Video Training / Social Media Video
Social Media Video
Vertical, Fast, and Built for the Feed
Consistent, compliant, repeatable
A beautifully shot horizontal clip gets cropped, letterboxed, or simply scrolled past on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook Reels today, no matter how good the footage is. Short-form, vertical video is what actually gets seen, and the format decision has to happen before you hit record, not in the edit. This guide covers the exact specs by platform and the shooting habits, framing, pacing, hook timing, that make a clip worth watching past the first two seconds. It connects directly to the B-Roll and Testimonial guides for what to actually shoot. Frame vertical from the first take, not as an afterthought.
Format By Platform
| Platform / placement | Orientation | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Instagram Reels / TikTok / Facebook Reels | Vertical, 9:16 | Under 30–60 seconds performs best |
| Instagram / Facebook feed post | Vertical or square (4:5 / 1:1) | Up to ~90 seconds |
| Website / YouTube long-form | Horizontal, 16:9 | No hard limit — match the content’s actual length |
Shoot vertical from the start when the destination is social
Cropping a horizontal clip down to vertical after the fact loses the sides of the frame and often cuts off the subject — decide the platform before hitting record, then shoot in that orientation natively (see the Android/iPhone guides for how to set orientation).
Hook in the first 2–3 seconds
Most viewers decide whether to keep watching almost immediately. Lead with the most interesting line of a testimonial or the most visually interesting B-roll shot, not a slow intro.
Burn in captions
A large share of social video is watched muted. Add on-screen text/captions for testimonials and any spoken content so the message lands with the sound off.
Keep it short and cut fast
Trim dead air aggressively. A tight 20-second clip almost always outperforms an unedited 90-second one for social — save the full-length version for the website or a YouTube upload instead.
Pull social clips straight from the same testimonial and B-roll library built in the other Video Training guides — one well-shot testimonial interview can become several different social cuts (the hook line, the “tell someone on the fence” answer, a before/after reveal moment) instead of one single post.
Every claim made on camera still has to clear the same medical-ad compliance standard as written copy — no guaranteed-results language, no implied personal condition (“your hair loss”), no unauthorized trademark or device mentions. Review a testimonial’s spoken content the same way written ad copy gets reviewed before it’s posted.
Cut. That’s a wrap.
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