Social media and short-form video

Pick the platforms your customers use, plan what to post, and script, film and edit short phone videos that people watch.

Many small businesses treat social media like a poster on a notice board. They make something that looks nice, put it up and wait for someone to notice. When the views stay low, they post less often, and after a while the account goes quiet. Usually what is missing is an understanding of what the feed rewards, which platform their buyers use, and what makes a stranger stop and watch. This course teaches organic social from the viewer's side: choosing platforms, planning content pillars, writing hooks, scripting and filming short video on a phone, running a community, working with creators and reading your analytics. By the end you have a 30-day content plan and a set of videos you have posted and reviewed.

What you'll be able to do

• Choose one or two platforms for your business, backed by written evidence from real customers
• Write three to five content pillars and a list of specific post ideas to draw from
• Write hooks that hold attention in the first three seconds, with or without sound
• Script, film and edit a short vertical video on your phone, with accurate captions
• Handle comments and messages using a written community playbook
• Brief a creator or partner with clear terms and proper disclosure
• Read your platform analytics and use them to make a content decision each month

Syllabus

Module 1: Understand what the feed rewards and pick your platforms

How social feeds pick what to show, why each post has to earn its own reach, and how to choose the one or two platforms where your buyers already spend their time.

• 1.1 The feed watches what viewers do, not what you meant
• 1.2 Where your buyers actually scroll
• 1.3 One platform done well beats four done badly
• 1.4 Choose your platforms and write down why

Module 2: Decide what you will post about with content pillars

Pick three to five content pillars where what your buyer cares about meets what you can credibly speak on. Then you always know what to post at the start of the week.

• 2.1 Content pillars are the few topics you are known for
• 2.2 Find pillars in the questions customers already ask
• 2.3 Mix posts that teach, prove and show the people
• 2.4 Write your pillars and twenty post ideas

Module 3: Win the first three seconds

You will write hooks that stop the right viewer and test them, using the words on screen, the opening line and the first frame together.

• 3.1 Why the opening moments decide everything
• 3.2 Hook patterns you can reuse for any idea
• 3.3 Make the picture, text and first line say one thing
• 3.4 Write and test hooks for three ideas

Module 4: Script short videos people watch to the end

Write short scripts that keep people watching after the hook, with a clear structure, tight wording and a reason to stay to the last second.

• 4.1 A short video has four parts: hook, setup, payoff, next step
• 4.2 Write for the ear and cut every spare word
• 4.3 Formats that work without being on camera
• 4.4 Write three scripts ready to film

Module 5: Film and edit on your phone

Film clear, well-lit video with good sound on the phone you already have. Then edit it into a short, tight clip with captions, using a free or cheap app.

• 5.1 Light, sound and framing matter more than the camera
• 5.2 Shoot more than you need, in short takes
• 5.3 Edit for pace: cut the start, the pauses and the end
• 5.4 Captions and on-screen text that people can read
• 5.5 Shoot and edit one finished video

Module 6: Publish with captions, hashtags and a rhythm you can keep

You will write captions that add something the video does not, use hashtags and keywords with care, and set a posting rhythm you can keep up for months.

• 6.1 Post captions that add something the video does not
• 6.2 Hashtags describe the post, they do not buy reach
• 6.3 Pick a posting rhythm you can keep for six months
• 6.4 Build your 30-day posting calendar

Module 7: Turn viewers into a community you can talk to

Reply to comments and messages so passing viewers come back, deal with negative comments calmly, and steer interested people towards a sale without pushing.

• 7.1 Comments are a second piece of content
• 7.2 Handle complaints, trolls and wrong information
• 7.3 From comment to conversation to customer
• 7.4 Write your community playbook

Module 8: Work with creators and partners

Find creators and partner businesses whose audience matches yours, agree clear terms with them, then run the collaboration with proper disclosure and track the results.

• 8.1 Pick creators by audience fit, not follower count
• 8.2 Brief, terms and what you can reuse
• 8.3 Disclose it properly and measure it
• 8.4 Shortlist creators and write your outreach

Module 9: Read your analytics and decide what to make next

Use each platform's built-in analytics to see which posts held attention and got people to act. Then decide what to make more of and what to stop.

• 9.1 Which numbers matter and what each one tells you
• 9.2 Compare posts fairly and look for patterns
• 9.3 Run a monthly content review
• 9.4 Your 30-day content sprint

Frequently asked questions

How long does the course take?

About ten and a half hours of lessons and exercises across nine modules, plus the 30-day sprint. Most people spend two to three hours a week on it.

Do I need a good camera or editing software?

No. Everything is taught on the phone you already have, using free or low-cost editing apps. A small microphone and a phone stand help, but you can do without them.

Does this cover paid ads or boosting posts?

No. This course covers organic social only. Boosting, paid social and ad tracking are taught in Paid ads: Meta, Google and TikTok.

I don't want to be on camera. Can I still do this?

Yes. Module four covers formats that do not need your face, such as voice-over, shots of your hands and process, screen recordings and text-on-screen videos.

Will this tell me the best time to post or how to go viral?

No. Nobody outside the platforms can say that reliably. Instead, you learn to read your own analytics and run small tests, which show you what works for your own audience.

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