4 Small Businesses Creating Videos That Capture Attention on Social

Sometimes, the best way to learn is to see a technique in action.

If you’re looking for inspiration, there’s just no substitute for seeing the amazing videos that other brands create. In that spirit, we put together this list to help inspire you to reach new heights with your videos, and to go in directions that you may not have considered before. Beyond this list, there are always videos to be found in our Facebook group, the Animoto Social Video Marketing Community. Without further ado…

History Hustle

• Views: 17 Million
• Shares: 350K

About as “shareable” as they come, this listicle video from History Hustle does more than just call out a few silly-sounding words from centuries past. Clearly well-researched, thoughtfully assembled, and ever so relevant to modern cultural attitudes and senses of humor, the video more than lives up to its name.

Cali’flour Foods

• Views: 459K
• Shares: 17

Audiences on social don’t have the patience to wait around for a payoff at the end of a video that ties everything together. Cali’Flour Foods’ video, created by Teresa Earnest Social, opens with a cleverly-written and provocative question and answers it quickly and comprehensively, demonstrating exactly why their pizza crust is the best option, as well as calling out the competitors it beats out. The delicious-looking cauliflower pizza doesn’t hurt, either.

Brothers Commercial Brokerage

• Views: 23K
• Shares: 203

Education is one of the most effective tools in the video marketer’s toolkit, and video provides a medium well-suited to teaching. Brothers Commercial Brokerage uses the immersive power of video to invoke an atmosphere and time and place while dispensing historical facts about Woolworth’s. It’s also a key example of how crucial it is to play to your audience. For many audiences, the CTA at the end of the video to share your favorite memories of Woolworth’s would fall on deaf ears. However, to their local viewership, it’s a question that immediately evokes nostalgia, and the response speaks for itself.

• Views: 44K
• Shares: 615

The second Brothers Commercial Brokerage video follows the same formula, but demonstrates you don’t need to go decades back to harness the power of common experience. The key structural elements are the same. They have a laser focus on their local audience, they share a topic that’s familiar to many, while still pulling back the curtain on some parts of the experience, and finishing with a strong call to engage with the video.

Virginia State Parks

• Views: 27K
• Shares: 1.3K

A heartfelt message goes a long way, especially in the frequently crowded social landscape during holidays.

The Virginia State Parks Memorial Day message avoids the trap of trying to use a holiday, especially one as sensitive as Memorial Day, to sell something. They direct their words toward the soldiers who gave their lives for their country, and nothing more. As you construct a holiday message, consider your goals. If you want to market a sale, that’s one thing, but if you want a shareable video that gets your content in front of the maximum number of eyes, consider focusing on the message that most people want to share. The Virginia State Parks video helps viewers express a sentiment they’re already feeling, rather than trying to shoehorn a marketing message into a non-commercial moment.

Feeling Inspired?

We know that we are.

For more videos from creators like you, join the Animoto Social Video Marketing Community!

Want to learn more about the most effective ways to leverage video on social? Check out our guide creating video that gets results on the BigCommerce blog.