Over 100 million hours of videos are watched on various social media every day, and the numbers are growing manifold. 80% of users recall a video ad they viewed in the past 30 days. 90% of users say that product videos are helpful in the decision process. Social media video generates 1,200% more shares than text/images combined. A video that explains the benefits, increases the chance of 64% of users buying a product online. All stats point out the fact that videos are always effective in driving the message.
Social media Videos are made to offer maximum exposure to a brand (person or company or entity) because they can keep the target audience captive with visual and sound and content together. Once you are able to encourage engagement, the more they reach, the more the views. To create different types of videos for inviting different types of viewers. Something they would like, share and comment upon.
What we need to establish first is which platform to use for what kind of video content. Whereas YouTube is the best place for posting long-term video content, you can choose FB or Instagram for quick reels, announcements, and short teasers for the upcoming product or event. Then, include a link to divert people to watch the full video on YouTube. Even blogs can have an embedded video link.
We can have various categories in Social media videos – to name a few:
- Create how-to content
- Shoot product promos
- News flash
- Teasers
- Testimonials
- Behind the scene
- FAQ’s
There are many more options, offering room for much more creativity, as we go along.
We should always start with what we already have. Meaning the platforms that you have been working on, can be enhanced by adding Social media videos. For example, Kiara started as a beauty blogger in 2015. Blogging and photo shooting was her style. With so much data about the most visible and popular posts of topics, she already knew what ticked her followers. It helps to do a short video recap of your most visited blog post, say 30 seconds to 2 minutes.
Alternate your video content from long and short, fun and factual, easy-to-learn and just pleasant-on-the-eyes kind of content. That way you address all the emotions of your viewers. You can both educate and entertain.
Utilize the benefits of posting on different platforms. To increase traffic and gather more footfall on the blog and website, Make your blog post or webpage more engaging by embedding the video content. The top qualities of a great brand video should be entertaining, funny and educational. You can mould these 3 qualities to suit your brand and style – say you are a serious techy brand, you will automatically lean towards an educational, what-are-we kind of video, but you can always go creative and throw in a fun point, or a how-it-all-started-on-a-rainy-day kind if engaging storyline. And it will surely capture the attention on the landing page.
If you send emailers or a monthly/ quarterly newsletter to all your present and potential subscriber base, attach the link to your social media videos.
People mostly check their Facebook on mobiles, on the go, while commuting on the train, stuck in traffic. Because it’s nice to check on what your family and friends are up to while you are in transit. Or just browse on categories. Most watched videos on FB are on food, fashion & beauty, DIY, tech, humor, health, animals, music, travel, science, and more. So use these analytics and create your videos for further reach. Facebook also allows you to create a playlist of your videos which can be viewed later as well in chronology. So if a new viewer clicked on your beauty hack and enjoyed it, it will be very easy for them to check your previous videos with minimal effort. There! You’ve earned a follower.
Video marketing is the way of the future. Video marketers get 66% more qualified leads per year. And as the attention spans of consumers reduce overtime, shorter content is becoming more popular.
Like we used to enjoy the trailer before the movies got released, in a similar manner reels have become the In thing. They invoke excitement, wonder and emotion, and they are shareable. If it can tease, invoke anticipation beforehand, or show a crazy behind the scenes frenzy, it already increases the interest in what’s coming. You can just share or reshare your Business mission with visual branding – it can be as short as 60 seconds to 5 minutes.
Particularly for reels, it’s a good idea to highlight ONLY 1 idea per reel, viz, Demo a new product, highlight one asset to boost your credibility, say with 1 testimonial, share an event, introduce your team, and the like. If you are an entity – like an influencer, share something more personal via reels – like a random or quirky thing you did, or someone you fancy, or a dream destination – that way you connect on a personal level as well, besides influencing, that is.
Instagram stories have also shown a lot of impact in terms of engagement, branding and reach. This tool is best leveraged for special announcements, flash sales, giveaways, time-bound submissions, limited promos, and just plain reminders.
Keep testing all the platforms with your social media videos. Iterate and improvise regularly. Remember that 20% of your videos will produce 80% of the results.
For maximizing Video reach
- Include relevant keywords in the title, description, and tags.
- Kiss – keep it short & simple – Title, description, easy relevant information
- Play on the emotion. No one has time for BS
- Your story would be impactful visibly as well as audibly
- Use hashtags, add Captions to clearly drive the message
- Run ads – to capture attention from a specific demographic group
- Reshare videos that received attention in the past, with the same or modified content, if you will
- Make the video interactive – Invite comments, suggestions, and ask viewers to share with someone who might benefit from this content
- If your social media videos are engaging or funny, or downright bold, they will surely translate into more views
- Keep a watch on what’s been working, meaning analytics. Although you can repeat a style to create your own niche, you sure don’t want it to get boring, right? So be careful
- Sometimes go live! Take the dare.
- Time the video smartly on different platforms – specific days, times of the day or week can be better to post on FB, Instagram or Twitter.
- You can tweak the video to look and address a more professional aspect when posting on LinkedIn or have a friendlier fun tone for Facebook.
- Make use of the advanced options that each platform offers – Instagram offers reels, stories, OR Twitter offers newsfeed – Tailor your videos to cater to each social media platform and audience
- Use a thumbnail or preview to set the expectation on what’s coming, to encourage the viewer to click and watch the complete video, and stay engaged for even further – sharing, checking, interacting with you
- Enhance your videos using apps like Animoto, Canva, Adobe premier, or after effects, for a professional look.
- Videos for branding on websites can be elaborate with lots of content weaved together. Put a lot of thought into creating them, you want to be perceived in a certain way. It’s an image-building exercise.
