Producing Video Content for Respiratory Virus Season: Tips and Key Messages

Why Create Short-Form Video Content

Short-form video can be an engaging way to communicate accessible, timely, and actionable information. Billions of people use social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok that prioritize short-form video content. Recent studies indicate that short-form video offers the best return on investment: it requires fewer resources to produce engaging, high-quality content and delivers higher view rates, more comments, and more likes.

Concise (90-120-second) videos, easily digestible, are particularly effective at capturing attention and driving engagement, making them a good format choice during a busy respiratory virus season. The good news: You do not need state-of-the-art production tools or a full team to create video content for social media. In fact, real, relatable, and authentic social media content will likely connect with your target audience more than overly produced content.

Below you will find recommendations for recording yourself or your voice, tips for developing content, and suggested key messages designed as a flexible starting point for your videos this season.

Where to Start: Recommendations for Recording Yourself or Your Voice

Before recording yourself or your voice, tailor the key messages about the respiratory virus season to your audience, speaker, and platform. Replace any brackets in the sample script below with specific information, including your name, affiliation, and the date and institution whose guidance you are referencing. Be sure to verify any recommendations or statistics against the most current guidance before recording.

Whether you are speaking directly to the camera, recording a voiceover, or narrating a text-based video, your expertise and personality can make the content feel timely, relevant, and authentic.

If you plan to put your face or full name on a public-facing video, take a moment to consider potential threats and how you would respond. PHCC’s Resilience: A Practical Guide for Public Health Communicators recommends assessing risks, reviewing your online presence, identifying what you may need to protect, and making a response plan before harassment or other threats occur. Videos will still be effective if you choose not to include your face, full name, and/or title.

Tips for Speaking Directly to the Camera

• Film vertically (9:16) for TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts. LinkedIn videos are better in square, or 4:5 format.
• Put the camera at eye level. Avoid looking down at a laptop or phone.
• Frame from about the chest/shoulders up.
• Look directly into the camera lens, not at your own image on the screen.
• Use natural light or face a window. Avoid having a bright window behind you.
• Keep the background simple and relevant without being distracting. Don’t be shy about sharing your workspace, as it can lend credibility and showcase your personality. However, be mindful of any photos of people or documents that may be private or sensitive. 
• Prioritize clear audio. A quiet room matters more than having a fancy camera. If you choose to use headphones, make sure the video is still clearly picking up what you are saying.
• Speak slightly more energetically than you would in a normal conversation. A camera can flatten energy.
• Don’t worry! Multiple takes are encouraged. Short-form video does not need to be one continuous take. You can edit clips together, so feel free to stop and start your recording as needed. We encourage you to review your script multiple times before filming and make bullet points to refer to. You do not have to read your script word for word, as long as your messages are clear and accurate.
• Use TikTok’s and Instagram Reels’ Green Screen effect to place a photo or video behind you while you speak. When creating a video, tap Effects, select Green Screen, and choose relevant images or videos saved to your camera roll as your background.

Tips for Editing Your Video

• Cut pauses and repeated content. TikTok has built-in editing features, and Canva offers free tools to trim, split, and remove dead air from videos or stitch many clips together. Canva for Nonprofits may be available for many agencies and public health organizations, too.
• Use on-screen text to reinforce what you are saying. On-screen text is added to emphasize or explain information. It can include a headline, a key statistic, a speaker name, a callout, or a short takeaway. It does not have to match exactly what you are saying; instead, it may emphasize additional or alternative points.
• Change the visual every few seconds when appropriate. This can keep viewers engaged without requiring complicated production. Try:
  • Jump cuts are quick edits between parts of the same recording, such as removing pauses or switching from one sentence to the next. 
  • B-roll is supplemental footage that plays over, alongside, or behind someone speaking, such as video of a clinic, a community event, or a relevant activity. 
  • Graphics include visual elements such as charts, icons, illustrations, or photos that help explain or reinforce the message.
• Always caption the video. Many people watch without sound. Make captions large enough to read on a phone. Keep important text away from the very top and bottom of the screen, where your username may cover it. Canva has a free tool for adding captions, and there are a number of free and paid apps that let you add automated captions to your videos. TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube can generate auto-captions, but be sure to proofread them.

Additional Resources 

• Creating Short Social Media Videos: Tips and Tricks for Recording Yourself
• Maximizing Short Form Video on TikTok & Instagram Reels

Key Messages and Scripts for Respiratory Virus Season

The suggested messages and scripts below will produce a video between 60 and 90 seconds long. Suggested platforms to post your completed video include TikTok, Instagram Reels, LinkedIn, and YouTube Shorts. Remember to pull a key message from your video into the caption and include a link to your website so people can learn more about respiratory virus season, where and how to get vaccinated, and more.

A quick note: Closed captions run along the bottom as the spoken transcript, and on-screen text or callouts go in the upper or middle third and stay short. On-screen text and closed captions serve different functions, so they should not be identical.