The Instagram algorithm makes it tricky to consistently connect with your audience. In an attempt to create more engaging posts, many brands are developing video content to use on social media. Video gives you the opportunity to tell more in-depth stories than a single image, and customers love to see it: 87% of consumers say they’d like to see more video from brands in 2019.
Video can be a great way to stop your followers in their tracks as they scroll through Instagram — you can post .mp4 format videos that are anywhere from 3-60 seconds long to showcase your work or creative process in a new way. To inspire you to create more video content for your own feed, here are ten artists and makers who use video on Instagram to boost engagement from their audience. Check them out!
First up is Amy Blackwell. A fixture in my Instagram “discover” feed, Blackwell shares engaging stop-motion videos of her pattern drawing process, shot in bird’s eye view just over her sketchbook. Blackwell cut her teeth in Instagram video in 2018, when she produced 100 pattern drawing videos to share over social media. To keep her feed looking consistent, she cleverly chooses a cover image for her videos that shows the pattern taking shape.
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Next is Kenesha Sneed, the artist behind Tactile Matter. Her process videos for Instagram create a calming mood. While videos posted to the Instagram feed are muted by default, Tactile Matter’s followers are in for a treat if they click the upper left corner to un-mute. Sneed carefully crafts her video to create a beautiful glimpse into her life as an artist.
Elsie Goodwin of Reform Fibers has great lighting and clear images in her macrame DIY videos, which acts as a sales funnel for her macrame pattern and DIY Kit business. Goodwin has taken an extra step to make sure her 60 second tutorials are as clear as possible. She paints her fingernails different colors on each hand, to help viewers better interpret what her hands are doing as she ties each knot.
Definitely check out what Anna Tovar is up to. Capturing each stage of her fine art printmaking process, Tovar uses Instagram videos to show real-time examples of her creative practice. She shoots simple, well-lit videos the linoleum carving, the ink being rolled onto the block, and even the satisfying moment where the paper is pulled off the block to reveal the final image. Often she will use close-ups to showcase the fine detail of her hand-carved linoleum blocks, emphasizing the handmade nature of her work.
Larisa from Stitching Notes shoots highly-detailed embroidery process videos for Instagram to promote their embroidery patterns and tutorials. Since her videos are often shot in extreme close-up, she takes special consideration to film smoothly, and keep the frame centered on her project. Her manicured nails lend a feminine look to her videos, and keep the videos focused on the craft rather than a stray hangnail.
Arounna Khounnoraj of Bookhou uses Instagram videos to document her vibrant sketchbook practice, as well as process videos of her punch needle technique, to promote her upcoming book on the subject. Most of her videos are shot in real-time, only showing a short clip of the process, rather than a full project from start to finish.
This illustrator and printmaker creates compelling, but off-the-cuff videos that show the messy realities of producing her printed products. She makes even the mundane parts of her job look like fun, as seen in this video where she packs up orders from her online shop… at a breakneck pace.
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While most of the artists on this list use video frequently on Instagram, Dardik uses the format more than most. At least 50% of Dardik’s recent feed is made up of videos, often showcasing fast-motion videos of her painting process.
VanderPloeg makes excellent use of animated illustrations on Instagram — so much so that she now teaches her animation techniques on Skillshare. “One of the reasons I love animation is that I can tell a little bit longer of a story than I could with a static image,” VanderPloeg shares in her class, “It gives me the opportunity to add a beat of humor to my work” In addition to her animated illustrations, VanderPloeg also shares re-plays of her illustration process from the Procreate app.
This one-stop shop for all things fiber has created colorful videos of their fiber tools in use for their Instagram channel. One of the few brands that use a watermark in a non-distracting way, Paradise Fibers also cleverly adds their brand name to their looms, so all their videos reinforce their brand in a subtle way.
Before you get carried away and feel compelled to create videos that are 60 seconds long, keep in mind that many artists are seeing success with very short, GIF-style videos. VanderPloeg shares this tip in her Skillshare class: “If you make a drawing, people see it in a second. But if they know that there’s an action that’s about to take place, you pique people’s curiosity and make them want to stay and watch what’s going to happen next. Even if it’s just a five-second video… a lot of things can happen in five seconds.”
Stay tuned for a post about tools, techniques, and apps that can streamline your own process for creating videos for Instagram!
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Erin Dollar is an artist, surface pattern designer, and founder of Cotton & Flax, a collection of boldly patterned textile home decor that is designed and manufactured in California. Her work has been sold in 100+ retail shops, from indie boutiques, to large mass-market retailers like West Elm, CB2, and Need Supply. By growing her ecommerce business to accommodate wholesale buyers, she has built a sustainable business that generates income year-round, and built a platform for long-term growth. See her webinar, Wholesale for Craft Business, in our archives.
I can’t wait for tools, techniques and apps to streamline creating videos for Instagram.