How-to: Create attention-grabbing videos for Insta and TikTok

The difference between 300 and 30,000 views.

Strategy is important, but execution is paramount. One of the core tenets of our mission at Preseason and with Coaches Social is this:

The solution to success in 2024 and beyond is by training up coaches to create a winning brand… without having to rely on their overloaded SID.

So here are some keys that came from a conversation with one of our social media clients when they asked how to be more effective on Instagram with Reels.

(Note: this also applies to TikTok.)

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Start fast.

You have two, maybe three seconds to get a recruit's attention before they keep scrolling. Here are some examples of how we can start fast:

Player Chats/Interviews
If you’ve got clips of your athletes answering questions, start with your most informative, outrageous, or attention-getting answer. Then you can take a linear path through your video with normal sequencing.

You don’t need to have anyone “asking” questions, simply write the question or prompt on the video near the subtitles.

Facilities/Tours
Don’t start with a slow walkup???????????? or your athlete-host. Instead, start with multiple quick clips, synced to audio. These can be 0.3-0.8s in length and you shouldn’t have more than 5-6 of them.

Again, in those first few seconds, make sure you have text explaining what’s happening:

• "CAMPUS TOUR: Schmidt Health Professions Pavilion"

• "INSIDE LOOK: Schmidt Family Locker Room"

After you’ve gotten the user’s attention, you can fade the music down (or out) and have your players do their thing. Be sure to include a shot of the outside of the building as your establishing shot.

Highlights/Action Shots
Similar to the prior tip, we want to build content around trending audio and beat sync the audio to your clips. If it’s a slow song, bring in a slowmo shot to set the scene. If you’re going high-tempo, be ready to tell the story you’re trying to tell.

If it’s game highlights, you should process chronologically. What does that mean? Don’t lead with your best moments and then go to shots of your warmups or getting off the bus.

If you have a great moment worth sharing, consider sharing it in a separate reel too.

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Be succinct.

As a caveat, you can have players asking players questions if the rapport is worth it. Only include conversations or parts of questions that add to the story that you’re trying to tell, otherwise you risk the user losing interest.

This may mean punchier transitions, as we eluded to above, but it also means coaching your athletes to answer more succinctly. Short and sweet is the recipe.