How To Create a Video for Social Media

I make longer book and movie reviews, and I used to treat Shorts/Reels/TikTok as extra homework. Then I realized short clips are basically the front door now. People discover you in 20–40 seconds, and if the clip is tight, they’ll actually click through to the full review.

When someone asks me how to create video content for social media, my answer is annoyingly simple: give each short video one job. A short clip isn’t your entire review squeezed down. It’s one moment that makes a viewer think, ok, show me the rest.

Here’s the workflow I keep repeating (because repeating is the whole point):

First, I plan three angles per review. Not a script, just a tiny prompt: a hook line, two beats that back it up, and a close that points to the full video. If I can’t describe the clip in one sentence, I’m trying to do too much.

Then I film with editing in mind. I record one clean talking-head take, and I grab quick cutaways that match what I’m saying. For books: cover, page flips, annotations, a stack of similar titles. For films: notes, a poster, something that sells the mood. Those cutaways save me later because I can tighten pacing without the clip feeling jumpy.

Editing is mostly subtraction. I build the spine (hook → two beats → close), then I cut anything that slows the decision to keep watching: long starts, repeated phrases, filler breaths, wobbly transitions. After that I add only what helps: readable captions on the key lines and a cutaway when the pace dips.

Tools-wise, I’m choosing features. Movavi Video Editor works well for fast trimming and captions on a straightforward timeline. CapCut is handy for quick vertical edits, especially on a phone. DaVinci Resolve is great when I want more control over color and audio. Shotcut is a solid free option for basic edits and exports. InShot is useful for quick mobile cuts with text.

The result: I can create video for social media consistently without it taking over my schedule, and the shorts actually feed the main channel instead of competing with it. If you’re trying to create video content for social media for a book/film review channel, start small, keep the point sharp, and make the workflow repeatable.