Just a few years ago, social media videos were a budding new marketing tactic still in its testing period. Fast-forward to today and video is the most popular form of content, propelling companies to invest in it significantly in their marketing strategy. In fact, Cisco predicts that 80 percent of all internet traffic will be video by 2019. Why? Video dominates in many metrics, but especially one in particular: engagement.
When it comes to engagement, video has proven to hold on to viewers’ attention for longer periods of time as opposed to text and video which pale in comparison. According to sources, viewers retain 95% of a message when they see it in a video. This is a major communications tool that businesses can master to create brand awareness, convey their message across, and reach their ultimate goal of increasing conversions.
Here’s how to use social media videos in your marketing plan:
Know Your Goals
What are you looking to achieve with your videos? Are you looking to get clicks to a product on your website, educate the public, gain followers, or spread brand awareness? Make sure the video is in line with your specific goal.
Live vs. Prerecorded Social Media Videos
There’s no reason your brand shouldn’t test the waters with both live and prerecorded social media videos. While live videos shouldn’t be a daily task, it does create an immediate connection with your viewer. At the end of the day, people want to interact with people, not a business, and live video gives viewers a chance to see the people behind the brand.
Prerecorded videos have an obvious advantage: you can make edits! You can re-record in the event of any cough attack or stuttering, and never have to worry about a spotty Wi-Fi connection. Your video can be flawless, just make sure not to make it sound dated by saying “good morning” or “good night.” Prerecorded videos will be viewed at all hours of the day.
Choosing Content for Your Audience
Videos that tug on your emotions have more appeal to consumers. Also, use teasers and questions to hook the viewer instantly. Never post boring or irrelevant content, because it can quickly make your fans and followers lose interest in your brand. Make them laugh or give them information.
Your content might include:
- Breaking Industry News
- Insider Tips
- Behind-the-Scenes
- Interviews
- Testimonials
- Event Coverage
- Tutorials
- Product Reviews
Always be mindful of the content, style, and voice of the video. It needs to communicate your message in the way your targeted audience would like to receive it.
Video Posting Frequency Strategy
Videos may be very engaging, but there is no need to post a video every single day on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. If you’re doing a weekly series, one video per week will get audiences used to the routine of expecting a video from your brand on that certain day, which will help garner more views. You can post one video per week or three videos per month, and that should be satisfactory.
Video Length
Social media users are not so keen on all types of video. With attention retention being low, brands have a short span a time to get their message across. Even if the first three seconds captures a viewer’s attention, video sequences can’t stretch for too long, neither can the length of the video. Bite-sized videos that communicate a message quicker do better.
Choose the Right Format for Your Social Media Video
Choosing the correct format to match the social media channel you’re using is essential. It’s not only vital that the video is high quality, it’s equally important to use the format that will perform best on each channel. You want your audience to be completely absorbed in the video, so here are a few formatting tips.
- Videos must be formatted to perform on mobile devices as most users browse the Internet on a mobile device rather than a desktop.
- On Instagram, square videos perform better than landscape videos as they take up more physical space in the social media feed.
- On YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook, landscape videos still work best.
Make sure to add video to your Snapchat and Instagram stories as well. Videos here garner more engagement due to its urgency.
Add Captions
Adding captions to a video will help reach a greater audience as many users (about 80%) watch videos with the sound off because of the environment they’re in at the moment (at the office, or another public place). Captions also boost your SEO ranking, as search engines index the caption text. You can add captions to your video using Windows Movie Maker, YouTube Editor, and CaptionMaker on Mac and PC.
Videos should be an integral part of your overall social media strategy especially as algorithms continue to change and the digital content sphere gets more crowded. The importance of matching specific messages to specific audiences can’t be understated. Creating a strategy can get complicated, but it doesn’t have to be difficult and it can go a long way in ensuring that you’re not wasting resources. If you’d like help with your digital marketing strategy, contact Miss Ink for help in developing an effective strategy that drives results.
References:
Hainla, L. (2018, January 20). 8 Powerful Reasons You Need to Use Video Marketing. Retrieved April 24, 2018, from https://www.dreamgrow.com/8-reasons-why-your-business-should-use-video-marketing/
Shpilka, A. (2018, March 20). Advantages of Live Streaming with Prerecorded Videos. (armstrongpharmacy.com) Retrieved April 20, 2018, from http://livereacting.com/blog/advantages-of-live-streaming-with-pre-recorded-videos/
