How much does video and photo quality actually matter? The short answer: it depends on where you’re posting. Obviously there are no hard rules when it comes to social media, but every influencer has experienced the positive results that high quality content can have on organic performance. On the other hand, sometimes high quality posts don’t perform well at all. Sometimes a blurry photo or poorly lit video can be an influencer’s best performing piece of content for that month. So here’s a quick run down of the most popular video & photo platforms, and how much content quality matters on each of them.
Instagram & Snapchat Story
Doesn’t Matter
Do whatever you want to do on Stories. Do not pressure yourself at all, because either good or bad quality content can perform well. The thing to remember about Stories is that they are intended to be raw documentations of people’s lives. They’re a perfect balance to the rest of social media which can be over-the-top with “perfection” standards. So yes, that photo or video might be very blurry. But if you think it’s engaging or entertaining, go ahead it post it. There’s a good chance that your followers will feel the same way.
Instagram Feed Post
Matters A Lot
Simply put, if your Instagram post is not high quality, it will not perform well. Instagram doesn’t even try to hide it. They want everyone’s home page to look very glitzy and glossy. So use your best camera, make sure your lighting is on point, and use all the editing apps that you need. The Instagram algorithm demands a high level of effort and quality.
TikTok Video & Instagram Reels
Kind of Matters
These platforms are the happy medium between the last two we just talked about. A Reels post is the only compromise that the Instagram algorithm will make for “perfect” quality posts since they’re trying very hard to compete with TikTok. Speaking of TikTok, their algorithm has always prioritized entertainment quality over video and photo quality. This is why we all scroll through our For You Pages late at night, because we know we’ll get a good amount of laughs before going to bed. So for these platforms, just focus on decent lighting and editing, and put the rest of your efforts towards finding the right trends and doing them correctly.
YouTube Video
Matters
Large multi-media companies post their videos on YouTube, so if you plan on competing for attention on that platform, you might want to make sure your quality is on point. Even the top YouTubers and vloggers of today post videos with very high production values (click here to see how much Mr. Beast spent on his most viewed video). With that being said. YouTube does a good job of not expecting every YouTuber to be able to compete with accounts with millions of subscribers. So as along as your video and thumbnail quality show effort, and your topics are relevant, you’ll be in good shape.
We at Creator.co hope this was a helpful insight as you continue your content creation journey!