How Soundless Videos Are Winning Social Media [+ 2025 Data]

You just created the perfect video. The music hits all the right moments, your voice is fresh and that trendy sound bite? A chef’s kiss. But here’s the rub – most of your audience will never hear any of it.

Welcome to the reality of modern content consumption, where your masterpiece is more likely to be viewed during quiet morning commutes, in a crowded office, or while moving in bed next to a sleeping partner – all with the sound firmly muted.

In this article, I’ll show you how to create silent, stop-the-scroll videos that drive engagement, even when viewers can’t hear it. We’ll cover best practices and real-world examples to help you master the art of sound video marketing.

Content

• Why silent videos are more popular than ever
• Key elements of successful silent videos
• Best practices for creating silent videos
• Scroll to stop silent video examples I love

Why silent videos are more popular than ever

The social video landscape has evolved dramatically, and the numbers tell the story. According to ours The latest State of Marketing report::

• Short-form video leads the marketing formats with a 29.2% adoption rate
• Visual content (including images at 29%) dominates marketing strategies
• 17% of marketers plan to increase their short-form video investment in 2025.

This shift isn’t just about following trends – it’s about where the ROI is. Our data shows that videos, images and short-form streaming consistently deliver the highest returns among all content formats.

Key elements of successful silent videos

1. Have a platform-specific strategy.

Let’s dive into the platforms traders are placing their bets on in 2025. According to our latest research, here’s where the investment is flowing:

• YouTube (29.6% Investment Increase): Users often watch with sound, but create for both experiences
• Instagram (28.8% increase in investment): Fast, visually striking content dominates
• Tiktok (27.6% increasing investment): Win content that moves in speed, trend

I’ve found that understanding these platform-specific trends is critical to success. For example, while YouTube may receive the most investment, each platform requires a unique approach to silent video strategy.

2. Adherence to the “three second rule”.

If you are not familiar with this rule, you have three seconds To grab attention before your viewer decides to scroll or click on something else. Here’s how to nail it:

• Use bold, eye-catching visuals now.
• Start with the most compelling data points or insight.
• Create a “Cliffhanger” moment that makes viewers want to see more.
• Use bright colors or unexpected images to stop the scroll.

3. Focus on clear visual storytelling.

Your video should communicate effectively without just relying on its audio:

• Focus on action and movement.
• Use facial expressions and body language to convey emotions.
• Create a clear visual progression of ideas.
• Keep high contrast for mobile viewing.

This should not deter you from adding audio to your video. Go ahead and choose an audio or voiceover that complements your work, but make sure viewers can receive the message with or without it.

4. Using strategic text overlay.

When it comes to silent videos, the text on the screen will carry the message. You need to include professional headlines that complement your visuals and convey clear calls to action at strategic moments.

And if you’re looking for an easy way to fold in that valuable text overlay, at the right moments and at the right time, check it out Hubspot’s clip creatorwhere you can easily add:

• Professional descriptions that complement your visuals
• Key statistics or data points as text layers
• Clear calls to action at strategic moments
• Marked lower thirds for speaker identification

5. Including engaging motion graphics.

While I’m not the most hands-on video editor myself, most video editors make it easy to add smooth transitions between scenes. Keep viewers interested in:

• Animated icons and illustrations
• Progress bars or timelines
• Dynamic text animations

Now that we’ve covered the key elements, keep some best practices in mind before publishing your next video.

Best practices for creating silent videos

1. Important Front Load Information: Place the key message in the hook or first 3-5 seconds.
2. Maintain visual hierarchy: Use consistent fonts and keep text scannable.
3. Design for a mobile-first display: Testing readability on smaller screens.
4. Incorporate brand elements naturally: strategically include brand colors and subtle logo placement.

Scroll to stop silent video examples I love

1. Delicious on Buzzfeed

Delicious on BuzzFeed shares recipe videos that don’t require volume — or a lot of time — to enjoy. Although the premise of this channel seems so simple, the delicious videos reach millions of people per month.

Tasty’s social media virality has something to do with the fact that the videos can be watched without sound, and a few key things make them so successful.

What I like:

• Shooting in a hyperlapse style creates instant visual interest
• Approach to problem solving with the “5 ingredients or less” format
• Bold titles complement, not dominate, visuals
• Cooking demonstrations take center stage

For advice: Let your audience’s search behavior guide your content strategy – Tasty creates videos based on popular recipe searches and trending food topics.

2. Glam, Inc.

Glam, Inc. shares lifestyle videos on Facebook and YouTubeAnd their most popular videos are their “100 Years” retrospectives that look at a century of changes in a popular trend.

And while the decade-specific background music in this video is fun, you can hit mute and still learn about the history of women’s training.

• Clear focus on one subject on a simple background
• Time-Based Storytelling Format (“100 Years” Series)
• Strategic timing with the New Year’s resolution season

For advice: Timing your content to coincide with natural peaks in audience interest (like a New Year’s resolution for fitness content).

3. Tech Insider

Tech Insider is the technology news division of Business Insider, and they publish unique science and technology Explainer videos which do not require sound. This one uses cool visuals break down a complex concept.

The animations used in this video grab attention in busy social media feeds and work with captions to illustrate the story, step by step.

What I like:

• Uses animations to simplify complex concepts
• Answers common questions
• Step by step visual storytelling
• Visual content that attracts attention

For advice: Start with a common question your audience has, then break the answer down into clear visual steps.

4. Refinery29

Rafinerija29 publishes Creative Lifestyle inspiration videos, such as hair demonstration videos. Use it bright colors to attract attention. The bright colors help this video stand out to viewers against the lighter color Facebook News Feed, YouTube home page, and other silent social places they may rely on.

What I like:

• Bold, bright colors that appear in social feeds
• The pro-advice format builds authority and trust
• Consistent with the 15-second format for maximum engagement

For advice: Use color strategically to stand out in predominantly white/light social media feeds and use recognizable names in headlines for immediate context.

5. BuzzFeed video

BuzzFeed publishes videos on a variety of topics. This one is popular for several reasons.

First of all, it is Funny.

Emotion is a useful tool in advertising, and content that encourages positive reactions, such as laughter, drives engagement. To communicate humor without sound, the content needs to be highly visual, and BuzzFeed keeps the content easy to digest—even if you can’t hear what they’re saying.

What I like:

• The first humor approach
• A simple, clear concept
• Easily digestible format

For advice: Keep concepts simple – if you can’t explain the premise of your video in one sentence, it might be too complex for silent viewing.

6. Now

Nowthis News, a social media outlet, produces only video content – a neat way to get news, if you ask me. It now publishes video news segments that work with or without sound, as well as headlines and video content work together show and tell the viewers what the talk is about.

What I like:

• Headlines that create an emotional impact
• Inscriptions and visuals work together seamlessly
• Strategic use of impact value for engagement

For advice: Choose angles that trigger emotional reactions (surprise, concern, curiosity) in your headlines – he’s now found that negative headlines often outnumber positive ones.

Get your message across – even if it’s silent

Whether you work for a B2B software company or a news organization, you can use video to tell your brand story in a more engaging way. If your video doesn’t require audio, it’s all the better for sharing on social media.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in January 2017 and has since been updated for comprehensiveness.