Cut Pro: For macOS users, Final Cut Pro is an extremely powerful and easy-to-use video editing software that offers a wide range of features optimized for creating high-quality short videos.

iMovie: If you are an Apple user, iMovie is a simple yet powerful video editing software. It is great for creating short videos thanks to its easy-to-use interface and quick editing features.

Kinemaster: A video editing software for mobile phones, Kinemaster helps you create and edit professional short videos right on your smartphone, with many features such as cutting, adding background music and special effects.

InShot: InShot is a popular, easy-to-use video editing app that helps you trim videos, add background music, edit speed, and create attractive video effects.

2.3 Effects and Audio Adding Tools

Canva: Canva not only supports graphic design, but also has a video creation feature. You can add text, transitions, and audio to short videos quickly and easily.

Kapwing: This is a free online tool that helps you create videos, edit them, and add special effects without installing any software. Kapwing also supports adding background music and editing videos the way you want.

Adobe Spark: Adobe Spark is an online tool that makes it quick and easy to create short videos, commercials, and slideshows. You can add music, images, animations, and more to make your videos come to life.

2.4 Video Optimization Tools for Social Media

Hootsuite: Hootsuite is a social media management tool that helps you schedule videos on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, helping your videos spread more widely and save time.

TubeBuddy: This is a tool for YouTube users that helps you optimize your videos, from choosing titles and descriptions to using keywords properly so that your videos can easily appear in searches.

Buffer: Buffer helps you manage and share short videos across multiple social platforms. This tool helps you optimize the time and efficiency of reaching your videos to viewers.

3. Tips and Tricks for Making Short Videos

When creating short videos, knowing a few tips and tricks will help you save time and create a better product. Here are some helpful tips to make your short videos more engaging and professional.

3.1 Plan Your Content Clearly

Determine your video goal: Before you start filming your video, you need to clearly define what your goal is (product introduction, entertainment, tutorial, etc.). This will help you better prepare your content.

Choose the right topic: Choose a topic that is easy to understand and appealing to your audience. Short videos need to convey a message clearly and quickly, so the topic needs to fit the video's length.

Keep it simple: Even though your video is short, you should still have a clear script that will keep it coherent and easy to follow. Break your video into clear sections like an introduction, main content, and conclusion.

3.2 Focus on Image Quality

Use good lighting: Lighting plays an important role in making your videos bright and engaging. Shoot your videos in a well-lit area or use lighting to improve the image quality.

Pay attention to the camera angle: Choosing the right camera angle makes the video more dynamic and interesting. Don't be afraid to experiment with different camera angles to create something new for your video.

Keep your camera steady: To avoid shaky or blurry videos, try to keep your camera steady. You can use a gimbal or tripod to ensure stability when recording videos.

3.3 Create Creative and Engaging Content

Add special effects: Use transitions or graphic effects to make your video more dynamic and interesting. Make sure they fit the theme and aren't overdone.

Add appropriate background music: Background music sets the mood and mood of your video. Choose music that fits the content of your video and makes it more engaging.

Experiment with text and captions: Adding text or captions makes it easier for viewers to understand your video content even without the sound on. Make sure it's simple and easy to read.

3.4 Optimizing Videos for Social Media

Pay attention to video length: Short videos have limited time, so make sure your video is short and to the point. Don't make your video too long or viewers may skip it.

Get your message across in the first 3 seconds: The first few seconds of your video are incredibly important. Make sure your video has a compelling opening and quickly gets your message across to keep viewers engaged.

Add a Call-to-Action: Don't forget to add a call-to-action (CTA) at the end of your video, such as "Like and Share", "Visit Website" or "Subscribe to Channel" to increase engagement and virality.

3.5 Video Testing and Editing

Check your video before posting: Before posting your video, do a final check to make sure the audio, video, and content quality are the best.

Use effective editing software: Use video editing software to cut, edit light, color and sound to perfect the video.

Edit video pacing: Short videos need to be fast-paced to keep viewers from getting bored. Cut out the excess and keep only the most important elements.

4. Popular Short Video Sharing Platforms

Sharing short videos on social media platforms not only increases your reach but also helps your videos spread further and attract more viewers. Here are some popular platforms that make it easy for you to share short videos and connect with the online community.

4.1 TikTok

TikTok is an extremely popular short video sharing platform, especially among young people. TikTok allows users to create and share videos from 15 seconds to 3 minutes long, with many special effects and available music. TikTok is known for its ability to create viral video trends quickly thanks to the "For You Page" (FYP) feature, where popular videos are recommended to users.

4.2 Instagram Reels

Instagram Reels is a short video sharing feature on the social network Instagram, allowing users to create videos from 15 seconds to 1 minute with many filters and special effects. Instagram Reels has become a powerful tool in promoting brands, products and attracting followers, with the perfect combination of images, sounds and video editing features.

4.3 YouTube Shorts

YouTube Shorts is a YouTube feature that allows users to create and share short videos, typically between 15 and 60 seconds. Shorts has created a new wave of content creators, especially when YouTube is actively promoting this feature to compete with TikTok. Shorts gives short videos the opportunity to reach millions of users on the YouTube platform.

4.4 Facebook

Facebook offers short video sharing in the form of “Facebook Stories” and user-uploaded videos. While not as dedicated to short videos as TikTok or Instagram, Facebook is still a powerful platform for promoting videos and connecting with a large audience. Short videos on Facebook can easily reach a wide audience and are a powerful marketing tool.

Short videos are not only a trend but also a powerful tool to help you connect with viewers, convey messages quickly and create a clear personal mark in the digital world. Hopefully, you will be able to confidently start producing attractive, professional short videos that attract viewers more than ever.