4 Tips for Using Twitter Video Effectively

Looking to get the most out of video on Twitter? We’ve got you covered with four quick tips that’ll help you maximize your success with Twitter video.

Twitter video tips

Twitter is all about conversations, but Tweets only stay relevant while they’re still at the top of the feed. To make the most of your Twitter video efforts, repurpose content you already have and think quick, punchy, and relevant.

Tip #1: Repurpose existing content

Because Twitter is fleeting in nature and tweets tend to get lost down the feed after a short period of time, it doesn’t make sense to spend a huge amount of time on creating videos for Twitter (unless you’re also planning to post them to YouTube, Facebook, your website, or other platforms where they’ll have a longer shelf life).

For this reason, we recommend repurposing existing content. Make adjustments to videos you’ve created for other platforms or create quick off-the-cuff videos using photos and video clips you already have, or choose imagery from our Getty Images library.

We frequently share content we’ve created for other platforms on Twitter. In this example, we created a landscape video for our blog and our YouTube channel. We repurposed it by making it square for posting on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Tip #2: Keep it short

Twitter videos can be up to 2:20. But since Twitter users are used to short updates, it’s best to keep your Twitter videos short too. Ultimately, you’ll want to make your videos as short as possible.

As a guideline, shoot for 30 to 45 seconds, though longer is ok, as long as you’re adding value and relevance. Not sure 30 seconds is enough? Look how much information ShelterBox USA was able to convey in this 27-second Twitter video, created with Animoto:

Tip #3: Grab attention quickly

Catch people as they’re scrolling by starting your video with an eye-catching image or video clip or intriguing line of text. If you don’t grab their attention quickly, they’ll just keep on scrolling past.

When you sit down to create your video, ask yourself two questions:

1. What is my most eye catching image or video clip? Put it up front.
2. What text could I use to intrigue my viewers?

Tip #4: Join the conversation

Finally, Twitter really is all about having conversations—starting them and joining ones that exist. Chime in around the topics, events, trends, and holidays people are already talking about and include video to stand out in these conversations.

A great way to join conversations is adding the relevant hashtags associated with them to your tweets. Hashtags can be an easy way to get your videos in front of a wider audience, and not just the people that are following you.

Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots USA does a nice job of this. They shared a number of videos about different actions kids can take to help out, joining existing conversations using hashtags like #WorldAnimalDay, #makeadifference, #WasteReduction, #refugees, and more.

To find out more about how to use video successfully on Twitter, check out our complete guide to Twitter video.