Do you want to create a slideshow video for social media that will grab the attention of viewers and hold their interest? While creating a slideshow video itself is normally quite easy – making sure that it has the kind of impact that you want it to can be another thing entirely.
To ensure that your slideshow videos look impressive and are able to engage viewers, there are a few tips in particular that you should try to follow:
Keep the slideshow short – and the number of slides short as well
The audience that you’re trying to reach on social media doesn’t have a very long attention span, so you will want to keep your slideshow’s short. Typically slideshows that are around 1 to 2 minutes long are acceptable, though in some cases you may even want them to be shorter than that.
Try to estimate the number of slides you can afford to include in your slideshow based on that duration. For example if your slideshow is going to be 60 seconds, you can have 12 slides at 5 seconds each, or 20 slides at 3 seconds each.
Limit each slide to a single point
One of the main mistakes that people often make when creating slideshow videos is they try to cram too many messages into a single slide. Make sure you don’t do the same, and instead you should limit each slide to a single point.
While this may seem like a waste, it is actually anything but. By focusing on a single point in each individual slide, you can use the full scope of that slide’s visuals to deliver the message.
Make sure the slides are consistent
Although your slides don’t need to be completely uniform, they should be a certain degree of consistency. In particular you will want to avoid any excessive contrast that could be jarring to viewers and distract them from the content of the slide.
On a very basic level that means you should make sure the size of each slide is the same, as is its overall appearance. For example you should try to avoid sticking one very bright photo in the middle of a slideshow that is otherwise full of dark photos – unless there is a specific reason you want to draw more attention to it.
Plan the background music in advance
Background music can have a transformative effect on your slideshow and affect both its tone and its pace. However it is important that you plan it out in advance so that it has the impact that you want, rather than one that you don’t want.
Make no mistake there are a lot of factors to consider to find the right background music for a video. As a starting point however you should focus on the genre, overall tone, and whether you want it to play throughout the video or just use it as ‘bookends’.
Don’t ignore the audio quality of the voiceover
Most slideshows on social media tend to use voiceovers to narrate and expound upon the content in the video itself. If you do use a voiceover however, you need to be very careful that its audio quality is up to scratch and sounds crisp and clear.
A poor quality voiceover will make your entire slideshow video appear mediocre – which you’ll want to avoid. With that in mind if you are recording a voiceover you should try to use a good microphone, find a quiet setting, and minimize the background noise.
Place a hook in the first slide
The very first slide of your slideshow video has an important role to play on social media, as it needs to hook viewers and convince them to keep watching. Normally viewers will decide within 5 to 8 seconds whether to keep watching a video or not – so you don’t have very long.
One of the best ways to hook viewers is to dedicate your first slide to outline what the slideshow is about and how it can benefit the viewers. Let them know what they stand to gain, or how it could help them solve a problem that they are facing.
Based on these tips you should be able to create an excellent and engaging slideshow video that performs well on social media. Be sure to use software that gives you access to the audiovisual elements that you need, such as Movavi Slideshow Maker for example.
Before you publish your slideshow video on social media, go over it with a fine-tooth comb and see if there’s anything that you can improve. On top of that make sure that you’ve encoded it in the right settings, so that its quality won’t be compromised in any way when you publish it for everyone to see.
