How silent videos are winning social media [+ 2025 Data]

You just created the perfect video. The music hits all the right moments, your voiceover is crisp, and that trending soundbite? The chef’s kiss. But here’s the plot twist – 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 watched during a quiet morning commute, in a crowded office, or while rolling in bed next to a sleeping partner – all with the sound on.

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

Table of contents

• Why videos without sound matter more than ever
• Key elements of successful silent videos
• Best practices for creating silent videos
• Scroll-stopping silent video examples I love

Why videos without sound matter more than ever

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

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

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

Key elements of successful silent videos

1. have a platform-specific strategy.

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

• YouTube (29.6% increasing investment): Users often watch with sound, but create for both experiences
• Instagram (28.8% increase in investment): Fast, visually striking content dominates
• Tiktok (27.6% increase in investments): Fast, trend-driven content wins

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

2.. By observing the “three-second rule”.

If you’re not familiar with this rule, you have three seconds to grab attention before your viewer decides to scroll away or click on something else. How to nail it:

• Use bold, eye-catching visuals right out of the gate.
• Start with your most compelling data point or insight.
• Create a “cliffhanger” moment that makes viewers want to see more.
• Use bright colors or unexpected images to stop the scroll.

3. with a focus on clear visual storytelling.

Your video must communicate effectively without relying solely 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 is not to discourage you from still adding audio to your video. Go ahead and choose an audio or voice-over that complements your work, but make sure viewers can get the message with or without it.

4. Use of strategic text overlay.

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

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

• Professional captions to complement your visuals
• Key statistics or data points when text overloads
• Clear calls to action at strategic moments
• Marked lower thirds for speaker identification

5. including engaging motion graphics.

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

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

Now that we’ve gone over key elements, there are some best practices to keep in mind before publishing your next video.

Scroll-stopping silent video examples I love

1. tasty on buzzfeed

Tasty on BuzzFeed shares recipe videos that don’t require volume — or a lot of time — to enjoy. While this channel’s premise seems so simple, tasty videos reach millions of people a month.

Tasty’s Social Media Virality has something to do with the fact that the videos can be viewed without sound, and a few key things make them so successful.

What I like:

• Hyperlapse-style filming creates instant visual interest
• Problem solving method with “5 ingredients or less” format
• Bold captions complement rather than dominate the visuals
• Cooking demonstrations take center stage

Pro tip: Let your audience’s search behavior guide your content strategy – tasty specifically creates videos based on popular recipe searches and trending food topics.

2. Glam, Inc.

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

And while the decade-specific background music in this video is hilarious, you can hit Mute and still learn about the history of women’s workout wear.

• Clear focus on a single subject on a simple background
• Time-based storytelling format (“100 years” series)
• Strategic timing with New Year’s resolution season

Pro tip: Time your content releases to align with natural peaks in audience interest (like New Year’s resolutions for fitness content).

3. Tech Insider

Tech Insider is Business Insider’s Technology News Division, and they publish unique science and tech Explainer videos It does not require sound. This user Cool visuals to break down a complicated concept.

The animations used in this video draw attention to busy social media feeds and work with the 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
• Attentive visuals

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

4. refinery29

Refinery29 publishes creative lifestyle inspiration videos, such as hairstyle demonstration video here. It uses Bright colors to attract attention. Bright colors help this video pop out to viewers against the lighter-colored Facebook news feed, YouTube homepage, and other socials without audio to rely on.

What I like:

• Bold, bright colors that pop in social feeds
• Pro Tips Format builds authority and trust
• Under 15-second format for maximum engagement

Pro tip: Use color strategically to stand out in predominantly white/light social media feeds, leveraging recognizable names in titles for immediate context.

5. Buzzfeed video

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

First of all, it is fun.

Emotions are a useful tool for advertising and content that encourage positive reactions such as laughter, driving engagement. To communicate humor without sound, the content needs to be highly visual, and BuzzFeed keeps the content easy to skim — even if you can’t hear what they’re saying.

What I like:

• Humor-first approach
• Simple, clear concept
• Easily digestible format

Pro tip: Keep Concepts Simple – If you can’t explain your video’s premise in one sentence, it may be too complicated for silent viewing.

6. now this

Now This News, a social media offering, produces only video content – a neat way to get the news if you ask me. Now this publishes video segments that work with or without sound, and the captions and video content work together to show and tell viewers what the story is about.

What I like:

• Headlines that create emotional impact
• Captions and visuals work seamlessly
• Strategic use of shock value for engagement

Pro tip: Choose angles that trigger emotional responses (surprise, concern, curiosity) in your headlines – now this found that negative headlines often outperform 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’s story in a more engaging way. If your video doesn’t require audio, all the better to share it on social media.

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