#7 Instagram Aesthetic Trend for School Marketers - Add Video and Motion to Your Grid

This is the seventh installment of a series on Instagram aesthetic trends for 2020. Here are the links to the previous posts in this series:

Instagram video is one of the hottest trends in marketing today; savvy school marketers will include video and motion in their toolbox.

Video marketing is no longer just for school districts with big budgets. In fact, an estimated 85 percent of brands across all sectors plan to use video as a marketing tool in 2020.

Luckily, Instagram has made video marketing accessible to everyone, thanks to Instagram Stories, IGTV, Instagram Live, and more.

Read more: How to Use Instagram Video to Help Your School on Social Media

While there’s no denying video is taking off on Instagram, some schools are hesitant to include video in their grid for fear of ruining their grid aesthetic.

But the trend we’re talking about here is not just about videos, it’s about including some type of element of motion in your grid.

This trend is including the smallest motion, like a twinkling star or moving background; anything that elevates an image from static to dynamic.

And don’t let budget hold you back! There are some great free apps you can use, such as:

Incorporating video into your social media strategy, including your Instagram grid, doesn’t mean you need to hire a videographer (but you can) and orchestrate a big production. Adding video to your feed is a huge (and relatively under-utilized) growth hack!

Read more: 27 Video Marketing Ideas for Schools

The good news is you don’t need expensive equipment, software or a design team to create video and motion for your Instagram feed.

Here are some ways to spice up your Instagram posts with high-quality animations.

  1. Add animated graphics with Over

Over is an app packed with tools, templates and animated graphics to help you create high-quality content.

Try using an Instagram template to start, then add different animations from Over’s stock video library to bring some life to your content. No original footage or graphics required.

Need some inspiration? Try searching with the #MadeWithOver hashtag to find design inspo from other creators whenever you feel stuck.

  1. Design cool animated templates with Mojo

If you’re looking to take your Instagram content up a notch, Mojo is a great place to start!

This app has everything you need to create stunning posts and stories, with hundreds of beautifully animated templates for whatever type of content you’re posting.

Mojo’s templates are customizable too – making it easy to trim, crop, add effects, titles, animations, change speeds, colors and more!

You can even add custom fonts to your Mojo designs, so you can seamlessly align all your creative assets for Instagram in one place.

Mojo is especially great for designing Instagram Stories. You can showcase a blog post and encourage more “swipe ups” from your stories.

  1. Make Motion Graphics with Adobe Spark

While Adobe software is commonly known for its professional editing software, Adobe Spark makes it easy for anyone to create animated graphics on the go – no design experience necessary.

Whether you’re adding a touch of motion to text or a subtle movement to your graphics, Adobe Spark is perfect for making your content eye-catching.

The free app comes loaded with thousands of templates to choose from, including millions of free stock photos, filters and fonts to help you create customized graphics that align perfectly with your school’s branding.

  1. Create Stop-Motion Content with Life Lapse

If you’re ready to take the next step in elevating your Instagram content, you’ll definitely want to check out Life Lapse.

This app makes it simple to create high-quality stop-motion videos right from your mobile device. Plus, they have great tutorials to guide you through every step of the process. All you need is your camera, good lighting and a tripod.

Read more: How to Create Amazing Videos for Your School (includes a list of recommended equipment)

Life Lapse is more than a stop-motion creator. The app is packed with editing tools, including a variety of different:

  • Speeds
  • Filters
  • Stock music
  • An interval timer (important to get your timing just right)

Life Lapse is a great app for creating unique, eye-catching content that will give your content a high-production look (without the high cost).

  1. Add Motion to Your Images with Enlight Pixaloop

Enlight Pixaloop is a really cool app that helps you add an element of surprise to your images – guaranteed to get people to stop scrolling to view your content!

Pixaloop was developed by Lightricks, creator of popular, award-winning photo and video editing apps. This is an easy solution for adding movement to static images.

It’s so easy to use; just place arrows on the places within your image you want to define motion and then add anchors to gradually reduce the speed in the animated area. It’s that easy!

This tool gives you precise motion control so you can perfect your masterpiece. However, this app can take a little practice to get it right. If you want inspiration, head on over to the Pixaloop Instagram feed to check out some of their user creations.

There are so many video editing tools out there that are free or low cost to use, making it easy to create Instagram animations. Let your creativity flow and create content that will fit with your school’s brand aesthetic and goals. Have fun with this!

Have you created videos and motion for your Instagram grid? What tools do you recommend? I’d love to hear what you’re doing when it comes to Instagram video and motion!  Please share with the school marketing community by commenting below.

About the author 

Brendan Schneider

Hey, I’m Brendan, and this is my blog. After 28 years working in private, independent schools in mostly admissions, enrollment, marketing, communications, and fundraising roles, I decided to make SchneiderB Media my full-time job, where I help schools get more inquiries through my Fractional Digital Marketer program. I also started the MarCom Society, a membership created expressly to help, support, and train marketing and communications professionals at schools.