Create video social media posts in 5 minutes or less

You probably know that social media posts with images are shared more than posts with just text.

According to this article in Hubspot, tweets with images receive 18% more clicks, 89% more favorites and 150% more retweets. Also, posts on Facebook with photos saw the most engagement, accounting for 87% of total interactions.

But what about videos?

According to Moz.com’s recent analysis of 1 million posts, videos are more likely to be shared than any other type of post except for lists.

What if you could create 1-2 second videos — and you could create them in 5 minutes or less?

These are easy to create in PowerPoint — yet I don’t see anyone doing this. So far, I’ve used them just for birthday wishes, and received lots of positive “likes.” Now, I’m going to use them for business and I’m going show you how to create them, too! In fact, I’m going to make it REALLY easy for you by giving you templates.

1. Engagement post

The video you see above is a typical “engagement” post. It contains an image and a quote or question. The only difference is that it’s animated.

Here are the steps to create this from scratch. The steps will vary slightly depending on your version of PowerPoint. I’m using PowerPoint 2013.

1. Set the slide size to Standard (4:3). You do this on the Design tab. This works best because most images are not as wide as a widescreen slide so you’ll have too much white space on either side.
2. Right-click any blank area and choose Layout, Blank.
3. On the Insert tab, choose Pictures or Online Pictures and insert any image you want. Center it on the slide.
4. Click the Animations tab. With the picture selected, choose the Zoom entrance animation. Set the Start to With Previous so the animation happens automatically. Set the Duration to 0.5 seconds.
5. On the Home tab, in the Drawing group, click the Text Box icon and insert a text box above the picture. Format the text to the size, font and color that you want.
6. To curve it around the picture a little, select the text box, click the Format tab, and choose Text Effects, Transform and choose the Arch Up option in the Follow Path section.
7. With the text box selected, click the Animations tab. Chose the Wipe entrance animation. Set the Effect Options to From Left. Set the Start to After Previous so the animation automatically starts after the Picture animation. Set the Duration to .75 seconds.
8. Repeat Steps 4-6 with a text box below the image, this time choosing the Arch Down option.
9. Go into Slide Show view and check that the animation works the way you want it to work.
10. Save your file.
11. Choose File, Export (2013 or later) or Save & Send (2010). Choose Create a Video. Leave the defaults and click Create Video. Choose a name & location.
12. Find the video where you saved it and play it to double-check it.

That’s it! This may take you more than 5 minutes the first time you do it, but will take less after that. And once you have it as a template, changing the image and text will take much less time than that.

Tip: To change the picture without losing the animation, right-click it and choose Change Picture.

Of course, you can play around with variations, but don’t  take too much time with this. It’s fun, but you want to get that video posted!

2. Informational content post

This post will vary more, depending on what information you want to convey. In my case, I wanted to make the point that motion attracts attention. Here’s how to create this video (again the instructions will vary slightly depending on your version of PowerPoint):

1. Set the slide size to Standard (4:3)as described in the 1st set of steps.
2. I chose a background image of sand. I found the image on Pixabay.com by searching for “beach.” Once you have a picture file, chose Insert, Pictures and choose the image. Resize it to cover the slide. If you have to crop it, choose Crop on the Format tab.
3. I inserted the image of the beach ball. I found that at Pixabay, too.
4. To create an animation of a ball rolling, choose a ball that isn’t all one color, because the rolling effect won’t be obvious. Move it off the slide, to the left. You might want to zoom out using the Zoom slider at the lower-right corner of the screen.
5. On the Animations tab, click Add Animation, Motion Paths, Lines. This will move the ball down. Under Effect Options, choose Right. Drag the right handle of the motion path line so that it ends off the right side of the slide. Preview the animation to make sure that the ball disappears just off the slide. Set the Start to With Previous
6. Display the Animation Pane if necessary (click Animation Pane icon the Animations tab), click the animation in the pane and choose Effect Options. In the dialog box, check the Auto-reverse checkbox.
7. Click Add Animation again and choose the Spin animation. Set the Start to With Previous so the 2 animations (motion path and spin) happen simultaneously. Auto-reverse this animation, too.
8. Insert a text box as described in the previous instructions and format the text however you want. Animate it with a simple Appear animation and set the Start to After Previous.
9. Check your animation, save your file and export to a video.

3. Inspirational post

This inspirational post uses an animation that is like opening a window. Here are the steps (details are in the above steps):

1. Find an inspirational image and insert it. Cover the entire slide with it.
2. With nothing selected, right-click and choose Format Background. Choose a solid color that matches the major color of your image. In this case, I matched the dark green color.
3. Add a text box with the inspirational text. Be sure to format it so that the text is legible. I put a semi-transparent rectangle behind the text.
4. Select the picture. On the Animations tab, choose Add Animation and choose the Split entrance animation. Choose the Vertical Out effect option, which is like opening a door. Set it to Start With Previous.
5. Animate the text box. I chose the Wipe animation with the From Down option. (I wiped the semi-transparent rectangle at the same time.) Set it to start After Previous.
6. Test it, save it, and export it as a video.

4. Announcement

This one is REALLY cool. It uses a transition, so it’s the only one that’s on 2 slides. You could use it to announce a new program in a corporate setting  for marketing, or any time you have an announcement. You won’t believe how easy it is. You’ll need PowerPoint 2013 or later for it, although earlier versions have other transitions that might suffice — they just won’t be as elegant or dramatic.

Here are the steps for this beauty:

1. On the first slide, right-click and choose Format Background. Set the color to a dark red or whatever color you want the curtains to be.
2. Insert a text box and type ANNOUNCING! or whatever text you want. Format it to contrast with the curtain color. Add a Wipe animation with the From Left option. Set it to Start With Previous.
3. Insert a new slide and insert the announcement. In my case, I inserted a screenshot from my website, but you could add text from scratch. The slide background should be white or at least something that contrasts with the curtain color.
4. With the 2nd slide displayed, click the Transitions tab and choose the Curtains transition. Set the timing to about 5 seconds, or whatever works for you.
5. Go back to the first slide, go into Slide Show view and test the effect. Save, and export to video.

Get the templates!

Go here to get the templates!

Are you going to start creating video social media posts?

Let me know what you think of this concept in a comment. And please share with others using the Social Media buttons below.