As we head into 2025, many people are making ambitious New Year’s resolutions to prepare for the year ahead. However, a common social media trend sees users focusing on the highs and lows of the last twelve months by sharing year-in-review highlight reels. For individuals, these videos are great for showcasing your personal milestones and favourite memories. For business owners, these reflective posts can tell your brand’s story and drive audience engagement.
Do you want to share your most significant moments from 2024 online? Creating an impressive video is within your reach. From selecting the right video editor to crafting compelling calls to action, this comprehensive guide will tell you everything you need to know about creating a scroll-stopping year-in-review highlight reel that captivates your audience.
Planning your year-in-review highlight reel
An attention-grabbing video doesn’t appear out of thin air. To craft truly engaging content, you need to start by making a plan.
Gather your content
You (or your business) are the star of this highlight reel, so it’s up to you to select the photos and videos you want to feature in your post. Start by collecting your best content from your camera roll, work archives, or social media accounts. Focus on impactful content rather than trying to include everything. As you search, ask yourself, what moments defined 2024, and which would you most like to remember in ten years? It may be a once-in-a-lifetime holiday or an incredible customer testimonial. Whatever content you choose – meaningful, beautiful, or entertaining – add it all to one album you can review and narrow down to fit your chosen theme and narrative.
Choose a theme
Before finalising your content, consider what message you want to share with the world through your post. Will your highlight reel be celebratory? Reflective? Aspirational? Your post should feel cohesive, and a well-defined theme can guide your content choices. For example, if you’re reflecting on overcoming a personal challenge, silly videos of your pet may not fit. Likewise, if you’d like your highlight reel to be aspirational, clips from a messy night out probably shouldn’t be included.
Decide on a narrative
Your narrative structure determines how you arrange content to tell a story. You may choose to present content chronologically, sharing monthly moments from January onward to share a story of progress and growth. By grouping content in thematic clusters, you can share highlights from many aspects of your life – family, career, or hobbies. Businesses may focus on a few standout moments from the year, such as winning an award or reaching a key milestone.
Once you’ve settled on your content, theme, and structure, create a rough storyboard for your highlight reel to save time on video editing.
Picking the right editing software
Editing a video for social media no longer requires expensive software or extensive skill. You can use a free online video editor from a trusted name like Adobe to create cinematic and visually arresting posts that will grab your audience’s attention in a matter of seconds. These video editors are user-friendly, offering thousands of professionally designed templates and a range of functions to help your highlight reel come together in no time. Simply search for phrases like ‘highlight reel’ or ‘recap video’ within the video editing app to find the perfect template for your post. Adobe Express has a streamlined UI that allows for a minimal learning curve, but you can also find some nifty tricks by watching tutorials or even reading “how to” guides like this one.
Once you’ve uploaded your selected content, you can easily personalise your video by trimming and extending video clips or editing and animating static photos. AI-powered tools can also help you save time by auto-generating captions for any voiceover you’ve included, or suggesting music tracks that fit your reel’s mood. You can even use AI to enhance your highlight reel at the final stage of editing by instantly correcting colours or adjusting transitions for a more streamlined video.
Post your highlight reel strategically
You’ve planned your year-in-review highlight reel and edited it to perfection – now it’s time to truly optimize your post. First, ensure the specifications of your reel are correct. Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube Shorts all use a 9:16 aspect ratio, but each has a slightly different resolution, run-time allowance, and upload size limit, so research your chosen platform specifications beforehand. Next, use your video editor to design an eye-catching thumbnail image that will entice users to click on your highlight reel, such as by removing video backgrounds to isolate the key part (or person) in a frame.
After reviewing your video one final time to confirm it is free of errors, schedule it to post when your social media audience is most active. The more people engage with your post, the more likely social media algorithms are to show it to other users. If you don’t have access to your account’s analytics, try posting your highlight reel between 4PM and 8PM on a weekday for high engagement.
Write a thoughtful caption, concluding with a call to action. This may be asking your audience to comment with one of their own memories from the past year, encouraging them to share your highlight reel with others, or to check out your online store – if you’re promoting a brand or business.
Reflect on 2024 with a Tailored Year-In-Review Highlight Reel
From curating your 2024 content and crafting an engaging narrative to leveraging free video editors and AI tools, every step contributes to creating a standout video. Here’s a final summary:
- Gather your favourite photos and videos, then narrow down what content you will use based on your chosen theme and narrative.
- Edit your video with a free online video editor, using premade templates and AI-powered tools to achieve a sleek or professional look.
- Strategize to boost engagement with your reel by following the platform’s specifications, posting when your audience is active, and including a call to action in your caption.
By optimising your use of technology, you can inspire hundreds of people with your highlight reel and feel proud to share your story with the world.
