14 Best After Effects Templates for Social Media

With the continuing rise in popularity of online video trends, such as on social media video, we explore some of the best After Effects templates to help you deliver a better user experience and create the perfect video.

Quite often on the Envato Blog, we discuss the importance of video to online marketing. As proven by stats and data, video outperforms other methods in user engagement and efficient message delivery. Today almost all Social Media platforms have focused their resources towards some form of video or animation. This includes standard newsfeed videos, stories, live streams, GIFs, and so on. These social media video formats and specs are detailed in our Video Marketing Guide. The trend doesn’t seem to show any signs of stopping, at least not anytime soon. With the addition of VR, AR, and 360-degree videos, companies are looking for innovation both in technology and distribution.

In such a competitive landscape, the importance of the designs that house the content in these videos has never been more important. The goal is to convey the message quickly without feeling intrusive to the end-user. This is something that a lot of social media platforms know very well. Twitter, for example, as well as many other websites includes an option in its settings videos automatically playing in your timeline. Even on other platforms, where videos do autoplay, almost every one of them will be muted. It’s not difficult to understand why this happens, and that these types of “in-your-face” intrusive videos rarely generate any interest. 

Yet, brands are still desperate to get their message across. So, how do they do that without frustrating customers?

In this state “Box Titles” have come to play an important role in video production. Particularly simple designs featuring text over solid shapes that cover the areas occupied by titles. These designs vary in shape, size, and color. They can go from simple subtitle form to big blocks of text covering half, or more of the screen. The latter option is much more popular, and practical because it better serves this design purpose. It’s a convention that allows videos that are easy to notice and understand on any type of platform, or screen size, with or without sound. This design style also makes the video more engaging in cases where words are more interesting and more important than images.

You will find this type of Title Design everywhere online: on social media, web-news outlets, YouTube, and more. They’re even making their way into other more traditional platforms like Broadcast TV. Title animation and design complexity can also vary a lot from one usage to another. Depending on the message being delivered, these titles can be used as lower-thirds, subtitles, annotations, comments, or even kinetic typography. They can also serve as a simple intro, with an eye-catching phrase that you can use in your thumbnail. In other cases they can be the only thing in the video, delivering a bold and powerful message in a simple, minimal format.

One of the simplest and very minimal implementations of this design. This template offers a few options including titles, lower-thirds, descriptions, news cards, and more. Featuring a few different animation styles, as well as clever self resizing boxes.

This template also offers many different design options, a fully editable setup, and super-fast rendering. Not only useful for social media videos, but also lower-third design for news, sales, promos, listings, intros, and more. Check out the preview video to see every design included.

If a simple After Effects template is not enough, check out this next item. This After Effects Script will help you automatically create as many titles as you need. It comes with a very handy user interface window that includes a lot of options for customization, and animation. Although it doesn’t provide the same amount of design variation as the other templates, it’s still the best option for simplicity and fast workflow. It also gives you the advantage of using a tools license, and the Script on as many projects as you like.

For a few more format options, like vertical, or square versions, take a look at this Social Media graphics package. Featuring a number of different designs, as well as multi-colored, and highlighted text functionalities.

 Similar to the previous templates, this one from doomodesigns gives you another set of 20 different animated titles. Including, also, a few more unique versions like the 3D box reveals.

Adding some more unique options to text animation, and box transitions, this next item appeals to people who are looking to get more out of their titles. Aside from the text animations, which can be used as intros for your social media videos, you will also find included logo intros, glitch transitions, bounce titles, and photo description designs.

Packed with 60 titles, lower-thirds, logos, and quotes, it’s going to be difficult to run out of options using this template. Featuring a slick design, and fluid animation on all titles, this minimal pack it’s built to impress.

As minimal as possible, this template gets right to the point. With a quick setup and a lot of customization options, you can create some simple lower-thirds or subtitles in no time. And, for those who don’t feel like doing any customizations, it also includes 19 design presets.

Bored with the standard box design? No problem! This one will add some life, and color to your social promotions. No matter the type of product, or service you’re trying to advertise, you’ll surely find something perfect in the 19 animated packshots included with the template. This bundle also includes vertical, square, and the standard 16:9 aspect ratio formats.

If you’re only after lower-thirds, consider this minimal project by therealist. The simple execution and clean animation will bring your text to life in the most elegant way possible.

Fast Titles II is perfect for creating fast promos, and slideshows. The dual-tone boxes and quick animation will grab viewers attention, and keep them engaged throughout the entire video.

Featuring 30 unique and modern title designs, this is another template for those who want more than just simple box titles. You will find a lot more variations in shape, size, and animation. The project also sports a modular structure, as well as in, and out transitions on all animations.

Keeping the box design, but bringing some variation to the reveal animation, Text Box Tool gives a new look to the standard style. With the help of a delay effect, you can add some additional detail to the transition, and create eye-catching title animations.

This attractive looking template is purpose-built for social media. It includes three post sizes, 1080 by 1920, 1080 by 1350, and 1080 by 1080 pixels. This means it’s easily adaptable to Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram, including for square videos. It’s also ready for verticle video – think Snapchat and Instagram stories. Its color palette and animations are perfect for a young, millennial audience. And it’s got everything you need to take advantage of the automatic autoplaying that most newsfeeds allow for.

For more After Effects templates, subscribe to Envato Elements now.