Sprout on Sprout: How to create your own social media video template

There’s more to social media video production than meets the eye. Staying up-to-date on trends. Finding on-screen talent. Recording videos remotely. Those are just a few of the tasks social media marketers must juggle to produce high-performing video content.

Mastering the art of video has never been more important. Today, 66% of social media users say short-form video is the most engaging type of social content.

To keep up, social teams must produce videos efficiently—without working to the point of burnout.

At Sprout, we use a video production template to help us scale our content. The template allows us to keep our process consistent and effective, even when we work with multiple contributors and on different channels.

In this article, we take you through our video production process from script writing to final edits. Read on to learn how to create your own social media video production template and start boosting engagement on your social channels.

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Where does Sprout find inspiration for our social media videos?

As Sprout’s Social Media Strategist, I know the pressure social media marketers are under to consistently create new content.

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Here are the methods I use to generate fresh content ideas that support Sprout’s social media video strategy and company-wide goals.

Pre-plan videos

Pre-planned, evergreen videos make up a solid portion of our content mix. These videos are prime examples of content that can be repurposed across channels.

With significant pre- and post-production work required—including a detailed script—videos of this type often demand collaboration with several teams.

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To source ideas for these videos, we look at new and existing campaigns, upcoming feature launches and other high-priority business updates. For example, when we launched the Sprout Community Hub, many of our teams came together to create the announcement video.

Film videos in a flash

As brand social media marketers, we follow the lead of creators and look to them for inspiration. Many of our timely, trend-driven videos are informed by scrolling on social.

Like the lo-fi content popularized on TikTok, timely videos are quick to create and low cost.

We only jump on trends that fit our brand and audience. If you decide to take the plunge, make sure to tie it back to content themes relevant to your community.

Build a content equation

Recently, we created a new equation for gathering video inspiration: High-performance formulas + recurring content themes = successful videos.

We’ve discovered a few tried-and-true video formulas that lead to high views and engagement. For example, videos offering an expert point of view perform well with our audience.

We keep track of recurring content themes that come up in our industry and among our community (example: social media manager burnout). When we’re running low on inspiration, we plug these themes into our best-performing formats.

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Create your content equation by figuring out which formats your audience responds to best and monitor conversations happening around your brand, industry and competitors.

How to create a social media video template

To create video content with agility, we designed a production template using these steps. Use them to scope your process from start to finish.

Map out pre- and post-production work

Start by considering what needs to be done before, during and after a video shoot. Include steps like:

1. Storyboarding
2. Script writing
3. Reaching out to creators and industry influencers
4. Filming and editing
5. Reporting on video metrics
6. Repurposing the content for other mediums

In your plan, include the key people needed to bring a video to life—whether it’s turning to your internal video and creative teams or bringing an agency on board. If you don’t have the resources to collaborate with a larger team, up-level your video skills and use video editing tools.

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Plan for remote video production

At Sprout, 90% of our content is filmed remotely. I do all the pre-production work for most social videos, while the sophisticated editing is done by our video team. When it comes to our complex video production, remote teamwork is essential. Make sure to incorporate standard operations for remote filming in your template.

Factor in expert outreach

Diversifying who you feature on your social channels is important to resonate with your audience. People want to hear from a wide range of voices and opinions instead of only the small few on a social media team. And what better way to capture the voice of others than through video?

To find people who would be the right fit for our videos, I consult the video team and reach out to people on Team Sprout who have a knack for being on camera. I also build relationships with creators who are industry experts.

Once you have a fresh face, assemble a list of clear instructions and best practices for them to follow. At Sprout, we share a deck with our speakers that includes step-by-step recording instructions and a script—a greeting, a hook and interview-style questions for them to answer. Expert outreach is an essential part of your video production template.

How to analyze your video success with Sprout

After you design your template, create your video and hit publish, analyze the performance of your video in a tool like Sprout Social.

Dig into views, reach and view duration

At Sprout, we create annual view, reach and view duration goals. To see how our results compare to our goals, we look at platform-specific data, including the YouTube and TikTok Analytics reports.

The reports will tell you what content is most interesting to your audience and what content will lose their interest. Prevent viewers from dropping off by revisiting interesting content themes in your future videos. For example, at Sprout, we make story-informed decisions based on view duration. If we notice a particular topic is holding our audience’s attention, we will tweak our content calendar to add more videos with that theme.

Construct your own video template for social media

As video continues to rise in popularity, your team must acclimate. By designing a social media video template, you can generate ideas, film content and reach out to video talent more efficiently.

Take your video production process to the next level by remaining one step ahead.

Want to pull reports, access social analytics and schedule videos in one place? Start your free 30-day Sprout Social trial today.