Silent But Mighty: How Soundless Videos Are Winning Social Media [+ 2025 Data]

You’ve just created the perfect video. The music hits at all the right moments, your voiceover is crisp, and that trending sound bite? 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 scrolling in bed next to a sleeping partner – all with the sound firmly off.

In this article, I’ll show you how to create scroll-stopping silent videos that drive engagement, even when viewers don’t hear it. We’ll cover best practices and real-world examples to help you master the art of soundless 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 landscape of social media video 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 in 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 returns among all content formats.

Key Elements of Successful Silent Videos

1. Having a platform-specific strategy.

Let’s dive into the platforms where marketers are placing their bets 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% increasing investment): Quick, visually striking content dominates
• TikTok (27.6% increasing investment): Fast-paced, trend-driven content wins

I’ve found that understanding these platform-specific trends is crucial for success. For instance, while YouTube might get the highest investment, each platform requires a unique approach to silent video strategy.

2. Abiding by the “Three-Second Rule”.

If you’re unfamiliar with this rule, you have three seconds to capture attention before your viewer decides to scroll away or click on something else. Here’s 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 imagery to stop the scroll.

3. Focusing on clear visual storytelling.

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

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

This isn’t to deter you from still adding audio to your video. Go ahead and choose an audio or voice-over that complements your work, but ensure viewers can receive the message with or without it.

4. Using strategic text overlay.

When it comes to silent videos, the text on screen will carry 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 in that valuable text overlay, at the right moments and for the right amount of time, check out HubSpot’s Clip Creator, where you can easily add:

• Professional captions that complement your visuals
• Key statistics or data points as text overlays
• Clear calls-to-action at strategic moments
• Branded lower thirds for speaker identification

5. Including engaging motion graphics.

While I’m not the most savvy video editor myself, most video editors make it easy for adding smooth transitions between scenes. Keep viewers interested with:

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

Now that we’ve gone over key elements, keep in mind some best practices before you publish 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 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:

• Hyperlapse-style filming creates instant visual interest
• Problem-solving approach 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 Years of” retrospectives that look at a century of changes to a popular trend.

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

• Clear focus on a single subject against simple backdrop
• Time-based storytelling format (“100 Years of” 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 that don’t require sound. This one uses cool visuals to break down a complicated concept.

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

What I like:

• Uses animations to simplify complex concepts
• Answers common questions
• Step-by-step visual storytelling
• Attention-grabbing visuals

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

4. Refinery29

Refinery29 publishes creative lifestyle inspiration videos, such as the 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 sound 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, and leverage recognizable names in titles for immediate context.

5. BuzzFeed Video

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

First and foremost, it’s funny.

Emotion is a useful tool in advertising, and content that incites positive reactions, such as laughter, drives engagement. To communicate humor without sound, the content has to be highly visual, and Buzzfeed keeps content easily skimmable — 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 might be too complex for silent viewing.

6. NowThis

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

What I like:

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

Pro tip: Choose angles that trigger emotional responses (surprise, concern, curiosity) in your headlines – NowThis 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 sound, so much the better for sharing it on social media.

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